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Articles by Patrick deWitt
Dodge City | Bookreporter.com
A young man embarks on an amphetamine-fueled cross-country trip after he’s drafted to fight in Vietnam in Patrick DeWitt’s wryly observant new novel. DODGE CITY begins when an unwelcome and unexpected draft notice slips through Lee Clarke’s mail slot one “neutral, blinding day in Southern California.” Lee has expected to avoid military service.
Dodge City by Patrick deWitt - review by Joseph Williams
Stuck in the Slow Lane By Fourth Estate 248pp £18.99 Subscribe or Sign In to read the full article For People Who Devour Books Only a selection of our reviews and articles are free. Subscribers receive the monthly magazine and access to all articles on our website. Visit our Bookshop Browse our selection of reviewed and recommended books
Proof of Progress
Elizabeth Castellano. Harper, $26.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-06-349027-7 Castellano (Save What’s Left) shines in this charming and sharp-witted tale of an aging character actor and the memoir she was supposed to write decades earlier. The novel is cleverly framed as the published memoir of Maria Astorini, now 65. In an author’s note, Maria explains that she signed a book contract back in 1988, when she was a B-list actor and regular on the late-night TV circuit.
DODGE CITY | Kirkus Reviews
Sharp writing, vivid characters, and puzzle box plotting bring the trilogy to a ringing conclusion. A dark fantasy set on the Yale campus ends with a bang. Galaxy “Alex” Stern of Lethe House, one of Yale’s storied secret societies, has been to hell and back. That was in Hell Bent (2023), the middle book in Bardugo’s Ninth House trilogy, where the secret societies wield not just temporal power but magic as well.
Our July Author of the Month: PATRICK DEWITT
The Librarianist Hardcover $32.99 Reader Reward Price: $29.69 Fiction / LiteraryFiction / Family LifeFiction / Friendship THE INSTANT #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER Winner, 2024 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes the story of Bob Comet, a man who has lived his life through and for literature, unaware that his own experience is a poignant and affecting narrative in itself.
Impotent Revenge
Patrick deWitt is the sort of writer you imagine checking his emails on an old desktop computer in the library. His five deceptively simple novels suggest pleasant, old-fashioned things. They hinge on traditional plot devices – misunderstandings, a letter delivered or undelivered, a chance meeting. There is no modern technology here. In deWitt’s first novel, Ablutions (2009), the narrator repeatedly takes a telephone off the wall and throws it in the bin.
Vulgarity, Death, and Patrick deWitt
Just a heads up before we begin, this episode includes some discussion of suicide. Please take care while listening. PATRICK: My son’s 19 now, but for many years we would go to all the superhero movies. And you go to go and you go for the noise of it and the bombast, and it's an assault. It's essentially like you're being beaten over the head, but the universe is in peril, and you can't feel anything. You're witnessing a spectacle.
Patrick deWitt’s ‘The Librarianist’ wins 2024 Oregon Book Award for fiction; Erica Berry’s ‘Wolfish’ wins for creative nonfiction
Patrick deWitt, the Canadian-born author now based in Portland, won the Ken Kesey Award for Fiction during Monday’s 37th annual Oregon Book Awards for his novel The Librarianist. The ceremony, hosted by poet and New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander, took place in Portland Center Stage’s The Armory before an enthusiastic crowd of book-loving attendees, many of whom shopped the Broadway Books lobby table before and after the event.
The bestselling Canadian books of the week
The bestselling Canadian books of the week | CBC Books Loaded Books Here are the bestselling Canadian fiction, nonfiction and kids books from Dec. 31, 2023 to Jan. 6, 2024. Here are the bestselling Canadian fiction, nonfiction and kids books from Dec. 31, 2023 to Jan. 6, 2024. Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores. Canadian fiction Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein is the #1 Canadian fiction book this week.
40 great books to get you - or someone on your gift list - through the winter
Do the folks on your holiday list want something to read? Of course, they do! We recommend 40 books that will thrill you, warm your heart, make you laugh and maybe change the way you see the world.
New library books
These works of humorous fiction are newly available through the Allen County Public Library. “The Good Part” by Sophie Cousens When she makes a wish to skip to the good part of her life, 26-year-old Lucy Young wakes up to a handsome husband, a high-powered job and two perfect children. As she embraces the new relationships and the perks of maturity, she must ask herself some difficult questions.
Literary Review of Canada
Patrick deWitt’s The Librarianist is, as the novel’s title suggests, about a librarian. As the obscure word “librarianist” further suggests, working in a library can be more than just a job. It can be something of an art, a calling.
Our 5 Most Popular Posts: August 2023
We love every piece we run. There are no winners or losers. But all kidding aside, here are August’s winners. Elizabeth J. Moore’s review of Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire & Revolution in the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernández (W.W. Norton & Company).
