The subtitle of this book is: an Elegy and Ten Digressions.
The book is written by the very erudite Alberto Manguel, who is presently the Director
of the National Library of Argentina. Prior to that he was a member of the
literati having written a number of books about books and reading. The foremost
title amongst them is A History of Reading
But an opportunity came, and he very reluctantly packed up his
library. Unfortunately, he had not had an opportunity to restore his dream library
in all of its former glory. The book is an extended essay on how he came to be
where he is and how he came to be such a bibliophile. The central essay, his
elegy, is interspersed with ten digressions.
The alternation of continuing his thoughts about his library and the digressions
gives us a glimpse at how a scholar’s mind of this caliber works. The digressions incorporate
historical and cultural analysis along with his personal ruminations centered about
books. While they are supplemental to the main essay itself, they reveal much
of what made him who he is and how he came to collect and curate his library.
He traces his scholarly history from when he was very young and
gives us a small look at his journey to becoming a bibliophile. The bibliophile
vibe resonated with me, because it gave me a connection with the author even
though I exist in a completely difference milieu than he does, the love of books
and reading ties us together as sympathetic kindred spirit.
It is a short but dense read, covering a fascinating and panoramic group of subjects.
The prose elicited emotions and consonance with the author’s thoughts. The
tangential digressions that are structurally separate from the main essay treat
the reader to nonlinear paths of exploration through many different subjects. This is the
best kind of reading possible, it entertains, provokes, inspires, and
fascinates.
In the end. We find out how the author came to being the
director of the National Library of Argentina, and why all his books are still
in pieces all around the world. It was sad for a fellow bibliophile like me to find
out how the books are scattered. At the same time, it is a fitting tribute to
his library and to his love of his books.
It is a short book. It's not expansive nor granular in its
scope. For the expansive exposition on reading, I procured his A History of
Reading. This will be one of those
slim volumes that I will keep next to my reading chair, always available for a revisit
and reread so that I can rekindle that feeling of warmth and comfort that can
come from reminiscing about books, whether they have been read, or not.
References
Manguel, Alberto. A History of Reading. New
York City: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1996.
