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The book of lost things by John Connolly
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The book of lost things (original 2008; edition 2006)

by John Connolly

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6,8973251,338 (3.95)2 / 506
Not the style of book fantasy/ fairy tales for adults that I usually read, but John Connolly wrote it, so I gave it a try.
Definitely different, but in a good way, and worth a reading. ( )
  zmagic69 | Mar 31, 2023 |
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Not my cup of tea. I didn't enjoy the story, or the narration. The fairytale style wasn't my preference - I prefer more Faerie if that makes sense. It was a bit childish, I guess. Struggled to finish it. ( )
  Zehava42 | Jan 23, 2024 |
I'm still trying to decide what I think this book is about. On the surface, it's sort of in the vein of Maguire's [b:Wicked|37442|Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Wicked Years, #1)|Gregory Maguire|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WuYKK3vEL._SL75_.jpg|1479280]: the reader enters a fairy tale world that is much more sinister and grown-up than the way we imagined it as children. Just from this angle, it's a really interesting, imaginative, sort of disturbing yarn. Snow White becomes this obese menace who roars at the poor dwarves. Sleeping Beauty is your worst nightmare with fangs. Prince Charming seems to be tragically in love with another knight. And within these retellings of familiar stories, there are new, creepy fairy tales told by the characters.

In addition to this, you have a coming-of-age story about a boy who's suffered the death of a beloved parent. His journey is moving and realistic. So I guess this book is a twofer. You get bowled over by the eery imagination of the author and you get that warm tingle from the growth and development of the boy. Maybe they seem contradictory, but that's life: wondrous and scary. ( )
  LibrarianDest | Jan 3, 2024 |
I struggled between giving this book three or four stars. It was inventive and imaginative. The pacing was excellent and I gobbled it up in only a couple of days in spite of having to work my full time job and read around a couple of baseball games. And yet... it was oddly emotionless reading. Entertaining, but not really engaging. This is the first book I've read by this author, so I don't know if this is his normal style or if he was trying to imitate a classic fairytale style, but that's how it worked for me. He tells us that characters are feeling emotions, but I don't feel it or feel a particular empathy with them. For example:

"No!" cried David, and although he was overcome by rage and sadness, he somehow found it in himself to begin running again..."

and

He stood upright in his red trousers and his white shirt, staring at David with undisguised hatred. He raised his head and howled for the lost members of his pack, but he did not leave. Instead, he continued to watch David until the boy at last left the bridge and disappeared over a small rise, crying softly for the Woodsman who had saved his life.

Also, I get the impression that the author doesn't like women very much, as the monstrous characters are almost all women. His version of Snow White and Seven (actually Six) Dwarves was pretty hilarious, though.

First edition hardcover, which is really disappointing, because despite the gorgeous cover art and decorative chapter openings and interesting font choice, it's badly printed. The paper is cheap and thin and there are several pages where the ink is smeared across the page as though someone neglected to clean the rollers. This one will go into my donation pile.

I read this book for the Booklikes Halloween Bingo 2019, for the square Relics and Curiosities: Concerning magical, supernatural or haunted objects, such as spellbooks, talismans or swords. It has whispering books, magic portal trees, and a talismanic beast claw. ( )
  Doodlebug34 | Jan 1, 2024 |
4.5⭐️

“Stories were different, though: they came alive in the telling. Without a human voice to read them aloud, or a pair of wide eyes following them by flashlight beneath a blanket, they had no real existence in our world. They were like seeds in the beak of a bird, waiting to fall to earth, or the notes of a song laid out on a sheet, yearning for an instrument to bring their music into being. They lay dormant, hoping for the chance to emerge. Once someone started to read them, they could begin to change. They could take root in the imagination, and transform the reader. Stories wanted to be read, David’s mother would whisper. They needed it. It was the reason they forced themselves from their world into ours. They wanted us to give them life.”

