My review of The Librarianist by Patrick DeWitt

 

In the novel, The Librarianist, Bob Comet, a career librarian, experiences love, betrayal, loss, and a wildly bizarre adventure—all without much spirit of adventure. As a character, Bob is likeable enough. He’s highly intelligent and lives life sensibly putting one foot in front of the other, doing what needs to be done. I felt, however, that I never knew him. He accepts life’s ups and downs with such equanimity as to be a spectator to his own life. I had expected a person who loves books to exhibit a lively curiosity, literature-gained wisdom, and perhaps vivid ideas and emotions. But throughout my reading of The Librarianist, I felt like the son in the Papaoutai (by Stromae) music video, who keeps trying to dance with a mannequin. Bob Comet never came alive for me.

 

Was author Patrick DeWitt trying to show that early childhood trauma, which Bob had back in the 1940s when people didn’t call it that, essentially mummifies a living person?  Probably an unlikely stretch. As events of The Librarianist unfolded, I felt a range of emotions for the characters, even if Bob seemed mostly unmoved. And I will say that this novel contains the most shocking plot twist I’ve ever read. As in, wow, bravo!