Off the shelf

Patrick de Witt, a chronicler of weirdos, delivers a simple, warm-hearted tale of a retired librarian.

- LINDA HERRICK

THE LIBRARIANIST, by Patrick deWitt (Bloomsbury, $37)

Bob Comet, the unassuming hero of Patrick deWitt’s sweet, beguiling novel The Librarianist, is a 71-year-old retiree living in Portland, Oregon. The title is a deWitt word, reflecting Bob’s extreme immersion in that most honourable of professions, librarian.

For 45 years, Bob’s unambitious career offered two things: a deep sense of fulfilment and a haven from the world, which he preferred to experience through reading.

In retirement, he has no friends or family. He sincerely believes he is “not unhappy”, but that notion is about to be challenged.

DeWitt introduces us to Bob early one morning in 2005, when he awakes from a recurring dream about a gothic-style hotel he visited as a child. As always, the vividness of the dream jolts him; even more, “the feeling of deep love” it evokes.

Bob sticks to a routine, mainly reading, cooking and maintaining the house inherited from his mother. Most days, he also goes for a long walk, meandering around the neighbourhood as a detached observer.

Today is going to be different. It’s freezing, so he pops into a 7-Eleven for a coffee and spots an elderly woman wearing a pink sweat suit and sunglasses, staring mutely at a wall of drink cabinets. She’s been there for 45 minutes, whispers the worried cashier.