I'm beginning to think that I may not be the select audience for this book. I'm not even half-way through but my experience so far has been, less than enjoyable. The characters are only somewhat interesting, each with their distinguishing mark, and perhaps it may be the narrator making it feel like the story is droning on with no real point- but the story is droning on with no real point. Reading the book's summary I was rather excited to learn about the life of this librarian, but as I continue reading all of the excitement I previously had eroded. The flashback narratives describing the characters' pasts don't endear me to them. There are really sweet moments! But they're over and done with quickly enough.
Again, I'm sure I'm simply not the book's target audience.

And now that I've finished reading the book, this thought is definitely solidified. It's a book about growing old and the challenges that come with that- for the most part. A man living his life and giving his opinions on things. I can't say I cared for it. I almost want to say 'I'm just young so my thought process isn't the same as the narrator's quite yet' but we learned about his youth and I still couldn't care about him. I almost feel bad for not liking this book since so many others seem okay with it, but this was a miss for me.

This is the first book that I have listened to that dealt with historical fiction so it was a little harder for me to get into it. I did how ever enjoyed the humor in it.

A good read reminiscent of A Man Called Ove without the suicidal thoughts. Lots of flashbacks to the past and deciding to finally move on.

Thanks to NetGalley for an audiobook ARC. I was really intrigued at first because the writing was lovely, but the plot was kind of odd. It didn’t seem cohesive or really make sense entirely. And the ending was strange and kind of nonexistent. But the actual writing was stellar. Definitely an odd one to rate.

I was excited about listening to The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt after reading the premise for the book. What could be a better combination than a retired librarian and a love for books that stemmed from way back? That was my sentiment. Bob Comet was a man of few words, a bit reclusive and even a bit weird. He knew that he wanted to be a librarian from a very young age. Now at seventy-one years old, Bob Comet had finally retired. He still lived in the home he resided in as a young boy in Portland, Oregon. Bob Comet had gotten in the habit of going for a daily walk. On one of those walks, Bob spotted a woman who looked out of sorts. Bob followed the woman into the pharmacy and observed her staring at bottles on a shelf for an exorbitant amount of time. When Bob approached her she headed outside. Bob soon discovered that the woman was called Chip and that she was a resident at the senior center so Bob escorted Chip back there. As soon as Bob entered the senior center, he had a revelation. Bob knew immediately that he wanted to become a volunteer at the senior center. He wanted to share his love of books with the residents. Bob wanted to read to the residents. He wanted to instill his love of books in the hearts of the residents. Unfortunately, it backfired. The residents had no interest in listening to Bob read to them. Bob admitted defeat and started just volunteering at the center. Volunteering gave Bob a sense of purpose and he enjoyed getting to know the residents.

If the plot had continued along the path of Bob’s love for books and his interactions with the residents I would have been much happier. Patrick deWitt chose though to diverge from this storyline and delve into Bob’s past. I found this part of the book quite slow especially the part when Bob ran away when he was a young boy. The plot managed to get back to the senior center near the end where Bob became a resident himself eventually. Bob’s admittance as a resident, led him to make a startling discovery that provided him with closure, a closure he spent his life searching for. Bob finally got rewarded with the answer to a question he wondered about his entire life. This discovery made the ending satisfying. The Librarianist started off strong for me but lost me about half way through. There were many more positive reviews for this book. It just wasn’t a favorite for me.

Thank you to Harper Audio for allowing me to listen to the audiobook The Librarianist that was narrated by Jim Meskimen through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A sweet and satisfying story based on a premise we’ve seen many times before.

I didn’t mind this but prefer deWitt’s previous work, which was equally well written but also much more original and thought provoking.

This feels a bit tropey and follows the trend of feel good reads about an older person finding new purpose late in life. As a theme this is fine and if you particularly enjoy this type of narrative you’ll certainly like deWitt’s version, which reads well and employs some clever notes.

