ABANDONED. Seeking character and title: punctual typesetter. possibly russian.

[Kristina]

Hi there - I'm looking for the name of a character (and the novel that it's from) based on a vague and incomplete memory. Is this the proper forum for a question like this?

He is a minor character, or a character in a subplot of a larger story in a scene set in a print shop. There are a few men employed at the shop, one of them is noticeably, and memorably, punctual. There might have been a watch involved. Starts exactly on time, takes lunch on time, packs up and leaves every day. Very well respected by the rest of the group, considered the expert. The others were much more volatile. He may have been older, but I'm not entirely sure about that. I believe he was the typesetter. He's not even the main character of this scene/subplot, but very well drawn, seeing as I can't remember anyone else from the scene! There are both internal and outside tensions in the printshop, possibly due to policial concerns? I think labor was a theme, possibly the dignity and rights of the worker... I believe it was set between 80 - 150 years ago (I know, broad range).

That's about all I remember, although it might have taken place in Russia? I originally thought it was from Anna Karenina, but I searched through that book and can't find reference to the scene or characters.

thanks!

[Cheryl]

Do you remember anything else about the book as a whole?
Was it written for adults?
Do you have a guess when it was written, or when you read it?
Was it the kind of book that would be taught in schools, as Anna K. sometimes is, or was it probably just popular fiction?

(We're glad to try to help, but we usually get requests kinda backwards of yours, a la' "I remember a book that had this one interesting minor character in it. You've provided a refreshing challenge. :)

[Kristina]

Hi there! Thanks for the response!

I can't remember anything else about the book as a whole - although it was written for adults, and I read it in the last 10 years. Could have been something that would be a text in a class or popular/genre fiction. If it was genre it was likely literary fiction (which i consider a genre even if the writers of it don't!), romance, or historical fiction. It was definitely a novel though, and not a short story.

There may have been an explosion? or maybe just a fight? in the print shop. Posible fatalities, but not, I think, the typesetter himself. The memory also has a bit of a 'foreign' color to it, which may mean that it is a work not originally written in English, or was set outside of the United States. There was also the implication that no one questioned the typesetter's authority about his work ethic, or his assessment of jobs, not even the owner/manager.

Maybe something there will look familiar to someone. Hope so. Thanks again for the response.

[Colleen]

Possibly Margaret's Print Shop, by Elwood E. Yoder? Margaret's Print Shop: A Novel of the Anabaptist Reformation

[Kristina]

Nope, that's not it. The print shop is tangential to the main story, if that helps at all.

[Cheryl]

I have a feeling that I'd recognize this if someone else solved it, but I don't think I'll be able to. Keep bumping every few weeks! :)

[Barbara]

Could it be The Shipping News by Annie Proulx? I know it's a long shot, but thought I'd toss it out there.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

The Shipping News for the link for Barbara's suggestion.

[Mel]

I think I've read this. He's not really who he says he is, right? He's sort of hiding out there -- maybe a past spy or assassin or soldier or something? And he ends up having to leave the printshop when someone finds out who he really is, or some other inciting incident? He was taken in by the print shop owner when he was younger or something, and he learned all about paper and ink and whatnot?

[Tab]

The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald? It's set in Moscow and mentions a print shop.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Kristina, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Cheryl]

abandoned

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

I feel like this is from Every Man Dies Alone. I think you're conflating several different aspects of the novel. I'll look through the book to refresh my memory.