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david_brent's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Pedophilia
valent1ne's review against another edition
this one was a rly cool concept that was not executed well at all imo. the main character had no identifiable personality traits & was just swept along by the narrative, which didn’t even make sense in most places + the pacing was really off. it also felt more written by a child than an adult, the writing was really immature and lacked nuance for pretty much everything. got halfway thru and wanted to try to finish bc of that but after a couple graphic n upsetting scenes that added almost nothing to the story beyond filling up space i didn’t want to read any more of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Pedophilia, and Rape
tatjanasbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Ableism, Dementia, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide and Death
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book feels like a warm and cozy blanket and a lovely cup of tea.
It's wholesome, heart-warming, whimsical, magical even, cute, cozy, British, tooth rotting sweet... and I loved it. It was exactly what I needed this weekend. It also deals with some heavy topics like death, Alzheimer's, loss and grief in general, but it still has this positive vibe throughout the whole book.
The keeper of lost things is an old gentleman called Anthony. He's a writer and one day a tragic event made him be obsessed with lost things. Whenever he finds something on his walks/journeys someone else lost, he takes it home with him and catalogues it in order to return it to the rightful owner. As he fails to do this, he starts writing short stories about the lost items instead. His last wish is for his middle-aged housekeeper Laura to take over the task and return at least some of the object to their owners. Laura, the gardener Freddie and the neighbour's daughter Sunshine, who has down syndrome, then try to fulfill Anthony's wish.
In a second plot line we get the story of Bomber, a publisher, and his assistant Eunice, following them for years. Additionally, both plots are interwoven with short stories about the lost items.
It might sound a little chaotic, but I really liked this structure and in the end everything came together beautifully.
All the characters in this book are kind of lost, and they not only find each other but also themselves. I LOVED this theme that really connected every detail in this book. The writing might not be very outstanding, it's very, very sweet and whimsical and... repetitive. So don't expect too much.
I'm a little conflicted about Sunshine, though. There are a lot of things I like about her representation. She's a great and lovable character, portrayed in such a respectful way in my opinion. She is probably the character with the most agency in the whole book, she takes initiative, keeps the plot going. There even is a discussion about prejudices against people with Down Syndrome and how to not treat them. But then she's the only character with a "special ability", being able to sense/predict things? I mean it fits with the tone and atmosphere of the story, but it still feels like people with disabilities need an additional talent to be part of the story. I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking it.
So yeah, it's not a very deep book or a masterpiece or a must-read, but great to escape reality for a bit.
It's wholesome, heart-warming, whimsical, magical even, cute, cozy, British, tooth rotting sweet... and I loved it. It was exactly what I needed this weekend. It also deals with some heavy topics like death, Alzheimer's, loss and grief in general, but it still has this positive vibe throughout the whole book.
The keeper of lost things is an old gentleman called Anthony. He's a writer and one day a tragic event made him be obsessed with lost things. Whenever he finds something on his walks/journeys someone else lost, he takes it home with him and catalogues it in order to return it to the rightful owner. As he fails to do this, he starts writing short stories about the lost items instead. His last wish is for his middle-aged housekeeper Laura to take over the task and return at least some of the object to their owners. Laura, the gardener Freddie and the neighbour's daughter Sunshine, who has down syndrome, then try to fulfill Anthony's wish.
In a second plot line we get the story of Bomber, a publisher, and his assistant Eunice, following them for years. Additionally, both plots are interwoven with short stories about the lost items.
It might sound a little chaotic, but I really liked this structure and in the end everything came together beautifully.
All the characters in this book are kind of lost, and they not only find each other but also themselves. I LOVED this theme that really connected every detail in this book. The writing might not be very outstanding, it's very, very sweet and whimsical and... repetitive. So don't expect too much.
I'm a little conflicted about Sunshine, though. There are a lot of things I like about her representation. She's a great and lovable character, portrayed in such a respectful way in my opinion. She is probably the character with the most agency in the whole book, she takes initiative, keeps the plot going. There even is a discussion about prejudices against people with Down Syndrome and how to not treat them. But then she's the only character with a "special ability", being able to sense/predict things? I mean it fits with the tone and atmosphere of the story, but it still feels like people with disabilities need an additional talent to be part of the story. I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking it.
So yeah, it's not a very deep book or a masterpiece or a must-read, but great to escape reality for a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Infidelity
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