A truly beautiful book that reminds us that in even the most mundane seeming of lives, the extraordinary can occur. My first deWitt, but won’t be my last.
Highly recommended.

I can't tell you if there is a difference between a librarian and a librarianist, but I can tell you that Patrick deWitt's The Librarianist is a quirky and meandering novel about a retired librarian named Bob Comet. Bob is living an unremarkable life until he encounters a woman dressed in a pink tracksuit, staring fixedly at the beverages in a 7-Eleven, and returns her to the senior citizen center where she resides. Because “He had no friends, per se; his phone did not ring, and he had no family," Bob begins volunteering at the senior center and makes a startling discovery.

Here's where the meandering begins. The novel switches to Bob in his 20s and tells the story of how and why he became a librarian and met his wife. The book then takes another turn to Bob's adventures of running away at age 11 and the characters that he meets. The first narrative was the most enjoyable to me, while the second and third were less so. But the story of Bob Comet is a quiet and interesting character study. What I appreciated most was Bob's approach to literature in his staid life.

"Why read at all? Why does anyone do it in the first place? Why do I? There is the element of escape, which is real enough - that's a real-enough comfort. But also we read as a way to come to grips with the randomness of our being alive. To read a book by an observant, sympathetic mind is to see the human landscape in all its odd detail, and the reader says to him or herself, Yes, that's how it is, only I didn't know how to describe it."

Thank you to Ecco Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on July 4, 2023.

Patrick deWitt’s newest novel, The Librarianist, offers an intimate look at a quiet man’s life through 3 lenses (rather like unpeeling the layers of an onion). We first meet our main character, Bob Comet, in the present day, as a 71-year-old retired librarian. We then “peel” back to Bob in the late 1950s as a young man just starting his career and finding friendship and love. Finally, we “peel” back yet again to Bob at age 11 in 1945 on his running-away-from-home adventure (which is alluded to several times in the earlier sections as a particularly significant event in his life). Through it all, Bob engages with colorful, risk-taking characters, while remaining quietly steadfast in his own stable and predictable life.

As with all Patrick deWitt novels, The Librarianist is highly character-driven, and features sharp, witty dialogue between quirky characters engaging in unusual life situations.

I was fully enjoying the book until . . . I hit Part 3 (the childhood sequence). Unfortunately, this part dragged for me, and felt disconnected to the rest of the book. I can’t quite put my finger on the “why” here, but I feel like I missed an important piece of Bob’s puzzle.

Bottom line: The Librarianist is a book worth reading - especially for fans of Patrick deWitt and those readers who enjoy character-driven novels that also adeptly combine poignancy and humor. Pacing problems with Part 3 brought down my star-rating from 4 to 3.

Thank you to Ecco and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 4, 2023.

A real book nerd longs for a book about someone who loves books--a book within a book is such a treat. This book is so wonderful in its attempt to allow us into this man's complicated life has he gives off a stone facade is nothing short of amazing. Excellent look into a deeper lives that we all hold.

This story centers on Bob Comet, who embodies everything bland. However, where Bob was all grey, the characters surrounding him were very vibrant, even eccentric. These characters brought him joy, which he accepted. Still, he never actively looked for any happiness outside of his books.

The story begins with Bob finding a catatonic woman in a convenience store, and he returns to her senior residence. When he arrives, he is so fascinated by the odd residents that he starts volunteering there. Through his interactions with these residents, we learn more about Bob's history. The story time jumps from Bob's early adulthood when he was married to a time when he ran away from home at eleven and then back to the present.

We're told that his runaway escapade profoundly affected Bob, but I am still not sure what that is or why it was relevant. The story is almost entirely character-driven, which I prefer. Still, it took me longer than usual to finish this one because the pacing was so slow.

The Librarianist tells the story of Bob Comet, a retired librarian who becomes a volunteer at a senior home with a menagerie of quirky characters. Eventually we learn about Bob's childhood, his friend, and his marriage. You'll like this if you're looking for a slow-paced read, occasional humor, and a storyline that alternates in time. I felt a sense of warmth being in Bob's world, although I wish there was more about Bob in the middle where there is more about other people in his life at the time and the end was rather abrupt. There is also a sense of disconnection between all the parts. However, The Librarianist is a pleasant, quiet story that will be most enjoyed by readers who identify with the same characteristics.

The Librarianist is a quiet book. It is very character-driven, which is usually my favorite kind of book. This novel was divided into four parts. In the first part the reader meets Bob Comet, retired librarian and introvert, who does a good deed while out on his daily walk one day, The act leads him to a senior home where he begins he begins to volunteer and we are introduced to a cast of quirky characters. Although the first part is somewhat slow, it dramatically picked up for me in part two, when the story flashes back to his young adulthood. In the 2nd part the reader learns about his marriage and friendships. I was finally drawn in and decided to press on with the story, but then came the 3rd part. Part three felt very disconnected from the novel. In this section of the novel the reader again is taken back to an earlier time. This time we get to visit Bob in his childhood and learn about the time he ran away from home. More quirky characters are involved. Part four brings the reader full circle and the ending was simply okay, but not extraordinary. I think the book had a very good premise.I really wanted to love it, but it took me three weeks to push through less than 400 pages, so this book did not work for me overall.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco Press for this ARC.