The Librarianist.
Patrick deWitt, a Canadian-born novelist and screenwriter, is the author of four previous novels: Ablutions: Notes for a Novel (2009); The Sisters Brothers (**** Sept/Oct 2011), a western, of sorts, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and became the basis for a movie; Undermajordomo Minor (**** Nov/Dec 2015), a gothic fable; and French Exit Nov/Dec 2018), a comedy of manners. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
The Librarianist
Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio Beyond the Book: V-E Day Become a Member Join BookBrowse today to start discovering exceptional books! Top Picks Members Recommend Who Said... Education is the period during which you are being instructed by somebody you do not know, about something you do ... Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes! Wordplay Solve this clue: and be entered to win..
The Librarianist
The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt Bob, an aging librarian, looks back on his life: childhood adventure, WWII, love won, then lost. This familiar setup is livened up not just by DeWitt's deft eccentricity and deadpan humor but by a likable skepticism of personal growth in favor of belief in the oddity and beauty of the human character. Nora, R.J. Julia Booksellers, Madison
The Librarianist
After 50 years of working at the same branch library in Portland, Oregon, Bob Comet --- now in his early 70s --- is struggling a bit with retirement. Back when he was working at the library, he treasured his routines.
The Librarianist: A Novel
Around midway through The Librarianist, Patrick deWitt’s latest novel, we arrive at the year 1945, a few days before the conclusion of the Second World War. Bob Comet, 11 years old and dissatisfied with home and a mother who doesn’t understand him, has fled on a train and then a bus to the Hotel Elba in Oregon. It’s on this runaway journey that he meets two elderly traveling actresses, Ida and June.
THE LIBRARIANIST
by Patrick deWitt ‧ A quietly effective and moving character study. An old man’s routines are interrupted by a woman in pink in this wistful fable. Bob Comet, a retired librarian, is 71 and has lived an unremarkable life in Portland, Oregon, in a mint-colored house that belonged to his late mother.
THE LIBRARIANIST
Jim Meskimen presents this tribute to reading, books, and librarians. Listeners meet retired librarian Bob Comet, whose seemingly uneventful life is rich with kindness, challenges, and triumphs. Meskimen's lonely, compassionate Bob, who's lived in the same place since childhood, rescues a lost woman, returns her to her care home, and surprises himself by volunteering there.
Patrick DeWitt: Hardcover: 9780063085121: Powell's Books
by Patrick Dewitt Release Date: 7/13/2023 Upcoming Event Bob Comet is a retired librarian passing his solitary days surrounded by books and small comforts in a mint-colored house in Portland, Oregon. One morning on his daily walk he encounters a confused elderly woman lost in a market and returns her to the senior center that is her home. Hoping to fill the void he’s known since retiring, he begins volunteering at the center.
Summary and Reviews of The Librarianist by Patrick deWitt
About This Book Summary Excerpt Book Summary From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes the story of Bob Comet, a man who has lived his life through and for literature, unaware that his own experience is a poignant and affecting narrative in itself. Bob Comet is a retired librarian passing his solitary days surrounded by books and small comforts in a mint-colored house in Portland, Oregon.
Boek | The Librarianist - Patrick deWitt
From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes a novel about an ordinary man who thought life's surprises were behind him - until a chance encounter changes everything Bob Comet is a retired librarian passing his solitary days surrounded by books in a mint-colored house in Portland, Oregon. One morning on his daily walk he encounters a confused elderly woman lost in a market and returns her to the senior center that is her home.
Powell's 2023 Book Preview: The Third Quarter by Powell's Staff
We love the summertime. We love reading. We love reading in the summertime. We love yelling about the books we’re most excited to read during the summertime. Which is perfect, because it’s time for our third book preview of the year — the post where Powell’s booksellers get to yell about the summer book releases they can’t wait to see hit the shelves. Go ahead: hit that preorder button. Your future self will thank you.
Win A Copy Of The Book 'The Librarianist: A Novel' By Patrick deWitt
Bob Comet is a retired librarian passing his solitary days surrounded by books and small comforts in a mint-colored house in Portland, Oregon. One morning on his daily walk he encounters a confused elderly woman lost in a market and returns her to the senior center that is her home. Hoping to fill the void he’s known since retiring, he begins volunteering at the center.
15 must-read books coming summer 2023 (and beyond)
Summer is about more than beach reads. Don’t get us wrong — there’s nothing wrong with taking something light and escapist to your favorite oceanside spot, but it’s also perfectly fine to retreat to the darkest, most air-conditioned room you can find with a book, a glass of water (or whatever), and try to forget that triple digits are on the way. And you have a lot to choose from this summer.
