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wildeaboutbooks 's review for:

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai
3.0

I chose this book as the subject matter for a school assignment on librarians in popular culture. Truth be told, I was tickled pink at the prospect of reading a fiction book again after several months of textbooks.

I loved the plot description: a young idealistic librarian named Lucy attempts to assist a precocious 10 year old patron, Ian, in checking out books- mostly classic children’s literature- that his mother disapproves of. I might have been less excited by this storyline if I actually had children of my own and worried about people in positions of authority corrupting their young minds, maybe not with Judy Blume though… However, the whole premise of the novel certainly opens up a can of ethical worms (hee hee, ethical worms).

What surprised me about this book is that despite my initial support of the main character’s decision to rescue the child from the oppressive influence of his parents and the insidious Pastor Bob, I ended up feeling strongly against both the librarian and her actions. I can understand the motivations behind them, but I also feel that she was using the situation to escape from her own feelings of guilt and dissatisfaction with her own life. And who’s the adult in the situation anyway? If some child tried to manipulate me into whisking them away on an impromptu cross country road trip, that dream would be squashed faster than a hapless bystander in a Godzilla film. I’d rather pick up a (possibly) rabid wounded raccoon in my car than play taxi cab to a child who may or may not attempt to blackmail me with false accusations in the future. Granted, Ian was pretty endearing as far as wayward children go, but that’s not a gamble I’m game for.

Of minor irritation in the story were the number of situations that would (or should) not occur in a real library. I know, I know, this is like watching a crime drama on TV with a police officer who feels the need to point out every discrepancy. But really, when you’re passionate about what you do, how can you help yourself?

The references to various children’s books throughout the novel were fun and I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy listening to the story. I also felt that the ending was thoroughly satisfying, if a little contrived.