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jmm_lewis's review
4.0
I think this book has changed my life. I think it dug into places my brain has never gone and gone too many times before. I think I will be rereading this book for the rest of my life.
alanahcw's review
3.0
[I am not hiding this review due to spoilers, as these are some aspects that I would have liked to be warned of]
I wanted to give this a higher rating, but I'm conflicted. I did like it, and love the concept, but I wanted more of Lost Pages, and less of the intense sex - there is so much... at times it was triggering as on at least one occasion it was rape. It was a darker story than I was hoping for, and occasionally disgusting, which was disappointing.
I liked how the stories connected, but because they were written separately they seemed disjointed and jarring at times. (As I realize this review is becoming... my mind is all over the place after this book)
I was hoping for a magical story, and it is, but I was looking for a world I wanted to dive into - some positive escapism with less of the dark. I do wish this book was longer, focusing more on the aspects that I really liked and want to explore more of - the mythology, and reality-hopping Lost Pages - as I'm left slightly unsatisfied as it is.
To be fair I may have liked this more if I had different expectations. This book has sat on my shelf for a long time, waiting until I was finished reading my mountain of never-ending library books, so I had time to expect a story written exactly how I wanted it to be. Which is not fair, I know, and probably means I need to write the story exactly for me (or reread [b:The Starless Sea|43575115|The Starless Sea|Erin Morgenstern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554996038l/43575115._SY75_.jpg|66444785])
In hindsight, this may not have been the best time for me to read this book.
Anyway, this book is weird but good, dark and disturbing yet dreamy. Lost Pages is a refuge for the broken dreamers.
I wanted to give this a higher rating, but I'm conflicted. I did like it, and love the concept, but I wanted more of Lost Pages, and less of the intense sex - there is so much... at times it was triggering as on at least one occasion it was rape. It was a darker story than I was hoping for, and occasionally disgusting, which was disappointing.
I liked how the stories connected, but because they were written separately they seemed disjointed and jarring at times. (As I realize this review is becoming... my mind is all over the place after this book)
I was hoping for a magical story, and it is, but I was looking for a world I wanted to dive into - some positive escapism with less of the dark. I do wish this book was longer, focusing more on the aspects that I really liked and want to explore more of - the mythology, and reality-hopping Lost Pages - as I'm left slightly unsatisfied as it is.
To be fair I may have liked this more if I had different expectations. This book has sat on my shelf for a long time, waiting until I was finished reading my mountain of never-ending library books, so I had time to expect a story written exactly how I wanted it to be. Which is not fair, I know, and probably means I need to write the story exactly for me (or reread [b:The Starless Sea|43575115|The Starless Sea|Erin Morgenstern|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554996038l/43575115._SY75_.jpg|66444785])
In hindsight, this may not have been the best time for me to read this book.
Anyway, this book is weird but good, dark and disturbing yet dreamy. Lost Pages is a refuge for the broken dreamers.
spiderkitten's review
2.0
The Door to Lost Pages is a novel about a book shop in which a lot of thing happen that I find myself not caring about.
I didn't like this one. The reviews on GoodReads seem pretty high, and the book started out not bad, but by the time I was half way through I was finding it hard to finish and by the end thought the novel was a bit confusing and random.
I didn't like this one. The reviews on GoodReads seem pretty high, and the book started out not bad, but by the time I was half way through I was finding it hard to finish and by the end thought the novel was a bit confusing and random.
kraigers737's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mferrante83's review
4.0
Claude Lalumiere's The Door to Lost Pages is a short novella of interwoven stories patched together to form a fascinating and enthralling pastiche that orbits in and around a bookshop known as Lost Pages. It offers brief snippets of the worlds and mythologies housed in the mysterious bookshop and gives readers a tiny taste of the lives and souls of the people who have encountered its book lined, dog filled interior. The novella doesn't really offer a standard plot structure, though there is an overarching story to a certain extant, instead examining how the lives of everyday people are affected in startling ways by the smallest things.
I should say to start that if you are a fan of books, if you've ever willing explored the dusty corners of bookshops and libraries for no other reason than the shear joy of it, you should stop reading this and go grab a copy of The Door to Lost Pages. Likewise, if you have ever been enchanted by the interwoven mythologies with a fictional world, particularly if you've enjoyed Mythos tales so often linked by the arcane text of a certain mad arab, you should go grab a copy of The Door to Lost Pages. If, as a child, you have ever been transported by a book to somewhere else, either as an escape from something or just as an exercise of imagination, you should go grab a copy of The Door to Lost Pages.
