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A review by liamliayaum
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
4.5
Content warnings: fire, HIV/AIDS mentions
Note: My actual rating is 4.5/5 stars and I decided to round down for GoodReads.
In an attempt to unravel the mystery of the Los Angeles Public Library fire of April 29, 1986, Orlean weaves a narrative about the people in conjunction with the library from its inception to current day (2018 or so), the system of a library, a library's function in society, and how libraries have evolved. Told in a non-linear fashion, the novel jumps from the details about the earliest librarians of the LA Public Library to Orlean's experience with present day workers and back to something around the time of the fire. This nonlinearity is the main reason why I did not rate this five stars, as the juxtapositions were hard for me to follow. Even so, it is rare for me to find appeal in nonfiction, and even more rare for me to gobble it up in a matter of days.
Even as a vivacious reader, I had never heard about this library fire that damaged and destroyed so much history of human memory. Even though the loss of all that material is depressing, the book had an overall optimistic tone, instead relishing in all that libraries provide, which have often been, even in their inception, more than just books. I was fascinated with the descriptions of what libraries have become to people, and how they hold limitless possibilities. It made me want to go to my local library and just snuggle up in it, breathing in life and opportunities.
On the last page, 310, a line struck me as poetic and deeply moving. In discussing the books and libraries themselves, Orlean wrote: "It declares that all these stories matter, and so does every effort to create something that connects us to one another, and to our past and to what is still to come." Books and libraries hold our precious thoughts and memories, the trails and toils of everyday life outside of the glittering grandeur that history seems to favor more. That is an ever lasting legacy.
Note: My actual rating is 4.5/5 stars and I decided to round down for GoodReads.
In an attempt to unravel the mystery of the Los Angeles Public Library fire of April 29, 1986, Orlean weaves a narrative about the people in conjunction with the library from its inception to current day (2018 or so), the system of a library, a library's function in society, and how libraries have evolved. Told in a non-linear fashion, the novel jumps from the details about the earliest librarians of the LA Public Library to Orlean's experience with present day workers and back to something around the time of the fire. This nonlinearity is the main reason why I did not rate this five stars, as the juxtapositions were hard for me to follow. Even so, it is rare for me to find appeal in nonfiction, and even more rare for me to gobble it up in a matter of days.
Even as a vivacious reader, I had never heard about this library fire that damaged and destroyed so much history of human memory. Even though the loss of all that material is depressing, the book had an overall optimistic tone, instead relishing in all that libraries provide, which have often been, even in their inception, more than just books. I was fascinated with the descriptions of what libraries have become to people, and how they hold limitless possibilities. It made me want to go to my local library and just snuggle up in it, breathing in life and opportunities.
On the last page, 310, a line struck me as poetic and deeply moving. In discussing the books and libraries themselves, Orlean wrote: "It declares that all these stories matter, and so does every effort to create something that connects us to one another, and to our past and to what is still to come." Books and libraries hold our precious thoughts and memories, the trails and toils of everyday life outside of the glittering grandeur that history seems to favor more. That is an ever lasting legacy.