First published in French in 2010 with the English translation published in 2013, The library of unrequited love by Sophie Divry consists of a 92 page monologue issued by a librarian who, before opening hours, discovers a patron who has slept overnight in the library. The patron is told that he has to wait the two hours until opening time before he can leave and in the meantime the librarian provides him with a cup of coffee along with her views of libraries, books, library users, library staff, library bureaucrats, the Dewey Decimal Classification System, French culture, the Arts interspersed with her comments about a young researcher, Martin, who she wishes would notice her.
The only voice we hear throughout the book is that of the librarian and although it is obvious that at times the patron interjects we only hear her responses to his reactions. This amusing book is written as one paragraph and should be read in one sitting to be fully appreciated. Anyone who works in libraries or uses libraries should enjoy this short tale.
No comments:
Post a Comment