The Librarian

by Kavitha Rao

Ever since she could read, Vidya Patel realized that she preferred books to humans. Her family disapproves, but Vidya meanders through life with her nose in a book. When she is ten, she visits the Macmillan, a struggling heritage library in Mumbai. It is in the Macmillan that Vidya truly, finally, feels whole. Vidya befriends Shekhar Raghavan, the brilliant, eccentric librarian, who becomes her mentor. As soon as she is old enough, she joins the library as junior librarian, and throws herself into keeping the Macmillan going, with consequences she could never have foreseen. She also learns the destructive power of obsession, and what it does to people. Will Vidya be able to save the Macmillan? And at what cost? "The Librarian" is a dark, powerful novel that will appeal to everyone who has ever loved a book, or found happiness in a library.

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Kavitha Rao is a writer and a journalist, who writes on current affairs, arts, culture, people, and places. Her writings have been published in several national as well as international papers, including The National Time, The Guardian, New York Times, Elle India, Vogue India, and many more. For The Guardian, she writes a popular column titled Terra India, for which she won Asian Environmental Journalism Award. She is also a representative of a media training company that provides training for speaking in media.

Reviews

[Sumana · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a slow-burn beginning, this novel picked up very nicely towards the middle and then absolutely raced towards an unputdownable climax and ending. Individualistic characters, fairly tight plot (and a twist I did NOT see coming) and a love of words that sings through. This is the author's ode to Bombay. And books. If you love either, this is highly recommended.
Disclaimer: I am friends with the author through social media.

[Piku Sonali · Rating 2 out of 5]

I and my best friend, we really wanted to like this book. A book about books, about libraries, and librarians - it held plenty of attraction for someone like me who is crazy about them. The first three chapters were promising. The protagonist reminded me of myself. But as the story progressed, we were repeatedly put off by the author's condescending tone and average writing. I particularly hated the last 10 chapters because the story meandered and started making less and less sense. It also got facts wrong. For example, in one of the scenes, while the protagonist is walking down a set of rickety stairs, she mentions how Emperor Jahangir fell to his death from the stairs. When, in fact, it was actually Humayun (Jahangir's grandfather) who died that way. Emperor Jahangir fell sick, never recovered and died while traveling.
Having said that, there are some things to like about in the book. It is filled generously with lovely quotes from books. Every chapter begins with a quote. A lot of good books and authors are mentioned and it made me nostalgic. I wanted, once again, to dive into my bookshelf to read all those wonderful books that I grew up with. If only, the author had refrained from taking petty swipes at some of the other authors or concentrated on making the story a little better, we'd have liked it more. So, yet another, failed Bombay experiment for me and Bestie. But, we are positive, better books await us....

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book from the time that I first heard about it. I love books and libraries, and in fact, my first full-time job was in a library. Like Vidya Patel, the narrator of THE LIBRARIAN, I didn't earn very much in my job, and I probably would have had to live with my parents forever if I'd continued working there, or stay in a YWCA-type hostel, like Vidya.

In the beginning, Vidya's story has an easy charm, though she hints at complications to come. You might think that there would be no drama in a library, but you would be wrong. And when the drama kicks in, it's hard to put the book down.

Having just returned from a literary festival in Kolkata, it was fun to read about prominent Indian authors I'd seen on stage, such as Ruskin Bond and Kiran Nagarkar, and as a fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald, I enjoyed how Rao wove The Great Gatsby into the plot.

Although some Americans might find the occasional untranslated phrases frustrating, and a few cultural references will be hard to understand, there's always the Internet.

[Vaidya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book. Lots of literary references and quotes. And a fair bit of witty lampooning of the usual authors, who people who read lampoon. Of course, quite possible some of your fav authors also end up there. :)

The plot moves fast taking an unexpected twist at the end. You realise the library itself is a bit like the ring in LOTR, making people do things for it, and it takes on a dark turn in the end, but you should’ve seen it coming.

Overall, a fun book for those who love books.

[Sheetal Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lived in the world of Vidya and Shekhar for two entire days while I was reading the book. Love for the books, words, Mumbai all resonated with me. Superb characterisation of the characters as well as the library. Felt the joy with Vidya in library and cried with her on turn of the events. It's twists and turns kept me engrossed till the end. A wonderful read.

[Aathira Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the things I will remember the most about this book would be the chapter beginings.... the excerpts from famous works, so apt for the storyline. The plot was simple, easy to read but the this is not a book which I felt very drawn to, or something which I was compelled to read and finish in one go. I am not sure if I would suggest this to someone, except for those beautiful chapter openings.

[Abhijit Mishra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an amazing novel for me! The writing style, the narration of story, the treatment and developing of it's characters, all of these things have been done beautifully by the author. By reading this book I can surely say the author really loves to read books. This book kept me on the edge, especially during the later half of the book, and it's end was quite satisfactory for me. Of course any novel can never be without it's share of little, tiny flaws here and there but for me all the things in it were terrific to the very end. For me every story, whether fictitious or non-fictitious has some kind of moral hidden to it, and after reading this novel I came to the conclusion that too much of anything and everything is always bad and harmful, which is so very true!! I strongly recommend this to anyone who likes suspenseful novels with a good story line!

