The Uncommon Reader

When Her Majesty accidentally discovers a mobile library frequenting Buckingham Palace, she feels obliged to borrow a book. Under the tutelage of a kitchen worker named Norman, an enthusiast of gay writers, the Queen develops an unexpected passion for reading. Norman, elevated to the Queen's amanuensis, selects numerous texts to feed her voracious appetite. However, when she attempts to engage ordinary folk and heads of state in literary discussions, she is disturbed by their flat-eyed stares. Her advisors worry that she's growing senile. Eventually, her books are hidden, mysteriously lost in transit, or blown up by overcautious security personnel. Alan Bennett's narration is every bit as delicious as his wit. Listeners will have a field day with this droll peek into alleged palace reading practices. An absolute delight! S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

July 16, 2007
Briskly original and subversively funny, this novella from popular British writer Bennett (Untold Stories
; Tony-winning play The History Boys
) sends Queen Elizabeth II into a mobile library van in pursuit of her runaway corgis and into the reflective, observant life of an avid reader. Guided by Norman, a former kitchen boy and enthusiast of gay authors, the queen gradually loses interest in her endless succession of official duties and learns the pleasure of such a “common” activity. With “the dawn of her sensibility... mistaken for the onset of senility,” plots are hatched by the prime minister and the queen’s staff to dispatch Norman and discourage the queen’s preoccupation with books. Ultimately, it is her own growing self-awareness that leads her away from reading and toward writing, with astonishing results. Bennett has fun with the proper behavior and protocol at the palace, and the few instances of mild coarseness seem almost scandalous. There are lessons packed in here, but Bennett doesn’t wallop readers with them. It’s a fun little book.