The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
Review: For some boys, life can be a lonely and desultory place which slowly grows grimmer and darker each day. When David’s mother dies, she takes with her most of the light and love that David really knew. The books which they once enjoyed together are now read by David and David alone. His father is a grave man fighting to keep he and his son together at the same time Britain fights to hold itself together during the second World War. The life that David once tolerated begins to unravel when his father takes a new wife and brings a little brother to the family. He now has no one to turn to.
They move to a new house, large and dusty, and it is here, amidst the cobwebs and shadows of the past, that David’s books begin to talk to him. He can hear them muttering during the day and whispering to him at night. They cajole him with their stories and frighten them with their tales. He learns of the other young boy who once lived there, and of the Crooked Man. He is frightened. Fantasy mingles with reality, illusions suddenly become truths, and David hears the pleading of his dead mother. He can save her, she tells him. But he must leave the world he knows and enter a world he does not trust.
When he can no longer stand the sound of his mother’s desperate voice, he leaves the house and goes to save her. But the world she is trapped in is a world filled with evil. The inhabitants are characters David knows, but they are grim and severe. The trees bleed, wolves prey on humans with sanguinary desire, and small children go missing while a king sits huddled on an expiring throne. David becomes ensconced in his own terror, and in order to survive, he will have to shed his childhood innocence.
Recommendation: John Connolly creates a world very reminiscent of the dour fairy tales that children grow up with, but he manipulates them to be a murky reflection of characters we know. This is compounded by the sparse writing of Connolly. The place that David finds himself in is very sinister, and this ominous tone carries the novel a long way. While it is the story of a child, it is not necessarily a story for children. The enchantment is rich with malevolence.
Like many tales about the transition out of youth, this is a story for adults who have already made that journey. This book will especially appeal to people who spent hours immersing themselves in stories when they were younger. The idea of becoming a part of the story you love is appealing, even if the story turns out to be a life and death struggle.
Connolly is able to keep the reader engaged because the character of David has a lot to surmount not only physically but also mentally. He has lost quite a bit, and this makes him pitiable, but because his desires are so dark, he is not the heroic protagonist one would expect. Following him on the journey to see if he can grow into this role is where the book’s strength lies, and I enjoyed following David through that.
Connolly, John. The Book of Lost Things, Washington Square Press, New York, 2006.
Currently Reading: Twenty Chickens For a Saddle by Robyn Scott
On Deck: Suggestions? I am nearly to the end of my most recent read, and I am looking for titles to indulge in. Email me at rscotlan@charleswright.org or leave a comment!