The Case of the Missing Books - Softcover

Sansom, Ian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007206992 ISBN 13: 9780007206995

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2006

Synopsis

Israel, a shy, passionate, intelligent, Jewish vegetarian has just arrived in Ireland to take up his first post as a librarian. But the library's been shut down and Israel ends up stranded on the North Antrim coast driving an old mobile library van.

About this title

About the Author:

Ian Sansom reviews regularly for the Guardian and the London Review of Books. His first book, The Truth About Babies, was published by Granta in 2002, and his second, Ring Road, by Fourth Estate in 2004.

From Booklist:

*Starred Review* In a field crowded with unlikely sleuths, Israel Armstrong--chubby, nervous, clumsy, headache prone, underachieving--stands out. Jewish and vegetarian, he stands out even more when he accepts a job in Tumdrum, Northern Ireland, where it's assumed that, if he's not Protestant, he must be Catholic. Hired to be a librarian, he arrives to find his library closed and his position retitled "Outreach Support Officer"--driver of the decrepit mobile library. Worse, the books he's supposed to fill it with have disappeared. Worse yet, his new boss will accept his resignation only if he finds the missing books first. Between Israel's inept sleuthing and the general unhelpfulness of the locals, it looks as if he'll be in Tumdrum a long, long time. The plot here is an excuse for the scenes, but what scenes! Begging to be read aloud, they unfold with a rollicking blend of dry humor, slapstick, and sheer farce that is nonetheless anchored by a strong sense of place and a sobering sense of the place's troubled history. Librarians have found themselves a new hero in Israel Armstrong, who, despite his unheroic demeanor, is a champion against bullshit and bureaucracy in the service of books. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0007206992
• ISBN 13: 9780007206995
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 344