Joshua Hammer – The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu (Literature Review)

Fulfilling his father’s wish that he become the family scribe and preserver of all things literary within their family, young Abdel Kader Haidara takes up his father’s place as a literary conservationist. His job involves working with a dedicated team to preserve Malian culture and history for future generations.

Reluctant though he may have been at the start, soon Haidara begins to see the potential in his work, the beauty of the articles he is trying so desperately to save from desecration.

With an unlimited budget at his disposal, soon Haidara has devoted his life to the cause, driving thousands of kilometres – day and night – for the opportunity to even glimpse a rare manuscript, let alone convince the family claiming ownership to sell it to the public archives for all the nation to enjoy.

This is the story behind Joshua Hammer’s The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu. The story came across his desk while working at a major publication, and after many visits to the region, Hammer found himself not only intrigued by the tale of these rebellious literature lovers but compelled to share it with millions of others.

And with elements of only the best adventure-action stories, and having been touted as the tale of “a brazen heist worthy of Ocean’s Eleven” combined with all the edge-of-your-seat adventures in Indiana Jones, who wouldn’t be intrigued?

Well, I for one, was sucked in by the promise of The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu. While the title itself should have been enough, the story behind it – that of a group of bookworms dedicated to save their culture and history from a force of evil – seemed even more fascinating.

With such a premise, I couldn’t help but be excited to read a book that seemed so epic. It wasn’t long however, before I was let down by my own high expectations.

Let’s be honest: I am not for one minute saying that this is not an important story. It is, particularly in the scope of world history. The issue I had was in its telling.

For me, it jumped all over the place, one minute focusing on Haidara and his efforts to increase historical manuscripts before suddenly switching to the history of conflict in the region. Though such things are no doubt important, particularly with a non-fiction work such as this, I couldn’t help feeling a little let down.

In comparison to the historical portions of the book, the exploits of the so-called “bad-ass librarians” of the nation only featured minimally, and when they did, their stories seemed hurried as the author strives to return to his historical accounts. With the book only coming in at just under 300 pages, the need to rush seems unclear and leaves the reader feeling confused by the effort of reading it.

Given that Hammer has had quite an illustrious career as a journalist – with positions at Newsweek, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair (to name but a few) – I certainly believe that he is capable of telling a good story. The question is whether this is the one he intended to tell.

True, The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu is an interesting book. But the story contained within its pages might not be the one you expect, and leaves the unsuspecting reader feeling a little unsatisfied.

To find out more about this and other titles published by Allen & Unwin, visit their blog, Things Made From Letters.