Patrick DeWitt’s, The Librarianist, has humor, great story line, and quirky characters which in turn makes this book a great read.
Quiet and introverted, Bob Comet lived a life that that was actually a series of unconventional happenstances. Fun to follow along.

I enjoyed reading about this seventy-one year old librarian, Bob Comet, a widower for over forty years living in Portland, Oregon. Bob is not unhappy in his solitary state, as he has his books, his library job, and a set routine that he is comfortable with.

However, the past haunts him sometimes, from when he was an 11-year-old runaway, taken care of by a couple of traveling actors whom he met on the train. I liked that Bob, while living in the world of books, also becomes involved with the people at a local senior center whom he tries to engage socially. Doing this also lets him find out more about his first love, whom he had lost to his best friend many years before.

I liked that the author has created a character who finds real life outside his world of books and libraries, and benefits from interacting with people at the senior center that he normally would not have met.

I love Patrick DeWitt’s writing. He is able to elevate the mundane, imbue wit, and allow even the most minor character to live and breathe in the narrative. This book, The Librarianist, tells the story of Bob Comet, a quiet librarian who lives a seemingly quiet life. Unfortunately, not even deWitt’s writing breathes enough life into the story to make it entertaining. The narrative takes a detour when Bob runs away as a boy that drags the pace to a stop and the reveal of Chip’s identity without any follow-through was a disappointment. I’m sad to say that I won’t be able to recommend this title.

3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Bob Comet, a retired librarian, finds the strayed resident of a retirement home, which starts a longer involvement with the home and its residents.
Review
This is quiet, understated book, much like its protagonist. It’s calm and pleasant, though, eventually and occasionally, a sly sense of humor shows through. In a way, it’s more extended character than novel; it just ends, fairly abruptly. The prose is on the plain side, though it does allow room for the aforementioned humor; some moments are quite funny.
I picked this up due in large part to the description – a retired librarian in Portland, Oregon. Libraries in my home town, plus he goes to the coast; how could I go wrong? I didn’t go wrong, but the Portland element is regrettably thin – it feels more like someone with a map than someone who’s really spent time in the town. Really, the story could have taken place anywhere and not been noticeably different. All the locations are on the generic side.
It’s a nice story; undemanding and easily read. The characters are engaging, if predictable. The plot, while not linear, is straightforward. deWitt mixes in a few sections of farce that gave it a bit of a Jonathan Carroll feel, but the central one (a boyhood trip to the coast) feels more stuck-on than integral. It’s a nice read with interesting characters, but it has little to do (even by implication) with the rest of the book; it does very much feel like a little character background that made it into the book as filler.
All that said, it was a pleasant read, but I was disappointed by the abrupt ending. Some aspects of the protagonist’s journey have been resolved, but the closing lines felt like metaphor in search of meaning, not tied to the rest of the text in more than an oblique way.

Thanks to NetGalley & Ecco for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a surprisingly sweet book! Bob Comet is a retired librarian who has lived a quiet life in service to the public. We come to find that when he was a young man, his wife left him for his best friend, and then the best friend died in an accident. Then we enjoy alternating timelines of Bob in the past as a young man (and even a few thrilling chapters as a runaway boy), and Bob in retirement, looking for purpose by volunteering at the local senior center.

The writing is great, and Bob is an unexpected joy. He's a straight-man wandering through a set of larger than life characters, and it's wonderful.

I wanted to read this because deWitt’s The Sisters Brothers is one of my all-time favorites. This one really doesn’t disappoint. All the characters and narrator do all have one voice, and someone might find that problematic, but it didn’t bother me at all. I still enjoyed the unique voice, the humor (something that I rarely find done well in novels), and the intelligence of this novel. It’s a quiet story and I usually don’t gravitate towards those. And yet, in deWitt’s hands, it kept me invested and wanting to pick it up when I wasn’t reading. I fell in love with the setting, as I often do when it’s well written, and I cared deeply for the characters. Wherever Patrick deWitt goes, I’m pretty sure I’ll follow.

If you enjoy complex characters and meandering tales you will want to read this book!

Bob is a retired librarian who lives alone and spends his time walking around town and eventually spending time at a senior center visiting with the residents.

I enjoyed the first part of the book very much. I liked learning about Bob and found him to be quite quirky and humorous. The middle of the book pulled things to a slow stop. For me, the chapters sharing about his childhood shenanigans derailed my interest for a moment. By the time I got to the end- I was needing a little more heartstring pull.

Overall, this book was beautifully written with unconventional characters who are well developed. This was my first read by Mr. DeWitt and I can see why he’s revered.

Love, love, loved this quiet story about a man's life. Sounds simple to state it that way, but it's a very substantial and compelling story about just that - one man's life. Would recommend to any lit lover!

This is a very fast paced, easy to read story. The characters, especially Bob, are well developed. It was especially easy to relate to Bob as the protagonist. Bob is a retired librarian, alone since his wife left him for his best (and only) friend, Ethan decades earlier. Bob is very much the introvert, living a happy, but solitary life at home with a large collection of books.

The book tells the story in two sections, one in the present time and a large section going back to Bob’s youth. The story opens as Bob discovers a woman in a 7-Eleven staring at the cold drink cooler. Bob rescues her and returns her to the senior center from where she escaped. As Bob explores the senior center, he decides to volunteer his efforts there.

Then the book covers Bob’s youth and the time he ran away from home for four days. This section takes up a large part of the book and reveals a lot of background information on Bob in his formative years.

After this detour, the story returns to the present time. Bob suffers a fall in his home, breaking his hip. After recovery, Bob decides to move into the senior center and become a resident there. I will not divulge any more of the plot as it would spoil the ending, but there is a small twist at the end.

