Structure

The Library Book tracks its quartet of narrative threads through a sequence of chapters that shift in focus from one thread to another. The primary thread considers the destructive fire at the Los Angeles Central Library and its aftermath; considerations in the other three threads (a recounting of the library’s history; an exploration of its contemporary workings; and a memoir of the author’s, Susan Orlean, relationship with the other three threads) emerge in relation to considerations of the primary one. Each chapter has a primary focus on one of the main threads – on the fire, or on history, or on operations – even while it contains references to the others. Meanwhile, the thread defined by Orlean’s personal perspectives and experiences weaves throughout all the chapters without having separate chapters devoted solely to it. All this gives the book an overall sense of specific focus being...