Preview
  • The Borrower

  • A Novel
  • By: Rebecca Makkai
  • Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
  • Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (152 ratings)

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The Borrower

By: Rebecca Makkai
Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
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Publisher's summary

In this delightful, funny, and moving first novel, a librarian and a young boy obsessed with reading take to the road.

Lucy Hull, a young children's librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both a kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, 10-year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home. The precocious Ian is addicted to reading but needs Lucy's help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother, who has enrolled Ian in weekly antigay classes with celebrity Pastor Bob. Lucy stumbles into a moral dilemma when she finds Ian camped out in the library after hours with a knapsack of provisions and an escape plan.

Desperate to save him from Pastor Bob and the Drakes, Lucy allows herself to be hijacked by Ian. The odd pair embarks on a crazy road trip from Missouri to Vermont, with ferrets, an inconvenient boyfriend, and upsetting family history thrown in their path. But is it just Ian who is running away? Who is the man who seems to be on their tail? And should Lucy be trying to save a boy from his own parents?

©2011 Rebecca Makkai (P)2020 Penguin Audio
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Critic reviews

"Rarely is a first novel as smart and engaging and learned and funny and moving as The Borrower. Rebecca Makkai is a writer to watch, as sneakily ambitious as she is unpretentious." (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of That Old Cape Magic and Empire Falls)

“An appealing, nonromantic love story about an unexpected pairing - and a surprisingly moving one.” (The New York Times)

“This comical and touching book strikes a nice balance between literary artistry and gripping storytelling, and offers a contemporary take on the classic 'journey of discovery.'... Right up to the book’s satisfying and well-plotted ending, Makkai shows us that even though the stories we are told as children are often fount to betray us as mere fantasy, there might still be some wisdom in the one of their most common and simple morals: Be true to yourself.” (The Daily Beast, selected as one of "3 Must Read Novels")

What listeners say about The Borrower

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
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Excellent!

What a wonderful book. I really enjoyed the adventures of Lucy and Ian. I would love to listen to it again.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Well…

Engaging characters, no justification for what happened, which lowered the number of stars. Ending was ok.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Quirky fantastic

This book was a breath of fresh air, very uniquely written and fantastic narration.

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3 people found this helpful

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seriously, i needed this book...

this book gave me hope in people again and made me feel lucky I got to be a part of this journey!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A pleasant surprise

Wasn’t expecting a great book here but it turned out so and be well written, Poignant and charming.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great book. Perfect reader.

I loved so much about. this book that I am now on a mission to read all of Rebecca Makkai’s books. But more than anything, Kristen Seih is a genius reader. She made Ian come alive. He is such a wonderful character.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Quite the Adventure

The twists in this story kept me interested until the end. The many children’s books references brought back many happy memories of my own adventures with the library.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable!

The story held my attention to the end! I was a little concerned about the premise, but the author addressed my concerns right up front because the main character has those same concerns. This was a very enjoyable story! I loved all the references to children’s books, too!

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  • Overall
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Refreshing and enjoyable!

I loved the quirky, sweet nature of this story, and the reader is excellent! I’m a sucker for any story that is library related, and this did not disappoint.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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So much fun!

I loved this book! I wasn’t sure at first but Makkai’s writing was superb and Sieh was fantastic! I loved her voices!

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