ISBN-13: 978-0340899496
Publisher: Hodder Paperback
Published: April 2007
512pp
Well, the title is the first thing that had caught my attention when I found this book randomly on the New Releases shelves last year. I have never read anything by John Connolly, so I thought I will give this book a try since the blurb intrigued me. I am glad this book doesn't disappoint.
Twelve-year-old David lost his mother to cancer. It was also at that time that England is at war; and while David is still mourning for his mother and wary of how the war will affect them, he spends most of his time indulging in his books and fairy tales as they are the only thing that could keep him company. His father is away at work most of the times, and it doesn't help when his father remarries and he has to adjust having a stepmother and a new half-brother at home.
Later, he finds himself hearing things from the books and he is able to tell from their 'behaviour' if they are excited or angry. He didn't dare tell anyone about this for he fears everyone will think he is insane and lock him in somewhere else. It is as if the real world and the fantasy began to meld as one, and there he enters into a strange place where he will encounter a pack of hungry wolves and all the various strange creatures but nothing scares him more than the Crooked Man, which is an evil troll who will try all ways to tempt David in order to gain his power over the kingdom.
While searching for a way home, David soon finds he will learn some lessons about bravery, loyalty, sacrifice and finally the acceptance and the love for his family.
As much as I enjoyed reading The Book of Lost Things, I also find this story has touches my heart in many ways. I can totally relate with David about the loss of his mother, but it is his acceptance and the love for his family towards the end that warms my heart. Besides John Connolly's great imagination and his wonderful plot, another thing which intrigues me most is the re-telling of various fairy tales/folk tales that he put into this story (e.g. Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Goldilocks etc... just to name a few). And as a bonus, I also get to read these origin tales at the end of the story, before reading the interview with the author and his thoughts about this book.
The Book of Lost Things is a wonderful fantasy tale which I am sure will suit both adults and the young. It is definitely a keeper for me.
Other Bloggers' reviews:
Everyday Reads
Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
The Written Word
Valentina's Room
Posts
Melody, I loved this book!! It was so magical, and yet so dark. What a great review!!
Wow, this looks great! Another one for the wish list! Thanks for the review!
Hey Melody - I hope you are feeling better! We missed your posts but at least you got some good reading done :)
I really want to read The Book of Lost Things. It sounds wonderful. Maybe I need to add it as a challenge read!
I can't read your review as I am really looking forward to reading this later this year. It has had some great reviews and I read enough to see you really loved it.
Stephanie - Glad to hear you loved this book too! :)
Jaimie - I can see your wishlist is piling up. You go, lady! ;)
Iliana - I'm feeling much better now, thanks! I'm glad I found some great company in books, hehe... I hope you'll enjoy this book too.
Rhinoa - I totally understand about not reading any review before reading the book which you've been waiting for! I can't wait to hear your thoughts and am sure you'll enjoy it!
I've only heard good things about this book and am looking forward to reading it for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. Oh, I also noticed that yours has a different cover than mine - interesting!
Stephanie - I can't wait to hear what you'll say about this book for your Once Upon a Time Challenge! Mine is a UK edition so that explains the different cover. ;)
I loved this one too. :) It's crazy how different the British cover is from the American one.
Eva, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this book too! I think the different editions/covers can be so confusing to readers at times!
I have been wanting to read this one for quite some time now and was so glad to come across your review, Melody. I am glad to hear you liked it.
Wendy, I'm sure you'll enjoy this book. I hope you'll read it soon. :)
Now, here's another one to add to my wishlist... :)
Oh, I'm so glad you enjoyed this one! It's pretty close to the top of my reading pile now, and I'm really anxious to get to it!
I've been meaning to read this forever, but I keep getting it mixed up with The Secret of Lost Things and thinking I read it already. I will go add it to my library request list right now so I don't keep making that same mistake! It sounds so good from your description. :)
I loved this book. I'm glad you did too. Like you I found it very touching as well as compelling. And I loved the extras at the end.
Alice - The more the merrier! ;P
Debi - I really enjoyed this book! I'll be looking forward to hearing your thoughts. ;)
Dewey - Now you've piqued my interest regarding the other book! ;P Looks like I'll have to check out that book too...
Nymeth - I'm glad to hear we shared the same thoughts. One of my best reads this year!
I'll have to give this one a try at some point. Maybe if there's a R.I.P. challenge this fall :)
I picked up this book purely because of the cover and now your post (and especially your conclusion) made me really want to read it!
(jumped here form the Bookworms Carnival)
Becky - I hope you'll read this book soon! :)
Tasses - Thanks for visiting my blog! :) I'm hoping you'll enjoy this book as much as I do.
Hello Melody! I had a grand time reading this one last year! Really engaging yet creepy nonetheless. Gee, I hope that made sense. And the different perspectives on the fairy tales are great! Then there's this knight and his one true love!
I'll link this post to my blog too, if you don't mind! Although my post on this is way older. Here's my rambling on the same book.
Lightheaded - Hello! Thanks for visiting my blog. :) I'm glad to hear you enjoyed reading this book too. Thanks for adding my review to your blog; I've also added yours to mine too. :D
Thank you for the review. I haven't seen that cover for the book before. Interesting!
Great review! I loved this book - it was my first foray back into 'fairytales' and now I'm hooked!
Amanda - I love it that the book come in different covers. :)
Mrs S - Thanks. :) Me too.
I have had this on my wish list for a while now. Thanks for the great review
I like the idea of his own retellings of those fairy tales: our memories of fairy tales are probably all different depending on how we heard them the first time.
Thanks for this post. I like John Connelly. Now I have another book to add to my wishlist.