If you think all librarians are meek older ladies wearing horn-rimmed reading glasses with pearly beaded straps, then Syntell Smith’s novel is going to totally alter your opinion of these hard-working state employees! Book Endings is a character-driven drama that focuses on the employees at the 58th Street Branch Library in bustling Manhattan. The theatrics explode in the first several pages with a medical emergency, a sexual awakening, a gloved intruder, contraband literature, parental censure, and teen pregnancy! And this is just the beginning. The narrative shifts perspective and jumps from one startling scene to the next with hardly a moment to breathe. On top of endless personal issues, the library is its own sort of battleground for disgusting racism and shocking office politics.
It’s a good thing that this book is part of a series, because there are far too many characters to get to know in just one installment. In fact, the first chapter names more than 18 characters who have a part in this complex novel. The histrionics surrounding the library crew are more akin to working for the CIA or some mega-corporation than a public library. And the employees seem to be just about as passionate about their jobs as members of the CIA would! Racism comes up often among a wide array of groups including Hispanics, Japanese and a minority religious group, although the portrayal of them feels a bit exaggerated. Repeatedly, the characters counter racism with prejudice, which makes it difficult to like some of the cast. Syntell Smith has written a fast-paced drama, filled with shocking scandals and several surprises. Book Endings – A Call Numbers novel: Loss, Pain, and Revelations is an intense and unexpected behind-the-scenes look at your welcoming neighborhood library, all from the interesting perspective of a nineties viewpoint.
