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The long-anticipated, wildly inventive new novel by the Irish-Canadian writer whose previous work was shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Ethel Wilson Prize and the Goldsmith’s Prize (UK).
In Anakana Schofield’s dazzling new novel, we follow a building (and its dwellers) in an unnamed city as it generates, develops and dies. The inhabitants call this building the “Library of Brothel,” and they hope we’ll come for a visit. Rumours surround the structure, and developers increasingly have their eye on it. But what visitors find inside is an economy of an altogether different kind: an exchange of intellectual stimulation.
As we enter the library, we discover an unfolding crisis: The popular Emperor Nero Room has called in sick, and nearby Henry George Room absolutely refuses to fill in. Looking on is Giraffe Room (previously the Human Carwash Room, before an unfortunate flooding incident), the second highest earner in the building. Meanwhile, John Keats Room is making noise complaints against History of Public Transport Room. And there is a misunderstanding in the Fit Hippos Room, resulting in a stepladder being thrown.
The room-workers at the Library of Brothel want to teach us how to relate to one another—but increasingly realize they still have to figure this out for themselves. And the building’s Noble Leader isn’t helpful; instead, for the past 14 years Scrabble Room has been unofficially in charge of mediating disputes and solving the Library’s dilemmas, even though all she wants in this life is to come to work and do her job undisturbed. Now, just as this Borgesian library is besieged by outside forces, Noble Leader disappears, Scrabble Room is at her wit’s end, and the building’s delicate intellectual economy has come under threat.
Behind Library of Brothel’s riotous invention, drama and humour is a penetrating and urgent reflection on how we live and work alongside one another, and where we place value. Here is an extraordinary novel by one of our most uncompromising voices, and a passionate cri de coeur for the right of every human to dignity and meaningful work.
In Anakana Schofield’s dazzling new novel, we follow a building (and its dwellers) in an unnamed city as it generates, develops and dies. The inhabitants call this building the “Library of Brothel,” and they hope we’ll come for a visit. Rumours surround the structure, and developers increasingly have their eye on it. But what visitors find inside is an economy of an altogether different kind: an exchange of intellectual stimulation.
As we enter the library, we discover an unfolding crisis: The popular Emperor Nero Room has called in sick, and nearby Henry George Room absolutely refuses to fill in. Looking on is Giraffe Room (previously the Human Carwash Room, before an unfortunate flooding incident), the second highest earner in the building. Meanwhile, John Keats Room is making noise complaints against History of Public Transport Room. And there is a misunderstanding in the Fit Hippos Room, resulting in a stepladder being thrown.
The room-workers at the Library of Brothel want to teach us how to relate to one another—but increasingly realize they still have to figure this out for themselves. And the building’s Noble Leader isn’t helpful; instead, for the past 14 years Scrabble Room has been unofficially in charge of mediating disputes and solving the Library’s dilemmas, even though all she wants in this life is to come to work and do her job undisturbed. Now, just as this Borgesian library is besieged by outside forces, Noble Leader disappears, Scrabble Room is at her wit’s end, and the building’s delicate intellectual economy has come under threat.
Behind Library of Brothel’s riotous invention, drama and humour is a penetrating and urgent reflection on how we live and work alongside one another, and where we place value. Here is an extraordinary novel by one of our most uncompromising voices, and a passionate cri de coeur for the right of every human to dignity and meaningful work.
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