The Borrower by Rebecca
Makki, above all else, is just a plain book that does not realize that it is a
plain book. It tries to be great in many ways, ways in which I like and some
that I do not like, but it never reaches past anything but a book that is read
out of a faint sense of curiosity and is forgotten almost as soon as you place
it on the book shelf (or if you are like me, sell it at Half Priced Books in
order to make more room for books you may want someday). There is very little I
know about Makki, but judging from her writing style and, superficially, her
author photograph, she seems like a smart confident woman who may verge on the
wrong side of smugness, but, giving her the benefit of the doubt for this
review, she seems nice and I will not be too harsh, because this book is not
bad, just generic. The main character in this novel is a young librarian who
becomes fast friends with an eager young boy enchanted with the world of
fiction. Seeing this boy, who shows latent signs of homosexuality, become the
subject of his parents psychological abuses (which involves taking him to a
sexual reassignment camp, if that is what they are called), she submissively
engages in his plan to run away, leading a journey that unlocks secrets in her
past. If this was a straight-up road novel, I could see myself enjoying it. The
Family Fang was nothing new, but I really liked that. This book tries to be
profound when it should have stuck to the entertainment and suspense. Stops
that involve the librarian’s parents and their move to America, which reek of
second rate Malamud, really derail this book, making the journey of reading it
prolonged and boring. Not much to see here sadly.
Rating: 3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment