Libraries

Libraries are a central object of narrative and thematic consideration throughout the book. The author, Susan Orlean, considers aspects of their day to day function and their history; more importantly, though, her essential narrative intention is to celebrate the contributions they can and do make to the lives and well-being of communities, cultures, and individuals.

Books

As part of her consideration of libraries, Orlean also considers the value of what libraries in general are most associated with - books. This point of narrative focus is emphasized most in the narrative's latter chapters, in which she defines books and their content (that is: not just stories, but records of human existence) as fundamental components of providing humanity with both definitions of itself and records of itself.

Fire

The trigger for the book's existence, and the catalyst for Orlean's considerations about books and libraries, is her discovery of a...