The Borrower

The Borrower is the superb first novel by acclaimed short story writer Rebecca Makkai. Lucy Hull, a bright college graduate who suffers from a distinct lack of motivation, winds up working in a library in Missouri, checking out classics and recommending her favourites to the local kids. Ian Drake is never out of the place. He finds solace there from his overbearing mother, and reads everything Lucy finds for him. Reprimanded by the glacial Mrs Drake for passing on filth to her son, Lucy begins to see that the control exerted over Ian's reading extends to every area of his life. And then one day, entirely by accident, Lucy kidnaps him. They embark on a road trip with no idea of the destination, followed by Lucy's on-off musician boyfriend, a shady Russian in a white car, and tormented by her parents, who, it would seem, still have stories of their own to share. The Borrower is a novel about stories; the ones we read, the ones we discover, sometimes even the ones we create. It's about journeys and how we got to where we are. This is a dazzling first novel from an exciting and original voice.