The Man Who Loved Books Too Much ~Allison Hoover Bartlett
–published 2009
–Riverhead Books, 262 pages
–4.25/5 stars
With a cover image like the one above and a main title that reads like a personal confession, it is hard not to be predisposed to like this book. Its full title: The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession, gives one just the barest hint of the story that this book will tell, a story that will have book lovers experiencing a wide range of emotions as they go on a journey of discovery with the author.
“As much as they are vessels for stories…books are historical artifacts and repositories for memories–we like to recall who gave books to us, where we were when we read them, how old we were, and so on.”
John Charles Gilkey is a thief. Not a garden variety, lets-hold-up-a-bank thief. He steals books–expensive books. Rare, collectible, hard to find, jealousy inducing books. Ken Sanders is a rare book dealer turned amateur detective who becomes a beacon of light in the dark and notoriously hush-hush world of literary crime. After years in and out of prison, author Allison Hoover Bartlett seeks to uncover the motivations of a man who seems compelled to purloin precious treasure and in turn is introduced into the world of the bibliomaniac.
Bartlett succeeds on all fronts with this interesting, compelling look into the world of rare, collectible books. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is a treat for those who love books as physical objects. From front to back the book is filled with the kind of quotes that are touchstones for book lovers. Additionally, this book describes used bookstores that have been added to my list of future pilgrimages–the kind of stores where a person like me would have to spend multiple days, all while wearing a bib! I also found myself adding books to my to be read pile, always a sign of a good “book about books”, in my opinion.
Bartlett is open and honest with her initial lack of understanding about what would compel a person to repeatedly give up freedom, spending time behind bars, in order to procure books. This desire to understand leads her on a journey, one that the reader is able to go on with her. This journey introduces a number of interesting characters, the primary ones being the thief, John Gilkey and the rare book dealer, Ken Sanders, who helped initially put him behind bars. An interesting aspect of Gilkey’s story is that he is inherently a liar. As he opens up to Bartlett one is never sure how much of his stories are real and how many are exaggerations or outright lies. Insight comes in comparing what he says to the modus operandi gathered from the many book dealers who have been victims of Gilkey’s obsession over many, many years. I found both Gilkey and Sanders to be immensely interesting characters. Both men have their foibles, but in spending significant time with each, one’s own feelings about books, and the stories they contain, begin to come into clarity.
“‘Too few people seem to realize that books have feelings,’ wrote collector Eugene Field, who wrote The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac in 1896. ‘But if I know one thing better than another I know this, that my books know me and love me. When of a morning I awaken I cast my eyes about my room to see how fare my beloved treasures, and as I cry cheerily to them, “Good day to you, sweet friends!” how lovingly they beam upon me, and how glad they are that my repose has been unbroken’.”
This is a short book, but one that the reader feels compelled to tear through because it is so darn interesting. If you love books about books, this is one that you simply must add to your to read pile. It is a fascinating look, especially if read with the thought, “but for the grace of God, there go I!”
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The Final Solution ~Michael Chabon, illustrated by Jay Ryan
–published 2004
–Harper Perennial, 131 pages
–3.75/5 stars
An 89 year old man, rumored to be a once-great detective, lives a quiet and solitary life near a train station, tending to his bees. Into his life wanders a mute Jewish boy, recently escaped from Nazi Germany, with a parrot on his shoulder–a parrot who repeats strings of numbers in German–and an old flame begins to ignite.
This is my first experience with Michael Chabon, a less than courageous sampling considering this novel is more of a novella, being only 131 pages in length. It took less than a page for me to be intrigued, being a fan of mysteries, particularly the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a man to whom Chabon pays homage with The Final Solution.
We are never told the name of the old man, the former detective, but it is not a big stretch of the imagination to envision this as the Great Detective himself, Sherlock Holmes. Set during the time of World War II, The Final Solution comes packaged in a great deal of familiar history, and that backdrop lends weight to the overall story. The handful of characters is the kind of interesting mix one would expect from a British mystery, and an aging once-great man and a mute boy make for very intriguing protagonists.
It is hard to reveal much about the story without telling too much. Suffice it to say that I found this a very satisfying introduction to Chabon’s literary oeuvre. The novella isn’t so much about the mystery as it is a handful of characters, but as a potential late-in-life adventure for an aging deductive mind, that is exactly what you want it to be. There are a couple of mysteries involved in the story, one of which is given a clear and satisfying conclusion, and one that remains vaguely mysterious. That bit of ambiguity is reflected in my rating, despite my true enjoyment of the story.
Although I have no immediate plans to seek out more of Chabon’s novels, I would be quick to get on the bandwagon were he to revisit this character.
This copy of the book has a really nice brief interview with the author that lends some insights into the story as well as a list of Chabon’s top 10 genre authors (and their books), both of which I really enjoyed.
I also saw The Man Who Loved Books Too Much in my local book store and thought it sounded pretty interesting. It’s been on my to-check-out list for some time and it’s good to see you’ve enjoyed it. I am considering picking up the book sometime too.
For Chabon, I find his writing can be a little hard to get through, but he does have interesting ideas.
The Final Solution, was one of the last books I bought, prior to my book buying ban! It’s going to be my first Chabon as well. Good to know that it’s a decent entry to his works.
Bart: I am looking forward to talking to the person who loaned me this now that I am done, and I also will be interested in your thoughts on it when you finish it.
Maria: I had heard similar things about Chabon and I can say that Final Solution is nothing like that. It is a nicely written, fairly straight forward homage to Sherlock Holmes. There is not a lot of flowery language here. That isn’t to say it isn’t well written, but I imagine this is very different than his other work.