I enjoyed this book very much and recommend it highly.

I want to thank New Galley for a complimentary advance copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a big fan of Patrick deWitt. He can take a simple story and make it interesting, with appealing characters, lively dialog and just enough action to keep things moving. I loved The Sisters Brothers and liked French Exit, and now I’m taken with The Librarianist.

Bob Comet is a retired librarian, quietly living out his life alone in his small mint-green house. One day he encounters an unusual woman who turns out to be a “runaway” from a local retirement house. When Bob returns the woman to where she belongs, he learns that the house could use a volunteer (or two) to liven things up. Bob volunteers and moves quietly into a new role, with new friends and a place that feels like home.

Behind Bob’s regular exterior lies a story of an unhappy childhood, one he himself ran away from when he was eleven (or so). Bob met and spent time with some colorful characters on his four-day outing before being taken home by the local sheriff. His propensity to attract colorful characters lasts his whole life through, with a marriage, a divorce and a librarian’s position. deWitt tells Bob’s story using spirit and humor. He has a knack for drawing characters that are one-off from everyday people, those who have unusual stories to tell. I will read anything he writes at this point.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Ecco Books for providing me with an e-ARC to review.

A wonderful read enjoyed from first to last page.So well written so entertaining an author to follow.#netgalley #ecco

In The Librarianist Patrick deWitt introduces us to Bob Comet, a retired librarian who is trying to live a simple, quiet life when a seemingly random act of kindness leads him in a completely different direction. As we learn more of Bob's life we see that this is a pattern for him. Life seems to happen to Bob and throw him into adventures that he is not looking for. His life is far from ordinary through no fault or will of his own. As he encounters different characters and situations, he takes them in stride and confronts them with a calm cool demeanor and logic. The circumstances are often outrageous and comical and Bob reacts to each with a dry intelligent wit. that comes across as easy going although you get the sense that he is definitely ok with the circumstances he finds himself in. In the end it is a story about making the most of your life no matter what may come your way. Bob teaches us to stay true to ourselves, and to face each day with curiosity and an open mind.
Patrick deWitt's prose is intelligent and witty. The dialogue is complex although the story is rather straightforward. The book was a pleasure to read and moves quickly. It is full of dry humor and interesting characters. It was my first time reading this author, but I will certainly be checking his other works.

This was a highly enjoyable read. I loved spending time with Bob Comet. I do wish there was a bit more of Bob as a child; I truly enjoyed the section about his short time as a child runaway. That section really felt full of life and fascinating characters. For a relatively short volume, there is a lot here with almost three distinct narratives reflecting different eras in Bob's life.

This was a quiet, detailed tale without a lot of action, but very character-driven. I enjoyed it, but found that it took longer to finish that I expected. It wasn't a core to read, but I didn't rush to pick it up again. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was beautifully written. It is a reminder that big events often happen in small everyday acts. It was brilliant how it is broken up into 4 parts, each part a little different in the role of one’s memory.

A boring guy has a boring life, manipulated by everyone he knows and never quite sharp enough to put things together. Why did people like this?

The Librarianist is a character driven, meandering tale, about Bob, a retired librarian. If you like complex characters and winding stories, you may enjoy this book.

I prefer a more fast paced read but can see how this would appeal to fans of this writing style. Overall, I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second. The first half focuses on Bob as a retiree and a young man, the second half is about him as a child. The stories are varied and his relationships are awkward and few.

Full of complex characters and winding stories that seem to go nowhere, yet eventually you arrive somewhere with the character and then are led somewhere else. If that sounds like your jam, give it a read when it comes out this summer!

Thanks to netgalley for an eARC to review.

Well written but a little too slow and meandering for me. I certainly liked the references to books, which is why the title led me to request it

This is a quietly told story of a small life, which is not the same thing as an uneventful life. It’s calm and thoughtful. It tracks a life of small and big regrets in a scale commensurate with the tiny acre it tracks.

But the writing! The writing is alive and swaggering and deadpan and absolutely hysterical when it wants to be. Patrick deWitt can write his ass off and I couldn’t love this book more. You’ll love each and every character, from our hero, Bob Comet, to a scene-stealing pair of elderly matronly thespians and a town sheriff in full control of his small jurisdiction and his empathy. His dialog is peerless.

This is a beautiful, beautiful book, and I’ve never read a deWitt book I didn’t love unconditionally.

Many thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy.

Even now, ten years later, I remember how much I enjoyed the experience of reading Patrick deWitt’s “The Sisters Brothers,” so when the opportunity to read this newest, not-yet-released novel came up, I jumped at it.

Our unlikely hero is the quiet Portland (Oregon) librarian Bob Comet. We first meet Bob after his retirement when he chances into a volunteer opportunity at a local senior center. But, just as the reader began to think that she may know the direction in which this novel is going, it hangs a uey into important times of Bob’s past, and we begin to learn a bit about the childhood and relationships that shaped his life. This one of those modern Dickensy kinds of books in which even the cavalcade of minor characters pop right off the page, fully formed. We learn about Bob's childhood, his four days on the lam at the age of eleven after he runs away, his education and job at the library, his friendship, his marriage, and his heartbreaks.

The plot is somewhat meandering, but the story is consistently engaging. Patrick de Witt writes the kind of perfect, weird dialogue that I want to recite out loud just to roll the words around in my mouth. He is a true lover of language; every sentence of this book feels shiny, as though it has been polished in a rock tumbler.

And, finally, two more comments: 1) This book is very funny, and 2) the author fully understands how important books can be in shaping a person’s life. What reader doesn’t love a book that love books?

Thanks to Ecco press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.