Review: A quirky librarian learns what life is like when you check out more than books
I think each Patrick deWitt novel is going to be the one that helps everyone fall in love with his writing, but "The Librarianist" could finally do it. The Canadian has written five novels, addressing wildly different subjects but all with a low-key sense of humor that's a bit like "Grand Budapest Hotel" filmmaker Wes Anderson's, except all deWitt characters don't talk alike.
AudioFile Editors Pick 10 Sizzling Audiobooks for July
What’s the soundtrack of your summer going to be? We suggest sizzling new fiction audiobooks from Colson Whitehead, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Chuck Tingle, plus a highly-anticipated memoir from K-pop band BTS. Happy summer, and happy listening! SUNSHINE NAILS by Mai Nguyen, read by Carolina Do, David Lee Huynh, Quyen Ngo, VyVy Nguyen, Trieu Tran Simon & Schuster Audio Release date: July 4 A Vietnamese family in Toronto fights to save their nail salon from a gentrifying neighborhood.
Our Most Anticipated Books July 2023
By Brittany Bunzey / June 21, 2023 at 3:01 am Share Share this page on Facebook Share this page on Twitter Grab your favorite drink from our café, pick up these books, and get ready for a phenomenal month of great reads. With new books from favorite authors and scintillating debuts, our most anticipated books this July are the perfect additions to shelves, TBR piles and vacation reading.
The Librarianist.
Literary Fiction A surefire way to get bibliophiles to root for your book is to give them a bookish protagonist like Bob Comet, the 71-year-old main character of The Librarianist (Ecco, $30, 9780063085121), Patrick deWitt's fifth novel. Bob prefers to communicate with the world "mainly by reading about it. . . . The truth was that people made him tired." He couldn't have picked a better career, dedicating 45 years of his life to working as a librarian in Portland, Oregon.
By Patrick deWitt.
July 2023. 352p. Ecco, $30 (9780063085121); e-book (9780063085145). REVIEW. First published June 1, 2023 (Booklist). Seventy-ish Bob Comet begins a lecture in a sparsely filled room at the Gambell-Reed Senior Center, “We read as a way to come to grips with the randomness of our being alive.” Bob’s audience isn’t convinced, but deWitt’s will be, splendidly so. His fifth novel is the unfettered tale of steady Bob and that special kind of book that reads like several in one.
French Exit an odd, delightful film worth the watch
DETAILS French Exit Stars 3.0 Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, Valerie Mahaffey, Imogen Poots, Susan Coyne, Danielle Macdonald, Isaach de Bankolé, and the voice of Tracy Letts Written by Patrick deWitt, based on his novel Directed by Azazel Jacobs Rated: 14A for coarse language, smoking, and violence Runtime: 114 minutes Playing at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 15 at the Arden Theatre as part of Reel Mondays.
9 of the Best Genre-Bending Gothic Fiction Books
FSG / MCD. A triumphant, genre-bending breakout novel from one of the boldest new voices in contemporary fiction. I fully admit that the reason I am writing this is I wanted to learn more about gothic fiction. To me, gothic fiction is crumbling estates, foggy moors, and a whole lot of “Nah, there’s nothing in the attic/basement/walls/locked room, why do you ask?” (Spoiler: YES, THERE IS.) When I think of gothic fiction, I think of Dark Shadows (but not the horrible movie) and Hammer Horror films.
Sony Pictures Unveil The Trailer And Poster For Azazel Jacobs' FRENCH EXIT Starring Michelle Pfeiffer And Lucas Hedges
11 December 2020 OFFICIAL POSTER & TRAILER FOR FRENCH EXIT LAUNCHED ONLY AT CINEMAS FEBRUARY 2021 Starring Michelle Pfeiffer Lucas Hedges Valerie Mahaffey Imogen Poots Susan Coyne Danielle Macdonald Isaach De Bankolé Daniel Di Tomasso And Tracy Letts Directed by Azazel Jacobs Written By Patrick DeWitt Today, Sony Pictures have unveiled the Trailer and Poster for Azazel Jacobs' FRENCH EXIT, ahead of its release next February! Synopsis “My plan was to die before the money ran out,” says...
What First Cow Director Kelly Reichardt Is Listening To
Kelly Reichardt makes films focused on wandering misfits under duress. Her latest, First Cow, is a period piece set in the Pacific Northwest during the 1820s, and it concerns two desperate men who concoct a scheme to steal milk from the territory’s only cow in order to make and sell baked goods. Reichardt’s debut feature, 1994’s River of Grass, is about a couple who tries to flee the Florida Everglades after possibly killing a man on accident.
