Patrick deWitt depicts the loneliness and fullness of an introvert's life

The Next Chapter17:52Patrick deWitt on The Librarianist

Ryan B. Patrick interviews Patrick deWitt about his new novel, The Librarianist.

Through witty dialogue and humour, Patrick deWittdemonstrates both the introvert's brilliance and complexities, emotions and stillness, through the protagonist Bob Comet a retired librarian in his latest novel,The Librarianist.

In The Librarianist, Bob is content spending the rest of his days reading in his Oregon home. But then a chance encounter with an older woman in the supermarket brings him to the senior centre, where he begins volunteering. There, through conversations and reflection that weave back and forth in time, and a few funny characters, Bob's life story is slowly revealed.

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deWitt is a novelist from Portland, Ore., by way of Vancouver Island. He has written several novels, including The Sisters Brothers,Undermajordomo Minor and French Exit.The film adaptation of The Sisters Brotherspremiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival starred Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed. His other books include Undermajordomo Minor and French Exit.

The Librarianistis on theCBCBooks summer reading list.

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deWitt spoke to Ryan B. Patrick about The Librarianist on The Next Chapter.

The protagonist of this novel is Bob Comet. When I think of his last name Comet, I think motion, speed, impact. But I wouldn't necessarily use those words to describe him. How would you describe Bob and his life right now?

I would agree with you that the name is misleading. I think that he's sort of the opposite. He's fairly stationary, and very much inside himself and he has an active inner life, but it's not represented in his outward appearance. This is somebody who is a career librarian who is an introvert more or less from birth, who has devoted a large portion of his life to reading about people rather than living among them.

There's some dramatic turns, but generally speaking, he's lived his life through the books he's read, and this is not something that he laments or feels particularly sorrowful about. But at certain points in the book, you see that he is happy for company, or for some society, and the senior centre sort of represents what you call a soft landing for him. It represents a peer group that he didn't know he craved.

The structure of the book weaves back and forth in time to give us a fuller picture of Bob's life. In fact, we find out early in the story that Bob wasn't always alone. In his 20s, he was married to Connie. She's more daring than Bob what does she see in him?

I think [she] is coming out of a particular situation where she was more or less kept under lock and key by her father and in marrying Bob this is the late 50s, a way out. But she also recognizes in Bob somebody that she could love and does eventually fall in love with his modesty, his kindness, his lack of guile or meanness.

Her father is not an evil man, but he's sort of a demented religious zealot, and Bob represents more or less the opposite of that, a very sort of sane and safe place. She just finds Bob lovable.

And Bob, more or less, is not considered, being such an introvert, the idea of romantic entanglement, or marriage or any of the traditional trappings of modern romance, but when Connie comes along, he finds himself falling in love with her, and this was something that he hadn't anticipated. And so it's very heavy for both of them.

There's this through line of love in the story. There's points in his life where he's given love or he finds his people. What do you want to explore about love in this novel?

You invent these characters and some you care for more than others. I felt a sympathy and a reverence, I suppose, for Bob. You want what's best for these individuals. I wanted him to know love. I knew that it probably wouldn't be something that would last, because it's just not the nature of Bob's story.

And there is a lot of sorrow in Bob's story. But ultimately, I think that he does have not just love in terms of receiving it, but I think he feels that he has lots to give, which is, I think, surprising for him.

I wanted him to know what it felt like to be loved and appreciate his receiving it. I just wanted Bob to feel that he was one among many, rather than one sort of on his own. And I believe he gets there at the end.

As I'm reading this book, I find myself asking what makes a well lived life? What does it mean to you?

Well, I think there's just a question of, in looking back, did you use your time wisely and did you get to be the person you'd hope to be?

I think for most of us the answer is not quite, you know, and it's just usually sort of skewing somewhat to the negative, but hopefully it's not so far from the original aim as to create a sense of bitterness or anger.

Ideally, a person at the end of his or her life looks back and recognizes that he [or she] did accomplish some of the things he or she set out to do. And that he was one among a group of people who collaborated towards something bigger than himself or herself.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.