NPR sums up Bennett’s novel by saying it is “life tracked through the lens of books.” Yes. This novel is a book-lovers delight. The protagonist gives books to friends and acquaintances, receives books, and provides commentary on books as a life’s vocation. She is a writer and develops her thoughts and establishes her identity through reading and writing.
The storyteller speaks in a stream-of-consciousness style, and since she has read so much and connects many seemingly unrelated ideas, some of her passages can seem like ranting. The reader must recognize her creativity and genius in combining so many thoughts with memories of so much she had read.
The protagonist marks time in her life by the books she reads and the authors available to her. Her relationships focus on discussions and agreements about the written word.
She shares her books with others and determines whether they have common ground based on their ability to discuss ideas proposed in books. Her writing is autobiographical, painfully honest, and sometimes alarming. No topic is sacred, and she will write about whatever invades her psyche; she has done that since she was young and often refers to a teacher who has read her private thoughts in the back of a notebook.
The epigraph of this book states that “Expression is insanity.” Sometimes the text of this novel sounds like insanity. Still, it is so fascinating to a reader who is impressed and intrigued by the unpredictable nature of a well-read mind interpreting the world.
