This is a good book to listen to – it’s literary enough in some ways and the narrator is well-suited to the narrative.   HOWEVER – a warning – the story or plot line – is slow and quiet for a long time.  It starts at a care home in Portland, OR, 2005-2006. The Parts are huge breaks in the story – From Part 1 in 2005-2006 the story line goes back to 1942 – 1960, then to 1945, and from there returning to 2006. That’s what the table of contents says, anyway – I’m not so sure the narrative is that neat. .  

The Librarianist
by Patrick deWitt 
2022 /
Read by Jim Meskimen,  10h 2m 
Rating 8 , general fiction 

So the first chapters of this book feel good, but after awhile it gets a bit claustrophobic and frustrating in what appears to be a somewhat interesting but bitter-sweet and basically mediocre love triangle. Keep reading anyway, at least until you get a couple chapters into Part 3, that’s about half-way. The narrative goes back to 1960, when Bob was 11 years old. That’s where the whole thing picked up for me. (It was like landing in Oz and everything in color in that Wizard movie with Judy Garland – 1939.)

I loved The Sisters Brothers, de Witt’s 2nd novel but hadn’t heard of him since. Okay fine, but to my surprise he’d written 3 more novels, the last of which was The Librarianist.

I was ready to just return it to the library when I got to “Part 3 1960.” And that’s when everything changed for me.  

Backing up, the first time frame is 2005 – 2006 when Bob Comet, a retired librarian, kind of accidentally becomes a volunteer at the local care center, an assisted living facility.. He has never married and lives in the house his mother bequeathed him. He loved working at the library but working at the care center has its rewards. The main plot is how he got to be in this situation via the one woman he’d ever loved and said plot follows him as they fall in love and find themselves in a triangle with Bob’s good buddy.   

 The plot is mostly character driven so it’s slow with some emphasis on Bob’s emotions.  

The next section, “Part 2 1942-1960,” follows Bob Comet from about 8 years old to just out of college and starting his career at the library.

Following that is Part 3 1945 when Bob was 11. And after that adventure it flips back to 2006 for Part 4.

The whole atmosphere is like the characters – it’s calm and slow with quirky characters and some heartbreak and jolly laughs.  Enjoy.