[Captain Haddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of a girl named Vidya Patel, who preferred books to humans. Instead of several reminder from her Conservative parents, she joins the Macmilian, a struggling as well as dying heritage library of Mumbai. Where she found Shekher Raghavan, the brilliant eccentric librarian, who become her mentor and guide. Finally Macmilian become her life, her everything. She met Mrs. Sen, the Assistant Librarian, Depaak, the Peon and Imran, the Book binder. Later she took the job of Junior Librarian in the Macmilian. Due to strong disapproval of her parents, she left the house and start living in the ladies hostel. But the Macmilian is dying. Government have decided to stop funding the Library. Due to such decision, the Mumbai's once pride library, Macmilian, facing a tremendous pressure to close down. But the Librarian, Sekher Raghavan, who can do just anything to save Macmilian, played a very dangerous game. But the consequences of that game cost them huge. Not only Shekher suffers but all of there life have become traumatised. Can they save Macmilian? If they, but in what cost.! They saved the books, but did not save themselves. The destructive power of obsession and love for books can even cost there life. Author Kavitha Rao, wonderfully revels the relationship with books and book lovers. She wonderfully crafted the chareters and there relations with the book and library. "The Librarian" is a dark, passionate and obsessed novel that will appeal to everybody who has ever loved a book.

[Vidya Gopal · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading - the grim premise - ‘a girl who loved books more than people’ seemed a bit much, misanthropic- The mood shifts - when the tallest protagonist of the novel- the Macmillan library makes an entry. The Victorian era heritage library -described in rich detail by the author - wins you over,You root for it. The characters are well carved out, very compelling and refreshingly frugal.it’s nice to read unusual but real characters that are written so well- that you know what they will do next. I must add - the library too has a lot of personality ... not all things nice- it’s demanding, grumpy , all consuming and possessive.
There is a clarity and focus about the book that makes it very immersive ( also a lot of research has gone in and it shows)- it haunted me for a bit after I finished - but you see that coming all through the read.

[Priyadarshini · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s all about loving the books.

I’ll be honest. It’s such a boring title! However, I love following this author/journalist on Twitter and finally decided to give the book a chance. So I started reading what began as this lovely book about this little girl called Vidya, who, like Matilda, loves reading books but her parents cannot understand why she won’t just watch the television like normal people. Vidya finds a friend, philosopher and guide at a library that she begins visiting, and when she’s old enough, he offers her a job. It is unbelievable how lovingly and interestingly the author writes about what really goes into the day to day running of a library and I kept turning the pages till at about 80% mark, shit hits the fan. The climactic events are completely out of tone from the rest of the book and perhaps the reason why I don’t know how to feel about this book as a whole. But I really did love 80% of the book! It is an interesting premise for a book and if it seems a bit unbelievable, one only needs to be reminded that more often than not, fact is stranger than fiction, so maybe suspension of disbelief isn’t such an impossible idea in this case.

[Sanjeev Chhabra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book that captures you with it's premise: a girl who'd rather be with people than with books!
A few pages in, she takes you The Macmillan, a library which breathes like every traditional library you have walked in. Now you're hooked.

But the author does not fall into that trap.

She remembers that a book is a journey of emotions. In this case, it is a journey you don't want to end. Each chapter makes you relive a part of your life that had been blurred out by the screens that are your daily fix.

The Librarian is not just about books or a library. It's a story of a Life, so captivating that at a point I wanted to be reborn as the protagonist.

[earlgrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first part of the book introduces you to Vidya's world of books, and her growing passion for them when she first started reading, and her passion for them in the 'present'.
As Vidya grows up, she matures and learns more about the harsh realities of the world, and of the price she has to pay for the books she love. This story portrays obsession, friendship, familial love and pride/honour. An interesting feature: quotes are found at the beginning of each chapter.
Certainly a book suited for those who love books.

[Nandini · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few books I truly enjoyed and one that has left a lasting mark on me as a book lover and wannabe librarian. I found myself stopping every few pages and savoring the description and progression of the novel and also being able to see myself in the protgonist. I did feel that towards the middle/end of the book, the narrative started to meander about but it quickly got back on its feet to a harrowing, abrupt, and satisfyingly anticlimactic ending. The book left me in shambles, like only few over these years have.

[Vax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping!

A wonderfully narrated captivating story. As someone who loves reading, I could connect with it! I'd highly recommend this to anyone who loves books.

[Student · Rating 1 out of 5]

When a book about a library says Emperor Jehangir fell down the stairs of his library and died, you want to behead the writer and the editor for not knowing it was Humayun. This could have been a wonderful book. Alas, shoddy editing, a pompous tone, and petty swipes at other writers makes this a painful read.