Greater Victoria resident returns library book 43 years past due date

Have you ever held on to a library book a little too long?

A Greater Victoria resident took that to the extreme, having returned a book 43 years past its due date.

The book was War and Remembrance, a book published in 1978 by Herman Mouk. The novel is a sequel to Mouk’s The Winds of War, published in 1971.

According to the Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL), the book was due back to the library in late 1983 and has just recently been returned.

In a social media post, the library said it may be one of the most overdue items they have ever received.

The GVPL took the opportunity to remind residents that while holding onto an item past its due date may not be the ideal scenario, their ultimate goal is to have the books returned one way or another.

“If you’ve discovered a long-lost library book at home, a friendly reminder that you can return library materials at any branch, any day, any time,” the GVPL post reads.

“No judgment, just happy reunions.”

Luckily for the borrower, the GVPL no longer collects late fees for overdue books, having updated the policy in 2024 in an attempt to get Victorians to read more.

Related: Greater Victoria Public Library eliminates all overdue fees in hopes people will read more

War and Remembrance follows two extended families through their experience during the Second World War, with themes of Jewish identity and war.

Whether the reader temporarily misplaced the item or simply had an unusually long reader’s block, the library is surely glad to see it return.

Whatever the case was with this particular book, it may now give new readers the opportunity to enjoy Mouk’s story—hopefully it won’t take the next reader quite as long to get through it.