The Last Book

Charles Sutton, booklover and professor, is intrigued by the old book he is given by the elderly and enigmatic instrument repairer. He likes the old leather-bound book and reads a tale that is completely absorbing. Finishing and closing the cover, he sees the title fade away and a new one gradually emerge. Inside is a new story. How? Magic? Digital trickery? He is pulled anew to open the aged volume. All night and much of the next day, Charles reads story after story, each one as compelling as the last, somehow perfectly suited to his eclectic tastes. It is a wonderful and satisfying repetition of the emergence into the timeless realm of reading. Between stories, though, he feels a growing sense of unease.