PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK --- deWitt's novels are always quirky, sideways types of books about people who don't quite fit in with the world around them. In this new novel, his main character is 71 year old Bob Comet, a retired librarian who likes to take long walks and read fiction. He doesn't have any friends or family, lives in the house he grew up in, was married once, very briefly and long ago, and keeps himself to himself. It's enough for him to look at the world around him, or to read books about it. But a chance encounter with a uncommunicative resident of an old folks' home gives him a reason to finally engage with other people - the perpetually grumpy Jill, the outrageous Linus, and the gentle supervisor Maria, who allows Bob to volunteer at the home. As the novel unfolds, the reader is taken back to the important times in Bob's life - when he met Ethan,his best and only friend, and Connie who became his wife - and the few days at the end of WWII when Bob had An Adventure. A compassionate and gently skewed story of a introverted man who has been content with his lot, but who finds that his lot can be more when he least expects it… - Lindy
'I absolutely adored it' NINA STIBBE
Selected as a Washington Post Book of the Summer
From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes a novel about an ordinary man who thought life’s surprises were behind him – until a chance encounter changed everything.
Patrick deWitt is the author of The Sisters Brothers, which won the Governor General's Award and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Walter Scott Prize, and was adapted for a film starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Joaquin Phoenix and Riz Ahmed.. He also is the author of Ablutions, which was a New York Times Editor's Choice, Undermajordomo Minor, and French Exit, which was adapted for a film starring Michelle Pfeiffer and shortlisted for the Giller Prize. Born in British Columbia, Canada, deWitt now resides in Portland, Oregon.
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK --- deWitt's novels are always quirky, sideways types of books about people who don't quite fit in with the world around them. In this new novel, his main character is 71 year old Bob Comet, a retired librarian who likes to take long walks and read fiction. He doesn't have any friends or family, lives in the house he grew up in, was married once, very briefly and long ago, and keeps himself to himself. It's enough for him to look at the world around him, or to read books about it. But a chance encounter with a uncommunicative resident of an old folks' home gives him a reason to finally engage with other people - the perpetually grumpy Jill, the outrageous Linus, and the gentle supervisor Maria, who allows Bob to volunteer at the home. As the novel unfolds, the reader is taken back to the important times in Bob's life - when he met Ethan,his best and only friend, and Connie who became his wife - and the few days at the end of WWII when Bob had An Adventure. A compassionate and gently skewed story of a introverted man who has been content with his lot, but who finds that his lot can be more when he least expects it… - Lindy
I absolutely adored it. I loved Bob - his position over to the side of charisma and horribleness, out of the game, his notions and his demeanour ... This beautiful book took me far away from all my concerns. It’s so wonderful, soothing and heartbreaking -- Nina Stibbe Tidily crafted and pleasantly life-affirming * Irish Times * A lovely curio of a novel * Spectator * This whimsical novel from former Booker Prize finalist deWitt is a delight * Mail on Sunday * Full of subtle reflections on contemporary life and has a deceptively biting humour * independent.co.uk * Memorable characters and a strain of burlesque comedy swirl through this story spanning the life of a retired librarian ... deWitt takes us on a waltzer of a ride, twisting through Bob’s life * Financial Times * deWitt is one of the great literary ventriloquists, producing funny, quirky, richly imagined novels shaped each time by a wildly different narrative voice * Daily Mail * A poignant character study ... deWitt’s writing and endearing characters create a memorable world * Los Angeles Times * Light, bright, beguiling, a quirky delight ... DeWitt’s great gift lies in his ability to depict the Everyman in extremis – heroism hidden in plain sight * Telegraph * “I found the whole reading experience utterly charming … The dialogue is fresh and characters come alive immediately on the page ... There’s simply an energy to deWitt’s books that make them pleasurable to spend time with, and that’s all on display in The Librarianist * Chicago Tribune * One of his best * New European * Wildly imaginative, genre-defying * Washington Post, Books of the Summer 2023 * This engrossing fictional portrait of a retired librarian volunteering at an old folks home unspools its main character’s life - betrayals, loss, triumphs - with humor and tenderness * Vanity Fair * That Patrick deWitt has pulled off this deceptively risky style of narrative is proof of his considerable skills as an author * The Lady * A touching, affectionate novel, showing … that engagement in old age is a courageous act to be applauded * Big Issue, Summer books: The hottest fiction to read in 2023 * The great chronicler of American weirdos is back with his warmest novel yet ... No one writes loopier, funnier dialogue * Slate * A character study of almost defiant gentleness * The Times * Gripping, random, and totally alive ... Readers come to deWitt for his brand of slightly off-kilter storytelling blessed with exuberant characterizations, gleeful dialogue, and a proprietary blend of darkness and charm, all strung up in lights here * Booklist * An old man’s routines are interrupted by a woman in pink in this wistful fable … A quietly effective and moving character study * Kirkus (starred review) * deWitt imbues the people he meets with color and quirks, leaving a trail of sparks ... This one gradually takes hold until it won’t let go * Publishers Weekly * Praise for French Exit: 'Made me so happy ... Brilliant, addictive, funny and wise -- Andrew Sean Greer, author of Less My favourite book of his yet -- Maria Semple, author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette Pure joy * Mail on Sunday * Buoyantly insane * New Yorker * Dazzling . deWitt writes in a gorgeously relaxed, freeform style, dabbing a clause here, a phrase there. The book is studded with tiny pleasures . Sharp and strange . DeWitt's particular comic genius is to evoke the darkness behind the dazzle ... Whichever style he adopts or genre he inhabits, deWitt remains a true original * Guardian *
