848. Patrick deWitt

Otherppl with Brad Listi

Brad Listi

Books, Society & Culture, Arts

4.8 • 554 Ratings

🗓️ 5 July 2023

⏱️ 90 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Patrick deWitt is the author of the novel The Librarianist, available from Ecco. His other books include the novels French Exit, a national bestseller; The Sisters Brothers, a New York Times bestseller short-listed for the Booker Prize; and the critically acclaimed Undermajordomo Minor and Ablutions. Born in British Columbia, he now resides in Portland, Oregon. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi’s email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram YouTube TikTok Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, where is this? I'm on. I love you. Hey, everybody. How are you? Welcome to the program. This is the Other People Show. I'm Brad Listy here in Los Angeles. It is good to be with you. Thank you for listening. I hope you're doing all right. Wherever you are, I have a great episode for you today. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen.
0:22.0	You can also subscribe on YouTube. Follow the show on social media, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
0:30.1	My guest today is Patrick DeWitt, author of a new novel called The Librarianist.
0:38.3	Page Turner is often presented as in a sort of pejorative light, and I don't mean to perpetuate that.
0:45.3	I think that there's different reasons to turn the page.
0:48.3	You know, sometimes it's purely because of the plot and you have to find out what happens to the characters next.
0:53.3	But sometimes it's the language that's carrying you through, or the observations are carrying you through,
0:57.9	or what's not said is carrying you through.
1:00.5	So, but I agree that it's certainly a hope of mine that somebody reading any of my books is turning the pages.
1:08.3	All right, that was Patrick DeWitt. His new novel is called The Librarianist,
1:14.2	out this week from Echo. The Librarianist is a novel about a man named Bob Comet, a retired librarian,
1:26.1	a person who has lived a mostly solitary life,
1:30.0	an introverts life, a literary life. And in his retirement, Bob Comet begins to volunteer
1:36.6	at a local senior center. And when he does, it changes his life. It brings him into contact
1:44.1	with a painful and complicated episode from his past,
1:49.0	his romantic past.
1:52.0	And so ultimately, the librarianist is a novel about a man who loves books,
1:59.2	who has devoted his life to books, without ever fully
2:03.3	understanding how his own life may be an affecting narrative in its own right. My conversation
2:12.9	with Patrick DeWitt is coming up momentarily. So before we get started, a quick reminder that I do a once a week email newsletter.
2:22.3	You can subscribe to my newsletter for free at bradlisty.com or other ppl.l.com.
2:27.3	I would love it if you would subscribe to the newsletter.
	...

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