Reviews

The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt

trenton_ross's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

hilarymercer's review against another edition

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2.0

As a librarian, I wanted to like this book. I tried to like this book…but I couldn’t.
It was just boring! Rambled in the middle, and all the facets of the story did not come together.

kevintheyeoman's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

laurenreads100's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Started on track for five stars but the random introduction of elderly characters, fighting to be "interesting" spoiled the momentum. 

The story derailed from there and I found that I didn't actually care who chip was or what Bob thought about her. 

cloudywithachanceofreading's review against another edition

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4.0

The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bob Comet, a retired librarian who has led a life of adventure in reality and in his world of books. The story begins with Bob as he is becoming acquainted to his new life of leisure now that he retired. We follow Bob as he meets new acquaintances and begins the next chapter of his life. We are transported back in time from Bob meeting his ex wife to his childhood and his early days of his career.

I really enjoyed this book and quickly became interested in the variety of experiences Bob lived. I liked the quick and witty banter and how the characters were described so well! Several times in this book I audibly gasped from the neat plot twists. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a gripping fiction novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for this advanced reader’s copy!!! Congratulations to Patrick deWitt and thank you for sharing this novel with the world.

lisbe's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective

3.0

ilanam's review against another edition

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3.0

The first 2 sections were great, the 3rd section lost me and then the final section was good.

ohemgee's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

meglee85's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

rahanahava's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

4 stars

This book really reminded me of A Man Called Ove (but without the suicidal tendencies). Here we meet seventy-one-year-old retired librarian Bob Comet who still lives on his own. He was married once, but his wife ran off with his best friend and his solace is being a Librarian until he retired. 

He meets Chip on one of his walks just staring at a beverage fridge at a convivence store and around her neck is a sign stating where she lives and he decides to take her back. He gets mixed up at the center and ends up volunteering and becoming part of the community. 

It's a non-linear timeline going back to his life as a boy the one time he ran away for about 10 days and the cast of characters he met along the way and to his marriage/divorce. It's very much a slow-paced book, but as is the life of Bob. I wasn't quite sure what the point of a lot of it was until the end. All the pieces fit together and the world Patrick created made sense. 

It ended up being a surprising read for me. I thought about DNF since it was slow going, but I never DNF books, so I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did. Totally a feel-good book.