The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

I've been a fan of Makkai's short stories since I first encountered her work in the 2008 Best American Short Stories anthology. I was excited to see that she had published her first novel and even more excited when I saw that she was going to be in town at Longfellow Books to do a reading & signing this Thursday. The book is about a young children's librarian who accidentally kidnaps her favorite patron, a 10 year old boy when he runs away from home and she puts off driving him back home until it's a little too late to not be considered kidnapping. Loved the story, it had a lot of themes interwoven in the book that came together nicely, had very poignant moments and hilarious moments. It was extremely entertaining even when dealing with some serious issues. The reading was amazing, I love to hear authors read their own books as it gives an insight into how they wanted it to sounds. Rebecca is upbeat, gregarious, smart, funny and charming. Absolutely loved it and she signed my Best American Short Stories 2010 that already includes signatures by Karen Russell, Jennifer Egan & Richard Russo. I was lucky enough to have a quick chat with her when she signed my book and got laughing pretty good, so happy I got to go to the event and read the book!