Summer Hours At The Robbers Library; A Novel

Halpern, Sue

ISBN 10: 0062678965 / ISBN 13: 9780062678966

Published by Harper Perennial, New York, 2018

About this Item

The format is approximately 5.25 inches by 8 inches. [8], 368, [8] pages. The cover has some wear and soiling. Inscribed by the author on the title page. Inscription reads For Kyra & for Libraries! Sue Halpern. From journalist and author Sue Halpern comes a wry, observant look at contemporary life. Halpern's novel is an unforgettable tale of family.the kind you come from and the kind you create. For head librarian Kit, the public library in Riverton, New Hampshire, offers what she craves most: peace. Here, no one expects Kit to talk about the calamitous events that catapulted her out of what she thought was a settled, suburban life. She can simply submerge herself in her beloved books and try to forget her problems. But that changes when fifteen-year-old, home-schooled Sunny gets arrested for shoplifting a dictionary. The judge throws the book at Sunny, literally, assigning her to do community service at the library for the summer. Bright, curious, and eager to connect with someone other than her off-the-grid hippie parents, Sunny coaxes Kit out of her self-imposed isolation. They're joined by Rusty, a Wall Street high-flyer suddenly crashed to earth. In this little library that has become the heart of this small town, Kit, Sunny, and Rusty are drawn to each other, and to a cast of other offbeat regulars. As they come to terms with how their lives have unraveled, they also discover how they might knit them together again and finally reclaim their stories. The author is a Guggenheim Fellow and Rhodes Scholar with a doctorate from Oxford, the author of a book that was made an Emmy-nominated film. Derived from a Kirkus review: In the faded industrial town of Riverton, New Hampshire, the local library becomes a beacon for lost souls. Journalist-author Halpern has written a sweet novel with genuine charm. Prominent among the lost souls is the librarian, Kit, 44, a sardonic, highly secretive woman trying to recover from a bad marriage. Fifteen-year-old Sunny is working at the library over the summerâ "court-ordered penance for stealing a dictionaryâ "and trying to figure out her oddball parents, latter-day hippies with a secret of their own. Then there's Rusty, 39, a one-time Wall Street high roller, down on his luck but with an improbable scheme to collect money from an old Riverton bank account that belonged to his mother. Joining in are The Four, lovable old-timers who "treated the [library] like a clubhouse." The narrative kicks into high gear with a death and a fire that lead to various resolutions. It's about recovering from loss and building a family with people to whom you're not necessarily related. There are a number of affecting moments. The novel is suffused with a love of books and readingâ "each section starts with a line of poetry from a noted poetâ "and in the end, the library's endearing denizens prove to be very good company. First Edition [stated]. Fourth printing [stated].

Seller Inventory # 86881

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Summer Hours At The Robbers Library; A Novel
• Publisher: Harper Perennial, New York
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0062678965
• ISBN 13: 9780062678966
• Binding: Trade paperback
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Refugees

About this title

Synopsis

“Sometimes the best stories in the library aren’t found on its shelves; they’re walking through its doors and congregating by the reference desk. Sue Halpern knows this and mines the setting for comic and tragicomic gold.”—Marilyn Johnson, author of This Book Is Overdue! and The Deadbeat

From journalist and author Sue Halpern comes a wry, observant look at contemporary life and its refugees. Halpern’s novel is an unforgettable tale of family. . . the kind you come from and the kind you create.

People are drawn to libraries for all kinds of reasons. Most come for the books themselves, of course; some come to borrow companionship. For head librarian Kit, the public library in Riverton, New Hampshire, offers what she craves most: peace. Here, no one expects Kit to talk about the calamitous events that catapulted her out of what she thought was a settled, suburban life. She can simply submerge herself in her beloved books and try to forget her problems.

But that changes when fifteen-year-old, home-schooled Sunny gets arrested for shoplifting a dictionary. The judge throws the book at Sunny—literally—assigning her to do community service at the library for the summer. Bright, curious, and eager to connect with someone other than her off-the-grid hippie parents, Sunny coaxes Kit out of her self-imposed isolation. They’re joined by Rusty, a Wall Street high-flyer suddenly crashed to earth.  

In this little library that has become the heart of this small town, Kit, Sunny, and Rusty are drawn to each other, and to a cast of other offbeat regulars. As they come to terms with how their lives have unraveled, they also discover how they might knit them together again and finally reclaim their stories.

About the Author

Sue Halpern is the author of eight books of fiction and nonfiction, most recently Summer Hours at the Robbers Library. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine, the New York Review of Books, Rolling Stone, and Condé Nast Traveler. A former New Yorker staff writer, she lives in Vermont with her husband, the writer and environmental activist Bill McKibben, and is a scholar-in-residence at Middlebury College.