Play Book Tag discussion

The Borrower – Rebecca Makkai
Audiobook performed by Emily Bauer
1*

I remember seeing the author when she was on the book tour for this debut novel. I was intrigued by the premise: a young librarian working in the children’s section befriends a 10-year-old boy who seems to have some family issues, and then finds him “sleeping” in the library when he’s run away from home. I knew that the two of them take a bit of a road trip, so I wasn’t surprised by that.

However, I WAS surprised by all the other stuff Makkai threw in here: conspiracy theories, Russian mafia (?), a theatre troupe as roommates, and a possible love interest (?). I never anticipated that the librarian would be such a complete ditz. Lucy Hull doesn’t have the common sense God gave a goose.

I also never got much of a sense of the boy’s parents. Yes, I realize that what little we know is from Ian’s perspective and the little that Lucy has observed in her work as the children’s librarian, but it seemed that they completely dropped out of the story line as soon as the road trip began. Ian, precocious though he may be, was frequently a typical ten-year-old bratty kid, given to whining if things didn’t go his way. I hated the interludes where Makkai would give lists such as “How a ten-year-old boy brushes his teeth.”

I also had problems with the logistics of what Makkai reported. Lucy leaves town with $200 and she stubbornly tries to refuse any money from her parents. If the exact date is mentioned, I missed it, but they have cell phones and computers, although she’s still checking books out using printed cards and date stamps. In any case, $200 won’t go far, even staying at Motel 8, with two rooms each night, and fast food, and gasoline. And then, at the end, (view spoiler)[ she’s gotten some money from her dad, but says she down to “just enough to get us home” and she gives it all to Ian to take the bus (alone … oh, wait, with a stranger who will take care of him), while she drives from Vermont back to Illinois. With what gas money? Is she finally going to use her credit cards? So suddenly she’s no longer afraid they’ll be able to track her this way? (hide spoiler)]

I’m going to stop writing because if I continue, I’ll probably drop the rating down to zero.

Emily Bauer is the narrator of the audiobook. She isn’t credited on the jacket cover, nor on any on-line record I could find, but her name is given at the outset. She does a great job of voicing Ian, making him a believable 10-year-old. But the voice she uses for Lucy? Well, she makes HER sound like she’s younger than Ian!


LINK to my review

I had such a hard time finishing this one. I'm with you about the author adding nonsense into the story. I was slightly more generous and gave it 2 stars. LOL

Oh no! I picked this up at a library sale because I loved The Great Believers so much, but this sounds terrible :(

~*Kim*~ wrote: "I had such a hard time finishing this one. I'm with you about the author adding nonsense into the story. I was slightly more generous and gave it 2 stars. LOL"

The irritatingly young-voiced narrator on the audio lost another 1/2 star, I think. She really made Lucy sound YOUNGER than Ian!

Maybe I'm going to like this one. It sounds interesting to me.

I was more generous with my stars than you were. I'm not sure why because I agree with you on every point. I was also annoyed with the way the book was over hyped when it was released. Some clueless blurb writer even compared this criminal transportation of a minor child to Huckleberry Finn on a raft in the Missouri River. There might have been some redeeming value if the author had allowed Lucy to gain some adult awareness before the end of the book. But I couldn't see any character growth at all.