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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Reading The Borrower is like having a long sit-down with an old friend, full of asides and references you're supposed to know. It's great!
I could pick this book apart, if I wanted to: Lucy is not a believable character: She's super-smart, but has no career plans, gorgeous, but doesn't date or have friends, "falls into" a job that requires an advanced degree she doesn't have, and allows herself to be led into a criminal act by a ten year old boy.
BUT
It is a fantastically enjoyable read. Makkai gives a great turn of phrase, and the book is fun! At the same time, it's about the fictions we allow ourselves to believe about ourselves and just about everyone else we meet, and how that keeps us apart.
Passages I want to remember:
"Excepting the books, I never liked to amass more possessions than could be moved in a cartop U-Haul. You never know when the Cossacks are going to invade." (p.31)
"In a library in Missouri that was covered with vines
Lived thousands of books in a hundred straight lines
A boy came in at half past nine
Every Saturday, rain or shine
His book selections were clan-des-tine." (p. 35)
"Too Much Tequila, by Margaret Wise Brown. The Very Obvious Nose Job, by Eric Carle." (p. 59)
"I'd watched The Music Man enough times as a child to be wary of smiling musicians. The way they waltz into your library singing, swinging that con man briefcase and telling you to be spontaneous. They tell you this town could be saved with a little luck and a good marching band." (p.68)
I do crazy miss being a children's librarian.
I could pick this book apart, if I wanted to: Lucy is not a believable character: She's super-smart, but has no career plans, gorgeous, but doesn't date or have friends, "falls into" a job that requires an advanced degree she doesn't have, and allows herself to be led into a criminal act by a ten year old boy.
BUT
It is a fantastically enjoyable read. Makkai gives a great turn of phrase, and the book is fun! At the same time, it's about the fictions we allow ourselves to believe about ourselves and just about everyone else we meet, and how that keeps us apart.
Passages I want to remember:
"Excepting the books, I never liked to amass more possessions than could be moved in a cartop U-Haul. You never know when the Cossacks are going to invade." (p.31)
"In a library in Missouri that was covered with vines
Lived thousands of books in a hundred straight lines
A boy came in at half past nine
Every Saturday, rain or shine
His book selections were clan-des-tine." (p. 35)
"Too Much Tequila, by Margaret Wise Brown. The Very Obvious Nose Job, by Eric Carle." (p. 59)
"I'd watched The Music Man enough times as a child to be wary of smiling musicians. The way they waltz into your library singing, swinging that con man briefcase and telling you to be spontaneous. They tell you this town could be saved with a little luck and a good marching band." (p.68)
I do crazy miss being a children's librarian.
Quirky, strange, marvelous book full of side riffs on children’s books. Oddly satisfying. A rare 5 stars.
I loved all of the literary references. This is a reader’s book. There was so much to love here.
One of the most unique books I've ever read. A totally original story. A must-read for any book lover and anyone who has ever loved a child. I was far more emotional at the end of this than I expected. Okay done rambling now. :)
An original story with some clever lines. If only the narrator hadn't been so self-absorbed and short-sighted, it would have been a much more enjoyable read.
Quirky tale of a children's librarian that inadvertently kidnaps one of her young patrons. Very cute book...great weekend read!
As a librarian, I thought Makkai did a pretty great job of capturing some of the daily drudgery that can happen working at a public desk (though not necessarily the job of the librarian, it can happen in small towns). And there were several laugh out loud moments. (3.5 stars)
As a librarian, I thought Makkai did a pretty great job of capturing some of the daily drudgery that can happen working at a public desk (though not necessarily the job of the librarian, it can happen in small towns). And there were several laugh out loud moments. (3.5 stars)
Though I enjoyed some of the chapter headings based on books, some of the book references and adaptations of style, I just felt throughout how sadly uninteresting this story was. The childish and pompous nature of the kidnapper grated. I kept thinking--before you take on rescuing someone else's life, grow up yourself.
It was a slog reading this. The trip was aimless and so was the storyline.