Abdul Trent has been working with his tutor, Janet, since December of 2022 at the Maryland City at Russett Library in Laurel. Abdul has a passion for reading that was built by his father’s bookstore in Denver, Colorado. His father often said there are so many books and not enough time to read them all.
Abdul is a strong reader, but complex storylines and novels with characters embodying symbolism often led Abdul to struggle with remembering and comprehension. This was the case over twenty years ago when Abdul picked up “Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison for the first time. Now twenty years later, Abdul came to tutoring with the hope of learning techniques for comprehension of Ellison’s enigmatic novel.
Through months of dedication, Janet and Abdul deep dove into the ideas of the novel and worked through the character’s journey, ultimately ending in a twenty-year success story for Abdul.
From day one he told his tutor, Janet, he hoped he could read the novel he remembers seeing in his father’s bookstore. While Abdul’s father has passed from this earth, he left Abdul with the gift of hundreds of books Abdul keeps in his home from his father’s bookstore.
It is with great pride Janet wanted to share his story of completion of the novel after a few months of tutoring and years of longing to understand Ellison’s words. It is important to celebrate such a long-awaited achievement and to remember just how powerful books can be.
Janet and Abdul have now moved on to another novel to keep the momentum in their shared passion for reading. There are so many books to read and not enough time to read them all.
