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The Book of Lost Things John Connolly 9780340899489 Books

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The Book of Lost Things John Connolly 9780340899489 Books

The story begins with David, obsessing over his “routine” (see: OCD) that he believes will save his mother from her life threatening illness. Unfortunately, David is unable to save her and his mother succumbs to the illness and dies. Some time after (side note: a little TOO soon after the death of David’s mother, if you ask me) David’s father remarries a woman named Rose and nine months later she gives birth to a son. It is around this time that David begins having “episodes,” moments where he blacks out and wakes up with no recollection of what happened while he was asleep. Poor David feels as if he is all alone in the world, as his father is working for the government and therefore is never home. So David is stuck in Rose’s giant house with just Rose, (who he loathes) and his new brother Georgie for company. David does his best to avoid these two and instead buries his nose in his books, as they remind him of his mother.

Rose tries her best to make David feel comfortable, and even gives her the room of her late uncle, Jonathan Tulvey. The room is filled with Jonathan’s books and trinkets and David takes comfort in seeing that someone is as connected to stories as he is. David becomes curious and asks Rose about Jonathan and she explains that when he was younger he and his little sister vanished into thin air one day. David becomes intrigued by this and as time passes he begins to hear the books in his room talk to him, and he begins to dream of a very sinister man, whom he names “The Crooked Man.” These dreams become twisted with reality and as time passes, David travels to another world in which the fairy tale characters he has grown up reading about exist. However, these characters are not the same kind and caring versions that he has grown up to love. They are sinister and grim versions, each twisted into a new form.

These characters were one of the absolute best parts of the story. I don’t want to spoil the fun for you so I will just touch upon some awesomeness. First, Snow White is a fat, disgusting and mean person. Second, Ever wonder where werewolves came from? Little Red Riding Hood had some issues with bestiality (I promise the story does NOT go into detail at this point, thank goodness, because, EW.) and the Crooked Man is quite possibly one of the creepiest villains I have yet to encounter (Rumple who?) There was also a rather kind woodsman, a loyal knight and an extremely creepy Sleeping “Beauty” thrown into the mix. All of these characters David met on his journey to see the King, the ruler of the land, who was having a very hard time ruling. David learns something from each encounter and it is through these extremely trying situations that the reader is able to see him grow from a spoiled, selfish child into a mature and kind young man.

When pondering the setting to this story I realized how unique John Connolly writes. Ultimately, he was just writing about a vast forest, a small town, and a few huge castles. Yet, in my mind I saw a darkness creeping from the corners of my imagination toward David. I saw lights extinguishing behind him as he walked down the long corridor, I saw the trees sway when there was no wind. These are things Connolly simply hinted at yet I was able to pick up on these subtle images and make them into something that made me afraid as if I was the one walking through this land.

The Book of Lost Things is harrowing and phenomenal. I haven’t been so enthralled by a novel of this genre since reading The Child Thief by Brom. It was deeply imaginative and sinister enough to have even the bravest adult looking over their shoulder while reading.


Tags : The Book of Lost Things [John Connolly] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Book of Lost Things [ The Book of Lost Things by Connolly, John ( Author ) Paperback Oct- 2007 ] Paperback Oct- 16- 2007,John Connolly,The Book of Lost Things,Washington SquarePocket Bks,0340899484,9780743298902,Literature & Fiction - General,Modern fiction

The Book of Lost Things John Connolly 9780340899489 Books Reviews

Wow! The Book Of Lost Things Has Everything In It That A Book Could Possibly Ever Have!! This Amazing Tale Takes The Reader Through Every Magical Adventure Imaginable! Reminiscent Of JRR Tolkien's Hobbit And Lord Of The Rings Books, This Story Takes Us On A Quest Following The Story's Young Hero, David, Through A Far Off Place With Different Lands Full Of Dangers As He Seeks A Way Back To A House And Broken Family He Walked Away From. The Author Uses The Fairytales We All Think We Know From The Brothers Grimm To Guide Us Through David's Journey From A Scared Boy To The Beginnings Of A Brave Man. Settle In And Snuggle Up In Your Favorite Chair And Prepare For A Journey Through A Dark And Magical Land Where You'll Encounter Trolls, Hunters, Giant Spiders, Enchanters, Wolves And The Crooked Man Who Wants Your Name. Things Are Never Always As They Seem... Some Tame Things Are Really Wild And Some Things Lost Are Right There In Plain Sight. I Couldn't Wait To Get Home From Work Each Night So I Could Continue Reading This Book! I Will Definitely Be Checking Out More Titles By John Connelly! 👏🚸👑📚
There are a lot of books out there that reinterpret familiar fairy tales, especially the tales of the Brothers Grimm. Some adopt an ironic or metafictional approach and address the reader directly about the meaning and nature of the tales. Some rely on the brothers themselves as the main protagonists. Many borrow familiar characters and repackage them with humorous, political, satirical, or literary messages of varying degrees of explicitness. Some, at the middle grade level, go for laughs, thrills, zany antics, or chuckles.