As themes go this one doesn’t do much for me though, and while I didn’t mind reading it, I felt it lacked originality. The humor isn’t as good as it is in some of deWitt’s other novels, and his spin on the subject isn’t anything new.

The story works fine for audiobook format, and the narrator does a lovely job reading.

In all, a perfectly fine light read, though I would recommend French Exit instead for those who would like to experience deWitt at his best.

The Librarianist was interesting but maybe didn't live up to what I was expecting.

To me, it felt like there were three parts. The first was Bob returning a lady to the retirement home and meeting Maria and the other characters there. The second was his short first marriage to Connie and his friendship with Ethan, which all ended sadly. The third was the adventure in his childhood when he ran away.

I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️. I did not really dislike any part of the story, I just felt like it was very disjointed. The flashbacks were too long without tying them to the present in a meaningful way. The marriage part did eventually come around to be important to the present but I just didn't feel like it flowed well. And I guess I also felt like it would be more about books.

I usually like books that are reflective which I feel like this would be in that category but this one just fell a little short for me. I think the best line was when the sheriff said that Bob was the uninquisitive type. He just observed life without being much of a participant.

Thank you to @harperaudio and @netgalley for an advanced audio copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This one did not connect with me. I just kept thinking something must be coming, but nothing landed with me. I also was not particularly fond of the audiobook narrator. I think it is well-written and some of the language/word choices is fun, but I just did not connect with any of the characters or much of the story.

I would not globally recommend this book, but I know some readers who I think would enjoy it considerably more than me. I wouldn't want to do it for a book club, but I can see how it might make for some interesting conversation.

I received pre-pub access to this title via NetGalley.

I initially was not drawn into this book, but it crept its way into my heart. The meandering, complex characters, particularly Bob Comet and the peculiar people he ends up with, ended up being endearing and interesting to explore. I loved the narrator and the slow mystery of the importance of these seemingly random people and their connections with Bob. It had a similar vibe to "The Lincoln Highway" but with a Garrison Keillor Prairie Home Companion flair. I will be recommending to patrons.

What a fabulous story. This is my first book by this author - but it reminds me of an early John Irving or A Man Called Ove. It's a funny, slightly absurd, celebration of the ordinary life, that of course turns out to be anything but.
The characters were wonderful and nuanced - it was easy to care for them and feeling for them, even when they were compelled to hurt the gentle librarian - our main character.
However, I found the ending weaker than the rest of the book, and it felt like something was missing! The ending took this book form a solid five stars to just four.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

The Librarianist is a complete pivot from Under Major Domo Minor, with very few known parallels. The audio is narrated well however the content of the plot lags quite a bit. It is a quiet book about a quiet person who works in a library. I was looking forward to reading this book since I work in a library myself but I found the material incredibly dull. He romanticizes his past life when confronted with his past looking for a missing person of a senior community. With there being such excellent books out right now, this one just did not draw me in despite already being a fan of deWitt's writing style.

The Librarianist is a beautiful and moving character study of a man at the end of his life and the events throughout. Dewitt’s wry sense of humor is on display here and the characters are realistic and relatable. While the plot arc suffers a little from a slow start emphasizing our protagonist Bob’s droll life. The shift in time tended to be a little disjointed, but the book rounds out satisfyingly. I particularly enjoyed the latter half which reminded me a little of Robertson Davies. I would recommend this to anyone but particularly those already familiar with Patrick Dewitt’s work. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC!

I was looking forward to this tale of a retired librarian, but was disappointed by the writing style. I found way too many instances of where current slang was used when the time period was the 1940s-1950s. Nothing pulls me out of a story quicker than these types of incongruencies. Unfortunately, the writing issues were multiple, with overgeneralizations of character, thoughts and actions which made the writing clunky, and many instances of telling when showing improves the prose.

The plot was okay, although it was slow it fit the story. It was simple really. The middle section of the main character Bob Comet during his childhood when he ran away briefly seemed to have a better quality of writing and saved the book for me to finish.

