What do books symbolize in the novel, Gun Island?

Books are a symbol of Deen's identity. Growing up in India, books served as a means of escape for him: they were a reprieve from his small world and fuel for his dreams of a greater life. Upon leaving India, Deen settles into an American neighborhood that reminds him of the Archie comics that he read as a child. It is through his job at his university's library that he meets Cinta, and finally, he ends up falling into a career as a rare books dealer.