Twelve-year-old David grapples with the loss of his mother and the changes in his life as his father remarries and they move into his stepmother’s old family home where he struggles to adjust to a new life as WWII rages on. David’s father works as a codebreaker and David resents having to spend time with his stepmother and the new baby in the family. David's only solace is the time he spends with his books - the love for reading and tales of knights and folk tales he shared with his late mother. In his new room, he finds an interesting collection of old books – old tales unlike those he has ever read before and as he reads on, he senses strange occurrences around him. One day out in the woods surrounding the house, a series of shocking events cause David’s reality to blur. As the narrative progresses, we follow David as he is thrust into the fantastical world of Elsewhere where meets friends and foes in his journey to find the king who possesses the Book of Lost Things which he hopes will have the key to his returning home. Through stories, adventure and life-changing experiences, David learns much about life, family, friendship, and courage – a journey that will leave an indelible impact on his life.

I absolutely loved The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly! I do not read much fantasy but have always loved fairy tales and particularly enjoyed the author’s take (sinister and twisted for the most part) on the tales and some of our favorite characters from the same. David is an endearing protagonist who will strike a chord in your heart. Masterfully crafted and exceptionally well-written with vivid world-building, this creative, immersive dark fantasy novel kept me engrossed until the very end. I loved how the author has woven the theme of love for reading and the importance of books in our lives throughout this novel. I also loved how the author chose to end the novel (incredibly moving, bittersweet and thoroughly satisfying!). I must mention the enthralling and extensive Author’s Note, where he discusses the tales and fictional characters who inspired the characters in David’s story and a version of each of the tales as well. While I wouldn’t recommend this one for children , I believe adults who enjoy folklore/fairy tales with darker themes would surely enjoy the read!

I paired my reading with the audio narration by Steven Crossley, which truly enhanced my overall experience. ( )
  srms.reads | Dec 26, 2023 |
Dark tale of a boy who enters a world with fairytale characters. Although mostly an enjoyable read, there are aspects that don’t hang together. ( )
  simbaandjessie | Dec 9, 2023 |
I loved this book and the concept behind it. Unfortunately, this seems to be unique for this author. It's a great story about a boy who finds courage and learns to cope with the loss of his beloved mother by finding a fairy-tale world. The only thing is, the fairy tales are out to eat him. A dark take on all of our favorite fairy tales. ( )
  LinBee83 | Aug 23, 2023 |
7 stars: Good

-----------

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in his imagination, he finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a land that is a strange reflection of his own world, populated by heroes and monsters, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book... The Book of Lost Things.

An imaginative tale about navigating the journey into adulthood, while doing your best to hang on to your childhood.

-------

"This life is filled with threats and danger. We face those that we have to face, and there will be times when we must make the choice to act for a greater good, even at risk to ourselves, but we do not lay down our lives needlessly. Each of us has only one life to live, and one life to give. There is no glory in throwing it away when there is no hope." ( )
  PokPok | Jun 24, 2023 |
Not the style of book fantasy/ fairy tales for adults that I usually read, but John Connolly wrote it, so I gave it a try.
Definitely different, but in a good way, and worth a reading. ( )
  zmagic69 | Mar 31, 2023 |
The Book of Lost Things starts out very similar to a lot of other classic fantasy tales. David in an ordinary boy who has a connection with another world, that he finally enters. This is a melding of some of the most beloved fairy tales, folk tales, and stories of our childhood. Part Narnia and part Never Ending Story, David's story is a much darker twist to a familiar tale. Childhood stories like Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast are turned on its head, made more adult and very pertinent to David's own life. The Book of Lost Things was completely engrossing and I couldn't stop reading. Some have complained at the 150 pages of notes at the end, which retold the stories used in the book with some explanation for the changes. While very self-indulgent on Connolly's part, I found his notes very interesting because it offered a lot of insight into David's thought processes and journey, and ultimately made me see a whole other layer in the story. ( )
1 vote wisemetis | Jan 15, 2023 |
This book was tinged with the darkness of the Brothers Grimm, and for some reason it played out in my head visually like Pan's Labyrinth. I liked the idea and the use of fairytales but there were some chapters that weren't as effective and dulled my interest.

