Books Get Sad Too: The Lonely Book

I’ve been seeing The Lonely Book featured in quite a number of posts by book-blogging friends, and I thought that I might as well check it out as it seems perfect for our current bimonthly theme until the middle of November as we celebrate Books about Books and the River of Words.

I could easily see how this book is so popular among avid bibliophiles. The lyrical narrative (which thankfully does not follow the stringent 300 word rule) and the muted/soft illustrations can not help but whisper breathy sweet-nothings to a book-lover’s ear. Much of the setting in the narrative is inside the library – one of my favorite places in the world. The Lonely Book did not start off being ‘lonely’ as this green book with “a picture of a girl in the forest under a toadstool” was one of the more popular books in the library.

The library was busy every day with children looking for books about everything in the world, and the moss-green book about the girl in the forest was often chosen and taken home.

Whenever the book was returned, it was placed back on the shelf where the newest books lived. There was a long list of children waiting for the book, and it hardly ever slept at the library.

After awhile though, this well-loved book predictably got tattered, less in-demand, and completely forgotten “dropped in a dark corner by a daydreaming child, and not even the librarian found it.” Until a golden-haired girl discovered this book, rescued it from obscurity, brought it home, and enjoyed its soft whisperings.

I’ve always felt that books speak to us. And this little girl, Alice, clearly showed how she listened to this book and was forever changed by it. Despite the missing last page and its fragile state, Alice read it religiously every night and even brought it to school as her special feature for show-and-tell: “The book had never felt so beloved.”

As misfortune would have it, the lovely Alice accidentally left the book at the library, and try as she might, even with the kind assistance of wonderful librarians, she was unable to find her favorite book. Whether or not she would be reunited with ‘the lonely book’ I shall leave for you to discover.

The book reminded me a little bit of Toy Story as the storyteller breathes life to an inanimate object [although I do have my reservations about calling a book inanimate, they seem to have a pulse, don’t they?] – and the reader gets to follow the book’s journeys. It also serves to remind the reader of that one book that may have forever altered their perception of the universe or changed the course of their lives forever (mine was Paulo Coelho’s By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept).

What is that ‘lonely book’ for you, dear friends?

The Lonely Book by Kate Bernheimer and Illustrated by Chris Sheban. Published by Schwartz & Wade Books, New York, 2012. Book borrowed from the library. Book photos taken by me.

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