I read the eBook and listened to portions of the audiobook. The narration was well done for the story.

Meet Bob Comet, a 71 year-old retired librarian who lives in brightly colored house that he inherited from his mother. 40 years earlier, his wife ran away with his best friend and Bob has been alone ever since. One morning, Bob goes to a 7-11 to buy coffee and sees an elderly woman staring at the energy drinks. The clerk tells him that she has been standing there for 45 minutes. Bob discovers a laminated card around her neck that identifies her as a resident of a senior center. After Bob safely returns the woman to the center, the woman who runs the place gives Bob a tour and he ends up volunteering to read to the residents once a week. But this is not just a linear story of Bob's experiences with the cast of colorful characters he meets at the center. This is much more where we get to see Bob's early years as a librarian, his courtship and marriage, and then even further back to 1945, when 11 year-old Bob runs away from home.
The reverse chronology works and you'll end up loving the cast of eccentric, lovable characters.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this audio e-arc.*

Thank you Harper Audio and NetGalley for the advanced electronic audio review copy of this book. It’s a nice, character-driven read with winding stories and complex, quirky, even eccentric characters. Those who enjoy these kinds of stories would definitely enjoy this read.

I really wanted to get something out of this book. I love books. I would have been a librarian if not a teacher. But I couldn’t get behind this character. He pushed himself into an interesting group of people without seeing any of them. Over a very long book, he starts to expand his life through these people. It just didn’t work for me. It was far too long and drawn out.

This book read like short stories that coalesced into a novel. There were some stories that interested me more than others. I personally found the present day story much more interesting than some of the back stories and I was anticipating more discussion of him as an actual librarian. A bit uneven for me.

The Librarianist reminded me a little bit of Forrest Gump but without the humor and great storyline. I thought at first it was going to be a curmudgeon story but it turned out to be a really long, rambling story where the flashbacks made up the majority of the book. I didn't connect with any of the characters nor did I like any of them. I was glad that I listened to it on audio because I would have had to DNF it if I read it in print.

Thanks to HarperAudio and NetGalley for a review copy of the audiobook.

Patrick deWitt's humour is bang on and so many books that are supposed to be funny leave me cold, but not this one. The beginning and the end were the strongest parts, but the middle did drag for me.

The Librarianist explores the life of Bob Comet, a 72-year-old retired librarian living in Portland, Oregon. Bob has lived a markedly quiet life with the exception of two major events: a grand adventure after running away from home at a young age, and a marriage gone sour in his mid-twenties. The timeline of this story bounces between the beginning of Bob’s retirement in 2006, the start of his career and marriage in the 1960s, and his childhood in the 1940s. This book is slow but also compulsively readable and absolutely hilarious at times. I listened to the audio version of this book and Jim Meskimen’s narration of this story could not have been more perfect. Bob’s story begs the question of what constitutes a life. People in Bob’s life seem to be of the opinion that his love of reading, peace and order keep him from living his life. But, is a life spent in solitude and introversion not a life? The repeated descriptions of the peace and contentment Bob feels preparing to open the library in the morning by himself says otherwise. Bob’s life story presents the idea that one cannot avoid having a life. If one does not go out searching a life, one will surely find them. While Bob’s story has been a quietly told one his impact exists no matter how small he feels his life has been. Patrick deWitt’s decision to write Bob as a librarian was perfect. Bob, like many librarians, makes a quiet but deep impact that can feel invisible but is felt broadly. The heartbreaking saga of Bob, his ex-wife and ex-best friend definitely heightened the already very high wall Bob has built between himself and the rest of the world. This wall stands until a chance encounter early in Bob’s retirement that urges him to reflect on everything he’s lived through. For a long time, Bob has not been a person who makes things happens but that things happen to. But perhaps it’s not too late to change that. The Librarianist is a quiet yet raucous tale in the vein of A Man Called Ove and Remarkably Bright Creatures. Bob’s story is one I won’t soon forget. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the audio ARC of this novel.