The Borrower: A Novel

Wonderful read. Makkai has a brilliant narrative voice and a sense of humor that made me laugh out loud (luckily I was reading at home and not in a public place.)There are few things better than a book written about people who love books.

Btw and in response to other reviews, I don't think Makkai is bashing all Christians in this book - just the ones who make Christianity look narrow minded and bigoted. Those of us that cherish religion and want to make it a positive force in people's live have to own up to the harm that religion and the religious some times perpetrate. We should be our own best critics.

"The Borrower" is a very interesting book that explores some key issues that are always causing contreversy in our world today. The most prevalent issues explored are the issue of gay rights and the issue of raising young children correctly. The protaganist in this story, a librarian named Lucy Hull, entertains you throughout the story with her cheeky lists, interesting thoughts, and funny stories (most of which revolve around her Russian father). The plot consists of Lucy "borrowing" a young child whose parents force their child into conforming to their religous standards. The book is very unique; I enjoyed quite a lot. Recommended!

This is one of those books that really sticks with you. If you are a voracious reader, as I am, or if you have young children, as I do, you will catch (and be able to place) many of the literary references that the author includes in the book. Those make the book more interesting, but catching them is certainly not required to appreciate the novel's meaning or, certainly, to enjoy it. They just, in my opinion, make the ride more worthwhile.

References aside, this is a fabulous book. It's relentlessly engrossing, but it's not your typical summer "beach read". It's so much more than that. It's a book lover's book in the best possible way, and not just because of the literary references. It's one of the first books I've read in a long time that I literally haven't been able to put down. And now that I've finished it, I wish I had read it more slowly so that I could still be enjoying it.

A unique and very interesting plot, relatable and entertaining characters, and a plethora of "morals of the story". All spun together by someone who clearly has a way with words; Makkai is a fabulous storyteller, and I eagerly await her next work. Read this book now. You won't regret it.

Wonderful, witty and full of surprises. The characters are well developed but it was her ability to capture the flaws and peculiarities of them in such a colorful and at the same time simple manner that had me rolling on the floor in laughter.

I would recommend this book to anyone, young or old.

This is a delightful novel about the relationship between a librarian and one of her ten-year-old patrons. As is true of readers, appreciation of the same books builds bonds that transcend differences in age, circumstances, and time, besides breeding understanding that the non-reader will never grasp. This plot is fanciful and far-fetched, but engaging. It is not far-fetched in its emphasis on how books of fiction broaden and ease the challenges of reality. I read a review in a magazine prior to publication, and bought this book for my Kindle within two hours of its release. I had finished reading it in less than 24 hours, and enjoyed every word.

This book started out with an interesting premise and some great observations about being a children's librarian, but it degenerated into unbelievable nonsense once the librarian allowed herself to go on a road trip and literally kidnap one of her young patrons. Totally unbelievable set of circumstances!

Lucy, a librarian in a small Missouri town, finds herself "librarian-napped" by a young boy about whom she's become increasingly concerned. Ian Drake is the precocious son of very fundamentalist parents, who are convinced that he is gay and determined to avert this horror by enrolling him in weekly "rehabilitation" classes held by Pastor Bob, a preacher who was himself "saved" from the gay lifestyle. Ian seems to find his only solace in the aisles of the children's library, despite the fact that his mother refuses to allow him to read most of its books because of their "satanic influence." When Ian convinces her to run away from their town, Lucy unwittingly agrees, setting them up for a long journey across the country where they encounter various interesting characters (including Lucy's father and her sometimes boyfriend) and are able to stay one step ahead of the law for a while. During their trip, Lucy endeavors to rid Ian of his "brainwashing" and make him realize that people can't change who they are. Meaning, that is, that if he's gay, he has a right to be and shouldn't let anyone try to convince him otherwise. Angry at his parents and Pastor Bob, she attempts to "save" him from their influence, believing that she's following in her revolutionary Russian ancestors' footsteps. But, as they get farther and farther away from Missouri, Lucy begins to realize how mistaken many of her own beliefs might be and to question everything that she's doing. Will she succeed in helping Ian before she's hauled away to the police? And does Ian really need that help anyways?

