The Reader

3 hrs. 47 min.

Romance & Prose

Language Russian

Author Paul Fournel

Narrator Nadezhda Vinokurova

Description

Since 1452, when Guttenberg published the 42-line Bible, text and book had been one and the same. Publishing text meant printing a book; reading text meant reading the book; and acquiring text was possible only by buying the book…

This story began on an ordinary Friday evening, when an intern brought to publishing veteran Robert Dubois—former owner and now chief editor of the publishing house that still carries his name—an electronic reader. Looking at the “smooth, black, cold device,” the old publisher understands that from now on his life will never be the same. What will become of his profession when text and paper are separated? It seems to Dubois that his heart has split into two parts.

It seems a revolution is brewing. It would be enough to give up hope—but Dubois only smiles mysteriously. And continues to work—having lunch with authors, meeting readers, consulting with booksellers… Now he never parts with the reader, which forces him to discover a completely new world—still unfamiliar and, for now, frightening. Dubois will help his young colleagues settle into it. Though he knows he himself has no place in this world.

The hero of the novel watches what’s happening with humor, insight, and warmth—he is sure: no technical progress can destroy in a person the passion for reading.