The Mobile Library - The Delegates' Choice
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Review
'This is Israel's third outing and it is a pleasure to welcome him back – these are blissful British comedies for the thinking escapist.' The Times
Praise for ‘The Case of the Missing Books’:
‘A mystery, a sustained piece of slapstick, a meditation and a yarn. And it is cripplingly funny.’ Independent
‘Sansom has struck a rich comic seam…it promises to be a very enjoyable series.’ Observer
‘A perfect antidote for melancholy.’ Guardian
Praise for ‘Mr Dixon Disappears’:
'Israel is one of the most original and amusing amateur sleuths around.’ The Times
'Bibliophiles will instinctively warm to Israel Armstrong, Jewish librarian, duffel-coat wearer and part-time detective. The fact that he drives his mobile library around the coast of Northern Ireland, moaning non-stop about people who do not return books on time, only makes the character more deliciously esoteric. This yarn about an ageing magician who has gone missing with £100,000 is the second in what promises to be a must-read series.' Sunday Telegraph
Review
'This is Israel's third outing and it is a pleasure to welcome him back -- these are blissful British comedies for the thinking escapist.' The Times Praise for 'The Case of the Missing Books': 'A mystery, a sustained piece of slapstick, a meditation and a yarn. And it is cripplingly funny.' Independent 'Sansom has struck a rich comic seam!it promises to be a very enjoyable series.' Observer 'A perfect antidote for melancholy.' Guardian Praise for 'Mr Dixon Disappears': 'Israel is one of the most original and amusing amateur sleuths around.' The Times 'Bibliophiles will instinctively warm to Israel Armstrong, Jewish librarian, duffel-coat wearer and part-time detective. The fact that he drives his mobile library around the coast of Northern Ireland, moaning non-stop about people who do not return books on time, only makes the character more deliciously esoteric. This yarn about an ageing magician who has gone missing with GBP100,000 is the second in what promises to be a must-read series.' Sunday Telegraph
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The return of Israel Armstrong and his unlikely sidekick Ted is a literary event to be welcomed. Over three books, Ian Sansom has spun a tale of Israel's continuing estrangement from his London background, and his struggles with a new life as a mobile librarian in the North of Northern Ireland. The story has been told with warmth and unerring wit, as well as with a good deal of behind-the-scenes erudition (witness the frequent literary in-jokes, though the books remain extremely accessible).
In this latest addition to the series, Israel gets to return to London, with Ted in tow, for the "Mobile Meet", the UK's biggest mobile library convention. The only problem is that Ted's beloved library van is stolen before the conference gets underway, and it falls to Israel, Ted, and Israel's mother to track it down and retrieve it.
This series of books is billed as a collection of detective novels. That's a bit of mis-categorisation, I think. They are instead keenly observed comic novels, with serious themes of community, exile, belonging, and the good life at their heart. The series is more Silas Marner than it is Miss Marple. Read it now: laugh, be cheered, and think about what it is that really matters to us.
In this latest addition to the series, Israel gets to return to London, with Ted in tow, for the "Mobile Meet", the UK's biggest mobile library convention. The only problem is that Ted's beloved library van is stolen before the conference gets underway, and it falls to Israel, Ted, and Israel's mother to track it down and retrieve it.
This series of books is billed as a collection of detective novels. That's a bit of mis-categorisation, I think. They are instead keenly observed comic novels, with serious themes of community, exile, belonging, and the good life at their heart. The series is more Silas Marner than it is Miss Marple. Read it now: laugh, be cheered, and think about what it is that really matters to us.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the funniest book in Sansom's series yet. Israel finally gets to make a visit back home to London. He has to attend a mobile library meet with his sidekick Ted and they get into some unbelievable funny scrapes. Yet again, their van goes missing and they have to track it down. I cried with laughter at some of the moments in this book and am already looking forward to the next. I think fans of this series would also enjoy Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A square librarian in a round village
6 Jun 2010
Format:Kindle Edition
The Mobile Library series of "mysteries" by Ian Sansom takes place in a surreal world where a vegetarian Jew named Israel Armstrong is lured to Northern ireland to be town librarian, only to learn upon arriving that the town library is a mobile books on wheels van. Israel's pseudo intellectual outlook and mock erudite body of knowledge put him at constant odds with the simple people of the town, who are more likely to know the color of a book than the author or title.
Each of the books revolves around one central plot and a million little snapshots of Israel being a square peg in a round village.
In this book, Israel is offered the opportunity to return to England for a Mobile Librarian's conference, but quickly stumbles into another mystery that he must solve to save his reputation and freedom. But honestly, the plot is incidental to Sansom's very funny characters and gift for dialogue.
Having read Sansom on British websites for years, I am surprised that he writes books like these. As a book reviewer Sansom is quite tough, but these mysteries reveal an appreciation for the kaleidoscope of people that populate the world. Obviously being a tough reviewer doesn't mean he is a cold person.
Each of the books revolves around one central plot and a million little snapshots of Israel being a square peg in a round village.
In this book, Israel is offered the opportunity to return to England for a Mobile Librarian's conference, but quickly stumbles into another mystery that he must solve to save his reputation and freedom. But honestly, the plot is incidental to Sansom's very funny characters and gift for dialogue.
Having read Sansom on British websites for years, I am surprised that he writes books like these. As a book reviewer Sansom is quite tough, but these mysteries reveal an appreciation for the kaleidoscope of people that populate the world. Obviously being a tough reviewer doesn't mean he is a cold person.
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