What’s The Reader all about?:
The Reader tells of an aging author on the publicity circuit promoting his new book and revealing how life has changed for him.
What did I think?:
The penultimate story in this collection was a bit disappointing for me I have to say but I’m not sure if I was missing the whole point of the narrative. Nathan Englander is an obviously talented author and I have enjoyed a few stories in this collection so far, namely the title story, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank and Camp Sundown which was also written beautifully. Then we come to The Reader (*sigh*). Initially, I was quietly hopeful for a brilliant tale, I love reading books about books and it started out quite promising and indeed, very intriguing but didn’t really seem to go anywhere which was a shame as I could see it had potential to be something quite special.
It’s about an author who is going on a book tour around the country to several bookshops where he is giving a reading. He is hugely disappointed to discover that his star seems to have dimmed somewhat since he was last on the circuit as not a single person seems to have turned up to hear him read or get their book signed. All apart from one, that is. His only person that emerges from the shadows of the first bookshop is an elderly gentleman who demands that the Author should read as of course that is what he has come to hear. The Author is touched and proceeds to fulfill his request then carries on to another city, another bookshop. Lo and behold, the same old man follows him to every bookshop and insists that he reads in every one, while he remains a captive audience of one.
That’s pretty much it really. There’s no huge revealing moment where the old man pulls his mask off like an episode of Scooby Doo and is in fact, someone else entirely. Not that I’m saying this story needed this. However, I feel like it did need something – a sort of direction, an ending that would make me appreciate the story as a whole. I ended up finishing it, not hating it exactly but not having any feelings towards it in the slightest, to be perfectly honest. I did like how the old man refers to the author not by name but purely as “Author!” or “Writer!” when he was addressing him, maybe there was something to be found in this? I’m not sure and if there was I didn’t really get it which was a shame as I think a lot more could have been done with this short story.
Would I recommend it?:
Probably not.
Star rating (out of 5):
NEXT SHORT STORY: The Birds by Daphne du Maurier from the collection The Birds And Other Stories.
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