This was a story for the ages. I think it will be a book club of the month pick for many! highly recommend for a good story.

I could not get into this book. The main character was dull and not relatable. It sounded so interesting and seemed to have all the elements of a book I would like, but ultimately was a DNF.

Eerie, uncanny, slow paced and strange. I like the premise but this was very hard to concentrate on. This is a slow burn and I really wanted to love but just couldn’t.

This is Bob Comet. He's 71, recently retired from a long career as a librarian and living quietly in his childhood home in Portland, Oregon. He's always been a loner, preferring books to a social life. As a young man he was married to Connie who quickly ran off with his best friend. One day in 7-11 his life changes when he encounters a woman staring into the refrigerator case. He escorts her back to the senior care home and his good deed opens a whole new life to him.
The story shifts between past periods of Bob's life and we learn that his life hasn't always been dull.
The book is a slow starter but rewards are great for those who stick with it. Bob is a wonderfully drawn character at each period of his life. The unfolding of his story holds surprises and opens him to friendship and fun in his defining years.

I love Patrick deWitt and this book reminded why. It is a little slow in the beginning but persevere and you are in for a fabulous, multi layered story

I did not love this wholeheartedly as I did The Sisters Brothers... but the dry wit and acerbic commentary on reality from that book (still one of my favorites!) is back in full force in this novel. Set in much more approachable locales, but with similarly starkly drawn and fascinating characters, I couldn't help but fall a bit in love with Bob for all his standoffish ways and inability to see the realities around him until it was too late. DeWitt is such a singular writer, and even if the story did not work for me at the start, by the end I was all in and couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

I Liked It. I liked the main character and thought the parts about his adult past and present were a great story. I sort of sped through the part around the main character’s child hood, I’m sure it was important it just didn’t resonate for me.

I did enjoy this book. I found the sweet moments to be sweet and the moments that needed to feel an emotion to pull those from me. I am going to recommend it to others, but the only reason why I don't think I'm going to rate it higher is that I didn't full like the writing style. But that is more subjective than objective.

The Librarianist is a charming and hilarious adventure that made me laugh out loud and root for the protagonist. The writing style is very witty and original.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-book ARC!

I really loved deWitt's book "French Exit", and the main character of this book is a retired librarian. So as a librarian myself I had high expectations for this book. This book is slower-paced and "quieter" than French Exit. It is character driven rather than plot-driven. This book has two of my favorite things to find in a book: some dark humor and eccentric characters.

This is my first encounter with any of deWitt’s works and I now have plans to get a copy of French Exit (when my book-buying ban is over).

The Librarianist follows the life of a quiet man, Bob Comet, who has worked all his life as a librarian, preferring his books over actual people. A chance encounter with a runaway elderly woman from a senior center opens up his otherwise quiet world to a trove of colorful characters.

The book is non-linear, which I tend to enjoy, as someone who is a big fan of flashbacks (and recalling the past in general). While I enjoyed thé flashbacks, I think the story in the current setting could’ve been fleshed out a little more. I fell in love with the characters in the senior center and was a tad bit sad that I didn’t get to explore their lives further. That being said, the flashbacks to Bob’s earlier life were certainly very entertaining. It seems as if Bob, despite his quiet demeanor, has a tendency to attract the most colorful people. I believe deWitt paints a realistic picture of a simple, quiet life; one that feels rewarding after a fairly colorful and complicated past.

I think people who truly live for reading will enjoy the book-related anecdotes in this novel. It was honestly very comforting to read about reading in a view very similar to mine. I do wish this was longer though! I’m not all familiar with how deWitt likes to end his books, but I just enjoyed his writing style so much that I was left wanting for more. The ending in particular felt a little bit rushed, and I wish it could’ve been built out more. All in all, however, I felt this was such a good read. Reminded me a lot of The Great Unexpected and All The Lonely People—if you are like me and love to read about the lives of the elderly, you’re going to enjoy this!

This was a hopeful story about life, and how it's never too late to find a community. It's a nonlinear story, so we jump around in time a bit. It's full of dry humor, witty bantering, and the messiness of human relationships. It was also an interesting look at getting older, and how people might cope with aging as they reflect on their lives. I enjoyed it.

I loved each section except for part 3, when we went back to his childhood. That section struck me as a bit meandering, and I felt I could've done without it. Though it does have some funny moments.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

This is the first Patrick deWitt novel I have read. I enjoy his writing style. I think he is witty and funny and I appreciated that aspect of the book. I would definitely give one of his other books a chance, but for whatever the reason, I did not connect with Bob. It's hard for me to get super invested in a book if the main character doesn't appeal to me. Overall, I would give this book three stars. It is well written and I think others would enjoy this book, it's just not one of my personal favorites. I look forward to trying one of his other novels! Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.