An Imperfect Librarian: Newfoundlandia

Reviews

"For anyone who loves books and reading, An Imperfect Librarian is a perfect delight-a clever, entertaining and utterly splendid novel!" Alberto Manguel

“This story is as wild, fierce and moving as the landscape that forms its backdrop, where a dry wit and wry temper are the best shields against a crazy winter and a crazier bureaucracy… a great book for people who love books, read books, collect books, catalogue books, treasure books, memorize books, covet books, crave books or ferret books away.” Joan Sullivan

“Newfoundland and Labrador has produced yet another very fine writer. Elizabeth Murphy’s An Imperfect Librarian is clever and compassionate, witty and heartfelt. Laced with surprises and humour, it is a wonderfully entertaining read. ” Leo Furey

“Witty and sharp, full of stinging one-liners, An Imperfect Librarian is a brisk and memorable journey through the workaday lives of some delightfully arresting characters.” Paul Butler

Henry tells Carl:

“The rest of this library is a desert – a wasteland of floor after floor, stack after stack, book after book, page after page, word after word, letter after letter of volumes that have never been borrowed, never been read or noticed. You’re looking straight down onto an oasis with some of the rarest, most precious manuscripts and volumes in the country.”

Norah gives Carl some lessons from Dictionary of Newfoundland English:

“Next, you’ll have to learn about the berry grounds, berry pots, berry notes, berry ocky, berry duffs and berry bank.”

Edith explains to Carl about a man writing a history of the book in Newfoundland:

"He’d say, Edie dear, tell me the truth, Edie, what do you think of this title? My favourite was Memories of a Silent Voice: The Written Tradition In Eighteenth And Nineteenth Century Rural Newfoundland. He used to travel to the outports collecting every scrap of written material he could put his eyes on: diaries, ships’ logs, journals, pamphlets, store ledgers, notebooks, letters, you name it.”

Ron Hynes

Musician, song writer extraordinaire, Man of a Thousand Songs, Ron Hynes appears briefly in An Imperfect Librarian.

From: CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Seagulls’ dreams

"Time for a break…” the cowboy finally says. The audience groans. “…right after this song.” People applaud. “We had a request from…” He pauses while he talks to someone on the dance floor. “We’re gonna play a request from Norah. This is Atlantic Blue. If you can’t be with the one you love then you know what you gotta do."

Synopsis

Carl knows more than most how hard it can be to find one’s place in an imperfect world. Abandoned by his mother, scorned by his father, cuckolded by his wife, too tall, too naive, too unlucky, even the dogs are laughing behind his back.

Carl has one good thing going for him and that’s his friends. They’re generous with advice and lessons. Cyril is teaching him how to pass for a Newfoundlander. Edith’s got a woman’s eye on him. Norah is showing him how to swim, row and to love again and Henry’s got a plan sure to solve all Carl’s problems.

Unfortunately, in Carl’s world, lessons are always learned too late and fools pay a lifetime of regret to become an ounce wiser. There is no reward for innocence, no guarantee of trust and no lack of ambiguity. Yet, it’s a world where even the most imperfect can claim their share of happiness and where a single day of fine weather can make up for the worst of seasons.

An Imperfect Librarian