- 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
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- Tiffany Baker, author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen CountyAn electrifying debut about the moral choices we’re confronted with in today’s America. Uproariously funny, but with a bittersweet core, Makkai’s voice is so assured and lovely, she had me hooked by the end of her first paragraph and quite sorry to come to the end of her last one.”—
- Booklist (starred review)An accomplished short-story writer, Makkai has written a splendid first novel that cleverly weaves telling references to children’s books into her whimsically patchwork plot. Larger-than-life characters and an element of the picaresque add to the book’s delights. Best of all, however, is Lucy’s absolutely unshakable faith in the power of books to save. From her lips, readers, to God’s ear.
- Publisher’s WeeklyFast-paced, suspenseful, and thoroughly enjoyable
- Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winning and bestselling author of That Old Cape Magic and Empire FallsRarely is a first novel as smart and engaging and learned and funny and moving as The Borrower. Rebecca Makkai is a writer to watch, as sneakily ambitious as she is unpretentious.
- Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Illumination & The Brief History of the DeadRebecca Makkai takes all the best features of the children’s books her characters love and sweeps them straight into her first novel: their warmth, their vibrancy, their joy at setting their inventions in motion and following them wherever they might lead. She is a generous, original, and arresting writer, and any story she wants to tell, I want to listen.
- Hannah Tinti, author of The Good ThiefRebecca Makkai’s The Borrower is full of books, libraries, cross-country hijinks, accidental parenting, love gone wrong and friendships gone right. Makkai will have you cheering for her librarian heroine, who has all the history and darkness of a Russian novel in her veins, mixed with the humor and spirit of Bridget Jones. A fun, moving, and delightful read.
