On Friday, I biked into town to have lunch at Pete’s Roast Beef with Richard and Shane, two of the librarians at Bailey Public Library. Richard is the library’s director, and Shane is the adult services librarian. Since they came to Bailey Library about a year ago, Richard and Shane (and the rest of the staff, of course) have brought energy and snap to our lovely stone library. There are the many events that the library hosts, but there is something else that’s harder to pin down. For those who love books, Bailey Library has become an exciting place to go to discuss books that have been read and to get suggestions for books to be read. And all who work at this library are so warm and welcoming that I always look forward to stopping by to drop off books and to pick up the books I frequently request through the state’s interlibrary loan service.

At Pete’s, Richard, Shane, and I all got the succulent roast beef sandwiches as well as a large order of fries, and when the order came, we tucked into the food, as the saying goes, and we also tucked into some book talk. Both Richard and Shane are avid bibliophiles, and while they are young enough to be my sons, their intelligence and their keen take on the books they’ve read make them seem more like peers.

Much of our talk revolved around the book Atonement by Ian McEwan. Richard and Shane had read it six or seven years ago, and I just finished reading it a few days ago, which meant it was very fresh in my mind. We all agreed it was beautifully written with vivid characters and a plot that is taut with betrayal, sexual tension, guilt, and war. In a nice twist, Briony, who is a young teen when the book opens, is the one who does the betraying and is the one who must spend the rest of her life in atonement.

“I absolutely hated Briony,” Shane declared. “I couldn’t stand her.”

“Really?” I replied. “I felt exactly the opposite. While I thought that what she did was wrong, I had great sympathy for the emotional upheavals she was going through. I can remember going through similar upheavals myself at her age. Of course I never betrayed anyone that way,” I hastened to add.

“It’s amazing how McEwan could write so convincingly from a thirteen-year-old girl’s point of view,” Richard said.

Yes, it is, and it is the sign of an author who has a deep, empathetic grasp of human nature, which he in turn brings to his characters. This empathy, combined with his great writing style, is what makes McEwan such a fine writer.

Still, I had a criticism to add. “I thought the ending was anticlimatic. I thought there should have been a confrontation between Briony and her sister, Cecelia.” (Cecelia was deeply affected by Briony’s betrayal.)

“I agree,” said Shane.

Richard, however, had a dissenting point of view. “Maybe that’s part of McEwan’s brilliance. He didn’t do what was expected.”

Maybe it is, even though I found the end unsatisfying.

The talk then turned to Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote. Richard thinks it’s a terrific book, but as Shane and I haven’t read it, we were unable to discuss it.

“For next month at Pete’s,” Richard said.

Sounds good to me, and after lunch I went directly to Bailey Library to see if they had a copy of Other Voices, Other Rooms. They didn’t, but I have requested it through interlibrary loan.

I’m looking forward to August and Truman Capote at Pete’s.