Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld

Reviewed by Jeanne

Okay, with a title like that, how could I resist this fabulous collection of cartoons?  I was already familiar with some of Gaud’s work from social media.  He has a very distinctive style of drawing, so I always paused my scrolling when I caught sight of it.  Even better, most of the ones I had seen had a connection to books or literature.

I had high hopes for this collection and I most certainly was not disappointed.  Cartoons poke intelligent fun at authors, books, librarians, etc. but it’s obvious that Gauld loves his subjects.  From authors trying to write to librarians who want to organize the world according to Dewey to raving beasts in possession of fine libraries, Gauld makes us laugh or smile in recognition.  I especially love the ones in which he differentiates between types of writers: a fall day has a poet thinking about writing a poem on the melancholy of autumn, while a mystery author ponders the same day as having a body buried under leaves. He even comes up with words to describe various book situations:  buchendschmerz, the sadness at nearing the end of a very good book or (my favorite) buchverlusterleichterung—relief at losing a copy of a book you weren’t really enjoying.

Gauld plays with the classics, has fun with genres, and pokes a bit of fun at editors.  It’s obvious that book people are the target audience here in all our glory. It’s wonderful.  There are so many cartoons that I want to visit again and again.  The humor is never spiteful or nasty; it’s gently funny and makes the reader feel as if we are all in on the joke.

The book itself is beautifully done, complete with a date due card in the front.  (At the bottom of the date due card it says, "Late returns will incur fines and, more importantly, the displeasure of the librarian.  Believe me: you do NOT want to make an enemy of the librarian.") The endpapers are festooned with books, and the pages have a lovely thick feel.  I am so very tempted to buy a copy to give as a gift to a fellow bibliophile.  I only hesitate because I know the guilt I’ll feel when I give her a box of notecards and keep this book for myself.

Very highly recommended!