In their first online issue (after sixty years in print) I give an interview to the literary journal Shenandoah, for which I was once lucky enough to stuff envelopes as an undergraduate. Read my interview here, and please continue to support this storied and important journal by reading the whole issue (James Dickey! Betty Adcock! Brendan Galvin!) here and passing on the link!
The Daily Mail praises The Borrower following UK publication by Random House in mid-July, saying, “This astonishingly assured novel knows precisely where it’s heading, even if the two fugitives don’t. By the epilogue, the reader is left breathless with the hope that Lucy and Ian will find a happy ending.” Read more here, and check out my very cool red and white UK cover!
Follow the link to my interview with Erika Dreifus for her newsletter and website, The Practicing Writer. I talk about how my own childhood library experiences shaped the writing of The Borrower, and about why my students aren’t allowed to read my book.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer praises The Borrower, saying “Makkai has managed to create a novel that is funny, insightful and full of righteous anger.” Read the full review here.
Click here for my Steve Bertrand on Books interview, wherein I discuss pathological lying, Ian’s future cameos, and whether God cares about short stories.
“The Borrower’s out-and-out charm is heightened by its furious, righteous heart and conviction that books offer salvation and hope when life is messy and near-unbearable.” Read more.
I spoke with Mitch Teich of WUWM Milwaukee’s Lake Effect about the inspiration for The Borrower. The online version features expanded audio and a reading.
“With The Borrower, Rebecca Makkai brings the world of literary aficionados a treasure.” Read more.
The Daily Beast named The Borrower one of three “must read novels” and gave it a lovely review, saying that “this comical and touching book strikes a nice balance between literary artistry and gripping storytelling, and offers a contemporary take on the classic ‘journey of discovery.’” Read more here.
- WBEZ Chicago’s “848” reviews The Borrower“Charming, funny, original, thought-provoking, and moving, Rebecca Makkai’s The Borrower embraces outsiders and dissenters, and celebrates the power of our imagination and our empathy. This warmly entertaining, picaresque novel in praise of personal freedom and books leaves us marveling over literature’s magnificent paradox: that in fiction dwells profound truth.” Read more