It's hard for me to give a succinct review of this book, as I am torn in how I feel about it. I liked the premise of the book (the idea of a librarian and little boy stealing off to explore the world) and found the characters to be well-developed and the plot intricate enough to keep me interested and reading until the end. However, I couldn't abide the blatant anti-Christian, pro-gay message that seems to run through the entire book and which certainly imparts a cynical, negative propaganda-like feeling to it. On one hand, the author criticizes Christians for grouping all radicals and gays into one generic category and condemning them all while, on the other hand, she is doing the very same thing to the people she's criticizing. Yes, there are horrible people like Pastor Bob out there who twist God's original message of love and salvation for their own means, but not all Christians (not even the majority of Christians) are like that. She condemns all things and all people Christian, not even giving them the benefit of the doubt that she herself asks for. How hypocritical! I also found the pro-gay message of the book irritating. I am a Christian and would never condemn anyone for their sexual orientation or persuasion just because I don't believe that it's right. Just because I struggle with different issues doesn't mean that I'm any better than anyone else or have any right to condemn them for their choices. Lucy, howeve,r seems to believe that, as a Christian, I should encourage them to pursue something that I think is wrong. This is a very touchy issue and I don't want to get into the politics and ethics behind it, but I just had a big problem with her essentially condemning all Christian belief in right and wrong. Besides, whether or not I agree with her stance, for a book of fiction that was supposed to be entertaining, I didn't exactly want the author throwing this preachy social doctrine at my head every two pages.

In conclusion, though it started off promising, I can't recommend this book. The ending was unsatisfactory and the plot and characters, though well written, did not make up for the negative feelings that the book imparted. I'm sorry that a book that sounded so good could end up so disappointing.

I wish I had read all the reviews before investing my time in this book. The main character is an unlikeable children's librarian with no personal ambition or identity but plenty of resentments. The story line is strained and appears to have been designed primarily as a vehicle to present a long list of political and moral judgments. The book's didacticism comes across way too strongly for a novel. Even though I am fairly liberal myself, I found the naive librarian's incessant moral judgments against everything conservative to be far too distracting and self-righteous for the book to be an enjoyable read.

good writing, interesting literary techniques. but long, unnecessarily drawn out premise. somewhat of a disappointing end. main character discovers herself so you assume she'd do something with it when she moves on...

I enjoyed the first of this book as the librarian and young boys relationship was set up. When the kidnapping started, it was too unbelievable. Nobody in their right mind would even consider doing this. In all states it a criminal offense and not too be treated lightly. This is why they have Amber Alerts. The Russian stuff was far fetched and I lost interest in this book because it was just too Off The Wall. If your a librarian which is a very noble profession, love to read, and LOVE your library, buy Dewey The Small Town Cat Who Touched the World. The main character portrayed librarians as drunks which offended me greatly. Waste of my time.

This is a very well-written book, which will appeal to the literary-minded and to book lovers everywhere. A homage to a childhood of books, and examples of their power pepper this story in which a librarian is abducted by a child.(Those who have said it is the other way round have missed the point, the child is kidnapping the world of books in my view.)If you liked "Matilda" as a child, then you will probably enjoy this.

The characters of Ian and Lucy are complex and not easily pigeon-holed; at times the reader is pleasantly confused as to who is the adult and who is the child. But this is like life, and feels refreshingly honest. The journey itself is somewhat aimless, and for me this is the only weak point of the book, that the middle seemed a little too long, but then the plot picked up again and I was once more hooked.

If you are an evangelical Christian, then you may have to consider if it is for you, as the fundamentalist parents are what the two are running from. However, I do not feel the book is deliberately anti-Christian.I feel that Makkai made the choice she did for a reason - fundamentalist Christians use what is written in a book to determine their behaviour, and say it is the literal truth. What Makkai is pointing out is that in the end it is only a book, written on paper, like every other book in the library. And as such, the child (or anyone) could always choose other literature as their raison d'etre. At the same time Makkai shows how real events become fictionalised (as in the Bible) by including an episode from Lucy's father's and grandfather's past where exactly this happens, and the real events grow into something more than they were.

In short, this is an intelligent novel, one to make you think. Definitely worth discussing in a reading group, and spending your money on. I look forward to reading Makkai's next.

This is an excellent novel, and the language use is lovely and fresh. I very much enjoyed the voyage into some of the classics of children's lit that the young librarian references, and the interactions between her and the young boy, and both are well-drawn, interesting characters, as are most of the other characters, many of which are quite memorable. all that being said, I wasn't able to entirely suspend my disbelief about the "kidnapping or kidnapped" plot, their journey as a whole, or the solution she finds for how to help the child for his future. But all in all, it was a very fine novel, a coming-of-age novel (moreso of the librarian than the boy!)