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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
A not quite believable premise with too-convenient plot twists but likable characters.
Oh my. Just horrible. Couldn’t buy into the premise. Only finished so I could see how the author extracts the characters from this mess. The ending did not help matters.
This book surprised me at every turn. It was magnificent. What a love letter to readers, book lovers, children's literature lovers and more!
This book definitely requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief: ten year old possibly gay boy takes off on a road trip with the librarian and temporarily escapes his overbearing homophobic parents who are trying to cure him through religion. BUT, in exchange for this suspension of disbelief, you get a tale woven with references to literature and especially kids books that is totally rewarding. The ending feels like a bit of a let down - but when religious reform/cure of gay people is bashed throughout the book, I really can't complain.
Oh. A love letter to books, childrens' books, libraries and librarians. Loved the narrator's humor, the child's voice, the sweetness without being cloying. Now I want to read The Pushcart War again.
Reread, 2025: I found the story a little soggier this time around, and the protagonist way less sympathetic but still, in the end, I loved her, because she loves books. She loves the childrens' stories friends I made when I was reading under the covers and checking a million books out of our library, using those little paper pockets she loves. Ellen Tebbits, Fern ("Father, where are you going with that ax?"), of course, The Borrowers and Mrs. Frankweiler. She believes that books can save her young friend, and really, everyone, and I agree.
I love fiction. And this reading of The Borrower, I notice this...noticing... by a lover of fiction (vs nonfiction):
- all I knew were novels. It gave me pause, for a moment, that all my
reference points were fiction, that all my narratives were lies.
I love novels. God, I love novels.
Reread, 2025: I found the story a little soggier this time around, and the protagonist way less sympathetic but still, in the end, I loved her, because she loves books. She loves the childrens' stories friends I made when I was reading under the covers and checking a million books out of our library, using those little paper pockets she loves. Ellen Tebbits, Fern ("Father, where are you going with that ax?"), of course, The Borrowers and Mrs. Frankweiler. She believes that books can save her young friend, and really, everyone, and I agree.
I love fiction. And this reading of The Borrower, I notice this...noticing... by a lover of fiction (vs nonfiction):
- all I knew were novels. It gave me pause, for a moment, that all my
reference points were fiction, that all my narratives were lies.
I love novels. God, I love novels.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This story is hilarious! It seems like something that would never really happen to anyone, but the more you read the more it feels real to you.
Bookshop Santa Cruz Winter Reading Progam 2022/23
The story of a young idealist librarian, Lucy, and a misunderstood boy, Ian. In a effort to rescue Ian from his ultra-conservative parents they embark on a clandestine road trip.
I immediately picked this book up because I loved Makkai’s “The Great Believers”, written some years after this one. After reading the two books it’s evident the degree to which Makkai’s storytelling skill has grown. I found I had to suspend my disbelief too many times to really enjoy the story.
If you like this type of story be sure to read Ivan Doig‘s “Last Bus to Wisdom”. It’s a gentler, kinder story with equally good themes.
The story of a young idealist librarian, Lucy, and a misunderstood boy, Ian. In a effort to rescue Ian from his ultra-conservative parents they embark on a clandestine road trip.
I immediately picked this book up because I loved Makkai’s “The Great Believers”, written some years after this one. After reading the two books it’s evident the degree to which Makkai’s storytelling skill has grown. I found I had to suspend my disbelief too many times to really enjoy the story.
If you like this type of story be sure to read Ivan Doig‘s “Last Bus to Wisdom”. It’s a gentler, kinder story with equally good themes.
This is a book lover's book, filled with references to literature.
Glad I didn't know the plot before reading it or it would have changed my expectation of it.
Glad I didn't know the plot before reading it or it would have changed my expectation of it.