This book takes an entirely different tack. David's story could have just been presented as a straight up fantasy quest in an imaginary alternate world. But, Connolly upped the ante and the rewards by incorporating his reimagined versions of the Grimms' tales and characters into his larger story of loss, growth and discovery. As a consequence we get the touching tale of David's quest seasoned with a literate and compelling reconsideration of the world as filtered through the Grimms' sensibilities.

There is a lot to admire here, from the elegant writing to the sympathetic story of David to the deft handling of the fairy tale material. Sometimes this can be stern and sad stuff, and I wouldn't automatically call this a middle grade read just because of the young protagonist and the fairy tale content. But that said, this is a laudable and impressive, (and very entertaining), approach to fairy tales and for me was a happy find.
The story begins with David, obsessing over his “routine” (see OCD) that he believes will save his mother from her life threatening illness. Unfortunately, David is unable to save her and his mother succumbs to the illness and dies. Some time after (side note a little TOO soon after the death of David’s mother, if you ask me) David’s father remarries a woman named Rose and nine months later she gives birth to a son. It is around this time that David begins having “episodes,” moments where he blacks out and wakes up with no recollection of what happened while he was asleep. Poor David feels as if he is all alone in the world, as his father is working for the government and therefore is never home. So David is stuck in Rose’s giant house with just Rose, (who he loathes) and his new brother Georgie for company. David does his best to avoid these two and instead buries his nose in his books, as they remind him of his mother.

Rose tries her best to make David feel comfortable, and even gives her the room of her late uncle, Jonathan Tulvey. The room is filled with Jonathan’s books and trinkets and David takes comfort in seeing that someone is as connected to stories as he is. David becomes curious and asks Rose about Jonathan and she explains that when he was younger he and his little sister vanished into thin air one day. David becomes intrigued by this and as time passes he begins to hear the books in his room talk to him, and he begins to dream of a very sinister man, whom he names “The Crooked Man.” These dreams become twisted with reality and as time passes, David travels to another world in which the fairy tale characters he has grown up reading about exist. However, these characters are not the same kind and caring versions that he has grown up to love. They are sinister and grim versions, each twisted into a new form.

These characters were one of the absolute best parts of the story. I don’t want to spoil the fun for you so I will just touch upon some awesomeness. First, Snow White is a fat, disgusting and mean person. Second, Ever wonder where werewolves came from? Little Red Riding Hood had some issues with bestiality (I promise the story does NOT go into detail at this point, thank goodness, because, EW.) and the Crooked Man is quite possibly one of the creepiest villains I have yet to encounter (Rumple who?) There was also a rather kind woodsman, a loyal knight and an extremely creepy Sleeping “Beauty” thrown into the mix. All of these characters David met on his journey to see the King, the ruler of the land, who was having a very hard time ruling. David learns something from each encounter and it is through these extremely trying situations that the reader is able to see him grow from a spoiled, selfish child into a mature and kind young man.

When pondering the setting to this story I realized how unique John Connolly writes. Ultimately, he was just writing about a vast forest, a small town, and a few huge castles. Yet, in my mind I saw a darkness creeping from the corners of my imagination toward David. I saw lights extinguishing behind him as he walked down the long corridor, I saw the trees sway when there was no wind. These are things Connolly simply hinted at yet I was able to pick up on these subtle images and make them into something that made me afraid as if I was the one walking through this land.

The Book of Lost Things is harrowing and phenomenal. I haven’t been so enthralled by a novel of this genre since reading The Child Thief by Brom. It was deeply imaginative and sinister enough to have even the bravest adult looking over their shoulder while reading.