Skip to content

The Borrower
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borrower Paperback - 2012

by Rebecca Makkai

In this delightful, funny, and moving first novel, a librarian and a young boy obsessed with reading take to the road. The odd pair embarks on a crazy road trip from Missouri to Vermont, with ferrets, an inconvenient boyfriend, and an upsetting family history.

Summary

"Rarely is a first novel as smart and engaging and learned and funny and moving as The Borrower." —Richard Russo, author of Pulitzer Prize–winning Empire Falls

Lucy Hull, a children’s librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, ten-year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home. Ian needs Lucy’s help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother, who has enrolled Ian in weekly antigay classes. Desperate to save him from the Drakes, Lucy allows herself to be hijacked by Ian when she finds him camped out in the library after hours, and the odd pair embarks on a crazy road trip. But is it just Ian who is running away? And should Lucy be trying to save a boy from his own parents?

From the publisher

Rebecca Makkai’s stories have been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories 2008, 2009, and 2010, and have appeared in Tin House, Ploughshares, The Threepenny Review, and on NPR’s Selected Shorts. Makkai teaches elementary school and lives north of Chicago with her husband and two daughters.

Details

  • Title The Borrower
  • Author Rebecca Makkai
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 352
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books, NY
  • Date 2012-05-29
  • Features Price on Product - Canadian
  • ISBN 9780143120957 / 0143120956
  • Weight 0.5 lbs (0.23 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.7 x 5 x 0.7 in (19.56 x 12.70 x 1.78 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Topical: Coming of Age
    • Topical: Family
  • Library of Congress subjects Boys, Humorous fiction
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

“Poignant...every conflicted word Lucy utters in Makkai’s probing novel reminds us that literature matters because it helps us discover ourselves while exploring the worlds of others.”

About the author

Rebecca Makkai is the author of the novels The Great Believers, The Hundred-Year House, and The Borrower, as well as the short story collection Music for Wartime. The Great Believers was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and received the ALA Carnegie Medal and the LA Times Book Prize, among other honors. Makkai is on the MFA faculties of Sierra Nevada College and Northwestern University, and she is Artistic Director of StoryStudio Chicago.

More Copies for Sale

The Borrower: A Novel
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borrower: A Novel

by Rebecca Makkai

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - General
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Holland, Michigan, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$5.65
NZ$6.57 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Books, May 2012. Trade Paperback . General. All books on our shelves are good condition - lightly read or worn - unless otherwise indicated. The Bluestocking Bookshop provides high-quality used and new books and gift items at deep discounts. Shipping media mail. Follow on Instagram for New Arrival stories and bookseller recommendations.
Item Price
NZ$5.65
NZ$6.57 shipping to USA
The Borrower : A Novel

The Borrower : A Novel

by Rebecca Makkai

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$9.96
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group, 2012. Paperback. Good. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
NZ$9.96
FREE shipping to USA
The Borrower

The Borrower

by Makkai, Rebecca

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
8
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$9.96
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Books, 2012. Paperback. Acceptable. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
NZ$9.96
FREE shipping to USA
The Borrower : A Novel

The Borrower : A Novel

by Rebecca Makkai

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$9.96
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group, 2012. Paperback. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
NZ$9.96
FREE shipping to USA
The Borrower: A Novel
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borrower: A Novel

by Rebecca Makkai

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Used: Good
Edition
Reprint
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
1
Seller
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 3 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$12.37
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Books, 2012-05-29. Reprint. Paperback. Used: Good.
Item Price
NZ$12.37
FREE shipping to USA
The Borrower : A Novel
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borrower : A Novel

by Makkai, Rebecca

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$12.60
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Item Price
NZ$12.60
FREE shipping to USA
The Borrower: A Novel
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borrower: A Novel

by Makkai, Rebecca

  • Used
Condition
UsedVeryGood
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$16.31
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
UsedVeryGood. Used Very Good:Minor shelf wear.
Item Price
NZ$16.31
FREE shipping to USA
The Borrower: A Novel
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borrower: A Novel

by Makkai, Rebecca

  • Used
Condition
UsedVeryGood
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$16.31
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
UsedVeryGood. Used Very Good:Minor shelf wear.
Item Price
NZ$16.31
FREE shipping to USA
The Borrower: A Novel
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borrower: A Novel

by Makkai, Rebecca

  • Used
Condition
New
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Bensalem, Pennsylvania, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$16.87
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
UsedLikeNew. Used Like-New:May have Remainder Mark.
Item Price
NZ$16.87
FREE shipping to USA
The Borrower: A Novel
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Borrower: A Novel

by Makkai, Rebecca

  • Used
Condition
New
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143120957 / 0143120956
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
NZ$16.87
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
UsedLikeNew. Used Like-New:May have Remainder Mark.
Item Price
NZ$16.87
FREE shipping to USA