The Washington Post
Eleanor Davis
Susan Coll works at Politics & Prose Bookstore and would like to emphasize that this essay should be shelved under fiction. Her novel, “The Stager,” will be published in July.
“I’m looking for a book.”
“Great. What book?”
“I think it’s about a bird. It might be called ‘The Canary.’ ”
“There’s ‘The Canary Handbook.’ It’s not in stock, but I could order it for you.”
“No, that’s not it. Maybe it wasn’t a canary. I know: It was about something that flies. It could have been a parrot.”
“Sure, lots of parrot books out there. There was the one about Alex, the African grey parrot. It’s the true story of . . . ”
“No, this is more of a made-up story. It’s for my granddaughter.”
“Sounds like you want to try the children’s department, right down those stairs.”
“How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for a book.”
“Would you happen to have the title?”
“It’s a long shot, but I was in my car about a month ago and heard an author on the radio. Sounded really interesting.”
“Fiction? Nonfiction?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Anything about it you can remember?”
“It was raining.”
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