I hope you get a chance to read The Man sometime, it is really a nice book. I’d love to see it filmed, documentary style, just so I could see a bunch of the books that they talk about in it.
I have been waiting over a month for my turn at the Man Who Loved Books Too Much at my local library. I am hoping that my number will be up over the holiday break, as I can hardly wait to this!
I also have not read any of Chabon’s works, but this sounds the perfect one to try first.
Molly: I’m so glad I got this for a birthday gift. I’ve been spending so much less time at bookstores this past 6 months trying to keep myself from temptation, and I hadn’t seen nor heard of The Man Who Loved Books Too Much. If I had, I would have no doubt had it in my library queue as well. I hope it comes over the holidays for you. I’ll keep my fingers crossed! 🙂
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is way up on my list! Am hoping someone will remember my not-at-all-subtle “hint” during our last bookstore visit (at which I was most noble & bought nothing. The withdrawal symptoms are beginning to wane…)
Loved Mr. Chabon’s Mysteries of Pittsburgh from ages ago, but haven’t read anything since. Must fix that & this sounds like a good way to do so. Thank you!
Both of these are books I really want to read! I remember Chabon’s book coming out and raising a bit of a fuss due to the title being a bit Nazi-like. And the other book… well, it’s obvious why I’d want to read that one!
I was already in love with the cover and title of the Man who Loved Books..but I am pretty much down to thrift store books and only occasionally a new book and I purchased one not long ago (the man who invented christmas) so I spent my alotment! But it will go on my wish list just the same.
ps went to add it to my wish list and saw why it wasn’t there already.. you are right.. it’s a little costly for a short book (it would seem I have gotten rather used to chunksters!)
Deslily: Yes, the publishers don’t seem to adjust pricing based on size, that’s for sure! Gotta love the library and used bookstores.
Aarti: I imagine their would be some controversy, especially if the people complaining hadn’t yet read the book. As it is a story about a Jewish boy during Nazi Germany, it makes perfect sense to use the title.
ds: I hope your hint was noted as well and that you’ll see this one coming your way soon!
I definitely want to read The Man Who Loved Books Too Much. It sounds like a book lover’s paradise.
I purchased The Man Who Loved Books Too Much after seeing the author on Book TV. She had a fascinating tale to tell of meeting this thief and getting to know him. I can’t wait to read it even more after your review!
Kathleen: I’ll have to see if I can find that online. I’d love to watch it.
Vivienne: I ordered the 1896 book I quote in the review from interlibrary loan and sincerely hope it arrives. I also put several other books mentioned in it on my list. A book lover’s paradise it is!
I have been hearing about and seeing comments about The Man Who Loved Books Too Much all over the place but haven’t gotten around to it. I will now! Winter break sounds like a perfect time to dive into this book. It reminds me a lot of The Island of Lost Maps by Miles Harvey – about a map thief….. cartographomania!! If you haven’t already read it, I recommend it – I think you will like it.
Picked up my reserved Boneshaker from the library today – FUN!!
I’ve never been a great fan of Chabon’s work, being in a vast minority of readers, but this detective piece looks interesting. I also bought Summertime, thinking I’d read it to my class some year, but I tell you, The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay about did me in. I’d rather watch paint dry, personally.
Bellezza: I started reading Kavalier and Clay years ago and it just wasn’t doing anything for me at all. I’m not sure you are in any minority.
Qugrainne: Island of Lost Maps sounds great, I’ll look it up. Looking forward to seeing what you think of Boneshaker.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was really interesting. I read it a month or two ago. I really need to read Michael Chabon, but starting to wonder if that will ever happen! Maybe next year!
Carl – Thanks for the reviews. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much sounds great and I added it to my Christmas wish list – or perhaps it could sneak into my order of books for my husband’s Christmas stocking. I am not a big Chabon fan but I do usually end up reading him because my husband loves him and is always convinced that I am going to become a convert with the newest book. Haven’t read this one yet but my favorite so far has been Kavalier and Clay – which is odd because I usually like the same books as you and Belleza. I enjoyed learning about the golden age of comic books – something that I was not familiar with at all.
Kailana: I’ll have to go back and see if you did a review because I don’t recall reading it.
Moo: I certainly think there is a chance that I might like Kavalier and Clay if I gave it a chance, it just wasn’t grabbing me and I cannot imagine going back to it when there are so many other authors I know that I love that have books I haven’t read yet.
I tore through ‘The Man Who Loves Books Too Much’ too — I thought it was fascinating! And her interactions with Gilkey were fun to read, especially since he’s so untrustworthy in everything he says and does.
Proud of yourself? Two books added to my wish list with one post. 😉 I’m really excited about that first one…it sounds downright fun to read! Of course, every time a used book store is mentioned I will have an image of you wandering around in a bib! 😀
I haven’t read any Chabon either. I do have one on my shelves that I picked up at a used bookstore one time (The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, I think it is), but as with so many books I haven’t even opened the cover yet.
Debi: Well…I’m proud of myself NOW! 🙂 I do think you’ll enjoy The Man Who Loved Books Too Much. It is very entertaining.
Kim: I’m glad you enjoyed it. I too enjoyed that aspect of her interactions with him. It is a book where you never really know how much of it is truly fiction or non-fiction!!!
I felt like The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was almost two different books. One, the story of Gilkey (talk a guy with strange morals!) and the other a book about the history of books and book theft.
Lisa: You are correct, it really does feel like two different books. Gilkey’s morality was all over the place and his ideas of his own rights to “own” these books was really interesting, and quite sad too.