A library in Canada has finally had one of its most overdue books returned, more than four decades after it was due back on the shelf.
The copy of War and Remembrance, a novel by Herman Wouk, was borrowed from the Greater Victoria Public Library in British Columbia and was last due back on 1 September 1983. War and Remembrance is a long novel about the Second World War, and was turned into a television series in the late 1980s.
The library announced the surprise return on social media this month, joking that it may be one of the most overdue items the library has ever seen.
Nobody knows exactly who returned the book, or why they kept it for so long. The library simply called the person who brought it back a “tardy borrower.”
Luckily for whoever returned it, the Greater Victoria Public Library removed all of its overdue fines back in 2024. However, the library does still charge a replacement fee if a book is more than three weeks overdue and considered lost.
The library reminded everyone that books can be returned “at any branch, any day, any time,” no matter how late they might be.
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