A ‘novel’ approach to a less hate-filled 2020
Spiritual books have a habit of mysteriously popping up around me, and today I find another one on my office desk. The peon, taking a break from his real job that seems to involve making Tik-Tok videos in the pantry, says, ‘Your Mummy asked me to give you.’ I call her, ‘Mom, thank you, but you know I will just end up returning it. Though I suppose I should be grateful that you sent me Sadhguru’s Inner Engineering and not Nithyananda’s Inner Awakening.’ ‘Oh, is that one good, should I order it?
Dark books for dark times: Vancouver Public Library's most borrowed books of 2019
It's that time of year again: CBC News has teamed up with the Vancouver Public Library to reveal the city's top 10 most borrowed books. Kay Cahill, the library's director of collections and technology, says this year the list appears to reflect the "difficult, polarizing times" that readers are trying to make sense of. "I think it's become harder for people to have difficult conversations about difficult topics in a civilized way," Cahill said.
Dark books for dark times: Vancouver Public Library's most borrowed books of 2019
The Vancouver Public Library's director of collections and technology, says the most borrowed books of 2019 appear to reflect the "difficult, polarizing times" that readers are trying to make sense of. Many of Vancouver Public Library's most borrowed books of 2019 explore dark themes and storylines. It's that time of year again: CBC News has teamed up with the Vancouver Public Library to reveal the city's top 10 most borrowed books.
French Exit (2020)
Production Notes from IMDbPro Status: Post-production | See complete list of in-production titles » Updated: 10 December 2019 More Info: See more production information about this title on IMDbPro. Learn more More Like This Comedy | Drama 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X A man who has avoided his wife and child at home has a change of heart after an imposed stay in his own parents' loft.
Washington Independent Review of Books
Patrick DeWitt’s compact French Exit is a sly little packet of witty observation and dark humor. It’s a pleasurable read, mainly because it’s quickly digestible, fitfully funny, and oh so artfully composed. The story centers on the climactic adventures of wealthy socialite Frances Price, widow of courtroom shark Franklin Price.
In the Dream House, and 9 More Books I Can’t Get Out Of My Head
Photo: Detroit Institute of Arts The only problem with September, which is an otherwise perfect month, is that it’s the last point in the year when a person in my latitude can comfortably read outside. I spent the past 30 days at my favorite spot, a particular seat in a Brooklyn park that snakes along the East River.
French Exit: A Novel
French Exit (Paperback) A Novel By Patrick deWitt Ecco, 9780062846938, 256pp. Publication Date: June 11, 2019 Other Editions of This Title: Hardcover (8/28/2018) Paperback, Large Print (8/28/2018) Compact Disc (8/28/2018) MP3 CD (8/28/2018) Compact Disc (8/28/2018) List Price: 16.99* * Individual store prices may vary.
French Exit Lib/E
FORMAT Available Description A Recommended Book of the Season from Vanity Fair * Entertainment Weekly * Vulture * The Millions * Publishers Weekly * Esquire From bestselling author Patrick deWitt, a brilliant and darkly comic novel about a wealthy widow and her adult son who flee New York for Paris in the wake of scandal and financial disintegration. Frances Price - tart widow, possessive mother, and Upper East Side force of nature - is in dire straits, beset by scandal and impending bankruptcy.
The bestselling Canadian books for the week of May 19 to May 26, 2019
Comments To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments.
The bestselling Canadian books for the week of May 12 to May 19, 2019
Books Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores. CBC Books · Posted: Mar 06, 2019 9:56 AM ET | Last Updated: May 23, 2019 There are the bestselling Canadian books for May 12 to May 19, 2019. Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores.
The bestselling Canadian books for the week of May 5 to May 12, 2019
Books The bestselling Canadian books for the week of May 5 to May 12, 2019 Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores. CBC Books · Posted: Mar 06, 2019 9:56 AM ET | Last Updated: May 15, 2019 There are the bestselling Canadian books for May 5 to May 12, 2019. Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores. Esi Edugyan is the author of Washington Black.
The bestselling Canadian books for the week of April 29 to May 4, 2019
Comments To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments.
The bestselling Canadian books for the week of April 14 to 20, 2019
There are the bestselling Canadian books for April 14 to 20, 2019. Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores.
The bestselling Canadian books for the week of March 24 to 30, 2019
Comments To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments.
The Sisters Brothers
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt Published: 2011 Length: 328 pages This caught my eye when it was first released. I picked it up a few years back, and I’ve only just gotten to it now. Better eight years late than never, I suppose. I was looking for Canadian books to read for the CanBook Challenge and Patrick deWitt was born about twenty-five minutes from where I currently live. It’s the height of the California gold rush, and two brothers are hired to kill a man.
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