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jodar's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The novel is a bit all over the place, from melancholy and sorrow to romantic love and humorous fun and silliness. And I think that is the point: this is a life as really lived, with its exciting, boring, heartwarming and emotionally distant times.
The MC is unusual as a protagonist in being highly introverted and, for much of his life, more or less happily self-sufficient. It is the characters around him that bring most of the light and colour to the story. The novel does seem to drag for quite some time during periods of the MC’c life; however, that becomes an understandable contrast to other times in his life when he moves beyond a largely solitary existence. What I found satisfying is the MC’s character remains consistent and believable, even after he reaches out to others – both as a child and late in life. And he is open to life experiences and kindly to others whose personalities and attitudes differ widely from his own. He has his own internal strengths and isn’t a ‘victim’ when life events are harsh towards him.
One aspect I found lacking was more detail about his experiences when he was a librarian. We read that in later life he looked back at his work with pride:
The MC is unusual as a protagonist in being highly introverted and, for much of his life, more or less happily self-sufficient. It is the characters around him that bring most of the light and colour to the story. The novel does seem to drag for quite some time during periods of the MC’c life; however, that becomes an understandable contrast to other times in his life when he moves beyond a largely solitary existence. What I found satisfying is the MC’s character remains consistent and believable, even after he reaches out to others – both as a child and late in life. And he is open to life experiences and kindly to others whose personalities and attitudes differ widely from his own. He has his own internal strengths and isn’t a ‘victim’ when life events are harsh towards him.
One aspect I found lacking was more detail about his experiences when he was a librarian. We read that in later life he looked back at his work with pride:
Now he understood how lucky he had been to have inhabited his position [of librarian]. Across the span of nearly fifty years he had done a service to his community and also been a part of it… (Part 4, “2006”)
Also missing is exactly how his internal world of reading impinged on his internal and external existence, given how important it was to him:
Bob was quiet within the structure of himself, walled in by books and the stories of the lives of others. It sounded sad whenever he considered it, but actually he was happy, happier than most, so far as he could tell.… his reading … was a living thing, always moving, eluding, growing, and he knew it could not end, that it was never meant to end. (Part 1, “2005–2006”)
Somehow for me while it is not a perfect novel, by the end it had pleasantly surprised me by its emotional complexity and it is one I may well reread again one day.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent and Violence
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