Lewis Percy says of himself "I don’t actually teach . . . I just work in the library," and "I’m not blind . . . although . . . incredibly stupid." He is a mild-mannered Londoner whose mother has died and whose marriage is falling apart. Things begin to look really bleak when the library decides to automate, but a deus ex machina saves him by offering a teaching job in Massachusetts. He is then inspired to divorce his wife and seek out the woman he loves. Booker Prize-winner Brookner writes well, but her characters are not sufficient vehicles for her psychological speculations, and her story is tedious and predictable.