Despite being with David throughout the entire adventure I still didn't feel connected to him or have a sense of who he was, his father and step-mother seemed more fleshed out than he. The ending was also somewhat predictable, it would have been nicer to learn more about 'the King' and what had been happening during his 'reign'.

All in all it was an OK read with a few boring parts but otherwise a decent dark fairy tale. ( )
  spiritedstardust | Dec 29, 2022 |
A fairytale story for grown-ups. John Connolly proves that he can write more than just thrillers. ( )
  MaraBlaise | Jul 23, 2022 |
While I understand the point he was trying to make at the end, and felt as if it was a good one, it still seemed rushed. After so much detail in the exposition, I was disappointed with the short conclusion. ( )
  kayfeif | Jul 7, 2022 |
Oh, why didn't I review the book immediately after I'd read it. Now, it's been more than 2 months, and I honestly don't think I can do justice to the book with this late review. Nevertheless, I'll try.

It's a really good book. Not out-of-this-world amazing, but good. Better than good. The horrifying creature that is the Crooked Man has been described so well that he seems to come to life. If one has the time, this book is a definite recommendation! ( )
  Chandna_Agarwal | Apr 8, 2022 |
Haunting, Imaginative, Heart breaking ( )
  Richard_Neary | Jan 15, 2022 |
Entertaining story of a 12 year old boy coming to understand adulthood though the clever use of a mix of Fairy Tales. Reminds me of many authors who have put famous characters and tales in their own works (Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, for example). The tale was quick to read, and the boy makes all the morally correct choices in the end. This book also included an interview with the author, and the author's notes on the original resources he used (although I was surprised there was no mention of Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes, particularly from the Tale of Goldilocks and the three bears. This ending of the book was also very reminiscent of Brewers Phrase and Fable; Louis Borges' Imaginary Beings, and Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces (the last of which Connolly did reference). ( )
  AChild | Oct 11, 2021 |
I was expecting something a lot darker and menacing - instead I got a fairly standard tale of a boy retreating into a fantasy world to cope with things outside his control. I did enjoy the twists on the tales (replacing female protagonists with male, evil fathers instead of mothers - the twist on Snow White, with Communist dwarves and a monstrous Snow White was great and I wish we had spent some more time there.) and most of David's adventure in the other world, but for some reason I wasn't invested. The Crooked Man wasn't scary (even when Connolly went into detail about his various misdeeds [not scary but it did make me sad]), there never seemed to be a sense of real danger for David. And, overall, pretty predictable. ( )
  Elna_McIntosh | Sep 29, 2021 |
An easy read with some dark and gory plots which was engaging and thrilling.

My full review here:
http://www.sholee.net/2017/05/mpov-book-of-lost-things.html ( )
  Sholee | Sep 9, 2021 |
Do you believe in fairy tales? Read the review here. ( )
  joyblue | Sep 7, 2021 |
Really 3.5 stars. Masquerading as a child's fantasy book, this dark book involves a young boy escaping reality to seek his dead mother. He finds himself in a strange land, where Lupes and wolves are threatening to overthrow a weak and dying King, who is trapped there by his own poor decisions. Intertwined are a series of twisted fairy tales. ( )
  skipstern | Jul 11, 2021 |
Stories _want_ to be read, to be told. They need the telling to exist. Turns out we need them as well.

While I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this book, I was unprepared for how much I fell in love with it. The main character is a great Everykid: he wants to be good, to be loved, he imagines what he wishes could be, and he fears exclusion and replacement. I might have been him, and I think I've raised a son much like him. As for the story, this is much like Neil Gaiman's work BUT alloyed with something more like Tad Williams' "Otherland"... a fraught, malleable alternate world that may or may not be of one's own creation. Many reviews focus on the bleaker, more violent parts of "The Book of Lost Things," and those are present as surely as they are in the original version of most fairy tales, but this book also has deep pathos, understanding of human emotion, and no small amount of whimsy or even absurd humor. For instance:

“He had quite liked the dwarfs. He often had no idea what they were talking about, but for a group of homicidal, class-obsessed small people, they were really rather good fun.”

