The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

It should have been the library’s moment to shine. 

Not only had director Christopher Wolfe scored the acquisition of the rare Plantin Polyglot Bible, but he’d gotten it for only a half a million dollars—quite the steal.  The money had come from donors with deep pockets who enjoyed the privilege of a sneak preview; whether or not they really knew or cared about the book is questionable but they but do care about bragging rights.

There’s only one problem: Christopher suffered a stroke and is now in a coma.

Make that two problems: the Plantin Bible is missing.

Lisel Weiss was supposed to be taking a sabbatical, a break on the way to retirement, while she writes her own book.  Under the circumstances, she’s had to respond to the frantic call from the university president Lawrence Garber to step in during Christopher’s absence.  Lisel is sure the book must be in the safe in Christopher’s office but she’ll have to find a way to fend off those eager donors who want to see what their money bought. She will just have to find a way to stall them for a few days, until she can get the combination to the safe from Christopher’s wife.

Problem number three:  they open the safe and the Plantin Bible is not there.

Lisel wants to call in the police to report the possible theft but is overruled by President Garber who is determined to make sure the university’s reputation is intact.  Instead, he insists Lisel look for the book in house and keep quiet.

But how long can you keep such a thing a secret?

Problem number four:  a staff member has stopped showing up for work.

I’d heard very good things about this book, most calling it a mystery.  It is, but after the shocks in the opening chapters, it slows down to a lull.  I was frustrated by the lack of activity, the refusal to report the possible theft to the police to start an investigation. Instead, Lisel and a colleague, Francis, spend hours searching the stacks in the grasping at straws hope that the incredibly valuable volumes have somehow been mis-shelved.

This lull in the action almost did me in, to be honest.  But Jurczyk writes very well and very perceptively.  Lines such as “The air stank of wine and self-importance” or I was also unhappy at the way Lisel is treated: dismissed, overlooked, and sometimes overruled by the male staff members.  In turn, Lisel is struggling with her own marriage to John, an artist who apparently has had breakdowns in the past, but who now is almost the only one concerned for Lisel. She in turn seems to regard him with more pity than any other emotion.

The book is also a meditation on how women are perceived in academia, and in the way that institutions tend to become so entrenched in their own rules, traditions, and secrets that they can stagnate.

When the book does pick up, it moves at a wonderful pace.  Many things are revealed, both in regards to the missing books and in personal and emotional relationships.  It was all beautifully done and made up for the slowness in the middle.  Lisel is a fully realized character, complex, intelligent, and when it comes down to it, able to stand up for herself and her department.  Other characters are also intricately detailed, presenting small clues left behind before all (or almost all) is revealed like a magician’s trick. 

There is a deep love of books as physical objects here, especially near the end. The descriptions are wondrous, making the reader want to touch the books. It makes it easy to see why one would want to possess not a copy but the real thing.

 

I do recommend this book—just be aware that I found some problems with pacing. I think that if I were to re-read it, I would be more aware of all that was happening the lull and be less impatient.