The Librarianist

What purpose does the detailed interlude of Bob’s running away at age 11 serve for the novel as a whole? How does this experience shape Bob?

What parallels and contrasts exist between Bob’s relationship with his mother and Connie’s to her father?

Assess the role of the minor character Maria: How does she advance any of the key themes? How does the relationship between her and Bob evolve throughout the course of the novel?

What does Ethan’s hasty engagement to Eileen reveal about him? What internal flaws does Ethan possess?

Throughout the novel, Bob is regarded by other characters as quirky and eccentric. However, Bob is unapologetic for the ways he does not comply with social norms. How is Bob able to normalize his “otherness”?

The novel’s structure is non-linear. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a structure in telling a story about aging? How does the non-linear structure shape Bob Comet’s character?

Compare and contrast Bob as a child, a young adult, a middle-aged adult, and an elderly adult. In what ways do the events of each phase of his life inform the next phase and his response to it?

Fiction is fraught with books about books. Choose a contemporary example of such a text and examine the way this meta subject matter asserts the role of books—an outdated media—in a widely digitally focused world.