Where else will you find the Seven Dwarfs are Marxist revolutionaries with hearts of gold?

My recommendation: buy it, read it, and pass it to someone who needs it. It wants to be read, after all. ( )
  MLShaw | Jun 24, 2021 |
An entertaining read...I'm always a sucker for twists on fairy tales. ( )
  LibroLindsay | Jun 18, 2021 |
This was my first novel by this author, whom I have read good things about (the author, that is). This is a tale about growing up, I think it was meant for a more Young Adult crowd, than an adult one. I rallied through it, as I hoped it would get more interesting, but it flitted through a twisted version of a fairy tale, into another one, enough that I wondered where the real part of the story was going to appear. It finally did appear, and was an okay finish. I think I would have enjoyed this work much more if I had read it when I was 12 years old. That being said, it wasn't a terrible novel, just more suited to a younger reading crowd, in my opinion. ( )
  Ralphd00d | May 4, 2021 |
First off, I would like to thank Lee for mailing me this book and telling me that I MUST read it. I appreciate it, man; just added an all-time-favorite to the list.

For me, The Book of Lost Things is one of those books that embody why I read in the first place. I completely lost myself in this story, the characters, and David's journey.

David is a 12 year old boy living in England during the onset of the Second World War. The Nazis are on bombing raids of London and his life is in turmoil not only from the War but from the recent loss of his mother and his father's remarriage and the arrival of a new child into the household. He is a child that is ripe for the type of voyage on which he is about to embark.

David is, like most of us I think, called by books. However, those of us that are schizophrenic notwithstanding, he can actually HEAR their whispers. And sometimes they demand his attention. He realizes that what is happening is not normal, and more than a little scary. Especially when he begins to be visited by "the crooked man," a character that David knows can't exist, but who clearly has a plan that involves him.

I don't want to give away any of the plot, but I will say that The Book of Lost Things takes us on a ride through the darkest of fairy tales, some re-imagined, some simply fleshed out in their original gory and horrifying detail, toward that most cherished of destinations---home. Along the way David learns about the nature and inevitability of loss, about loyalty and belonging, and how life is really about things lost and, sometimes, if we live it right, it is about finding our way again.

You will choke up at points, experience chills at how dark some of these fair tales really are, laugh out loud, thrill to the adventure, and in the end experience a beautiful and bitter-sweet tale. But isn't that how a fairy tale, and life itself, really turns out? ( )
  ChrisMcCaffrey | Apr 6, 2021 |
This was a re-read and I had definitely forgotten just how dark this boom was!

The story follows young David who is struggling with the loss of his mother. There is a war on, and David's father has moved on with another woman. David hates her and feels like his father is abandoning him for Rose and their new son, Georgie.

David and his father move in with Rose in her large family home. The books in his room speak to David. Strange things are happening to David and no one will believe him. When out in the sunken garden, he finds a strange opening in an old tree; and a WWII bomber crashing into the garden forces David to escape thru the opening into another world.

In this new world David is met with allies who vowed to protect David and help him find a way back to his world. He also finds enemies out to destroy him. In particular, the crooked man has plans for David. It is all David can do to keep his courage and continue on his journey to find his way home.

Along the way David has many dangerous adventures when he builds his courage, learns very important lessons and begins to mature into a young man.

Excellent read. This was my first John Connolly book and the one that hooked me. The narrator did a brilliant job of spinning the tale in a way that was captivating. ( )
  ViragoReads | Mar 29, 2021 |
I was surprised with just how dark this book was. I didn’t necessarily expect it to be middle-grade, but most of the time, with young main characters comes a somewhat light plot. However, that turned out to be a good thing—I loved how Connolly blended fairy tales with dark aspects to make the perfect mixture of one losing one’s innocence as one transcends into adulthood. ( )
  Akacya | Feb 28, 2021 |
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