For me the story that enchanted me the most, that resonated most deeply, was that of young Lucas. As Lucas himself says, “Looking at me now, you'd think I'd dropped form my mother's womb right onto a messy pile old, lurid paperbacks and arcane leatherbound tomes. Except in the fourth grade there was an incomplete set of an old battered encyclopedia on told of an old filing cabinet in the back of the classroom” an encyclopedia that “...hinted not only at alternate parts of the world but an altogether different way of apprehending reality.” While there is a more fantastical meaning to that in Lalumiere's novella it is also a fairly accurate description to how I feel about my earliest encounters with the written word. In Lalumiere's world books are magic, literally, and he cleverly uses children to convey that pure and unadulterated response to what is written between their pages.
If the books in The Door to Lost Pages are magic and Lost Pages is the place that collects them. It is the repository of things the world has chosen to forget (or ignore) and it exists in a nebulous state across time and worlds. Those things that it collects aren't just books, they are people too. Aydee, neglected and all but ignored by her drug addicted parents, and Lucas, a bit fey and intelligent drawn to the shadowed corners of the world, are both children who don't quite fit in the world we know. These two characters who form the foundation of the novella are in many ways themselves lost pages (in the library world the people that shelve books are sometimes called pages, a fact I found amusing and appropriate while reading this book) collected by the book store. Several times throughout the novel either Lucas or Aydee will serve as a means through which a new story is told becoming the means through which the knowledge they steward is shared with the world.
The Door to Lost Pages is 224 page love letter to books and stories. It's a book about being lost and all the varied meanings that simple word can espouse. It's about the fear of being lost in an uncaring world and about the wonder of being lost in a sea of knowledge. It is a meaty collection, despite its diminutive size, of lush imagery and stories that are by turns touching and unsettling. If you're looking for something to read that falls a bit off the beaten path you should definitely take a walk through The Door to Lost Pages.
Note: I sorry about that last line, I couldn't resist, I have self control issues. By way of apology I'll leave you with the opening lyrics to Audioslave's “Like a Stone” which The Door to Lost Pages called to mind:
“On a cold, wet afternoon
in a room full of emptiness
by a freeway I confess
I was lost in the pages
of a book full of death
reading how we'll die alone
and if we're good we'll lay to rest
anywhere we want to go.”
I should say to start that if you are a fan of books, if you've ever willing explored the dusty corners of bookshops and libraries for no other reason than the shear joy of it, you should stop reading this and go grab a copy of The Door to Lost Pages. Likewise, if you have ever been enchanted by the interwoven mythologies with a fictional world, particularly if you've enjoyed Mythos tales so often linked by the arcane text of a certain mad arab, you should go grab a copy of The Door to Lost Pages. If, as a child, you have ever been transported by a book to somewhere else, either as an escape from something or just as an exercise of imagination, you should go grab a copy of The Door to Lost Pages.
For me the story that enchanted me the most, that resonated most deeply, was that of young Lucas. As Lucas himself says, “Looking at me now, you'd think I'd dropped form my mother's womb right onto a messy pile old, lurid paperbacks and arcane leatherbound tomes. Except in the fourth grade there was an incomplete set of an old battered encyclopedia on told of an old filing cabinet in the back of the classroom” an encyclopedia that “...hinted not only at alternate parts of the world but an altogether different way of apprehending reality.” While there is a more fantastical meaning to that in Lalumiere's novella it is also a fairly accurate description to how I feel about my earliest encounters with the written word. In Lalumiere's world books are magic, literally, and he cleverly uses children to convey that pure and unadulterated response to what is written between their pages.
If the books in The Door to Lost Pages are magic and Lost Pages is the place that collects them. It is the repository of things the world has chosen to forget (or ignore) and it exists in a nebulous state across time and worlds. Those things that it collects aren't just books, they are people too. Aydee, neglected and all but ignored by her drug addicted parents, and Lucas, a bit fey and intelligent drawn to the shadowed corners of the world, are both children who don't quite fit in the world we know. These two characters who form the foundation of the novella are in many ways themselves lost pages (in the library world the people that shelve books are sometimes called pages, a fact I found amusing and appropriate while reading this book) collected by the book store. Several times throughout the novel either Lucas or Aydee will serve as a means through which a new story is told becoming the means through which the knowledge they steward is shared with the world.
The Door to Lost Pages is 224 page love letter to books and stories. It's a book about being lost and all the varied meanings that simple word can espouse. It's about the fear of being lost in an uncaring world and about the wonder of being lost in a sea of knowledge. It is a meaty collection, despite its diminutive size, of lush imagery and stories that are by turns touching and unsettling. If you're looking for something to read that falls a bit off the beaten path you should definitely take a walk through The Door to Lost Pages.
Note: I sorry about that last line, I couldn't resist, I have self control issues. By way of apology I'll leave you with the opening lyrics to Audioslave's “Like a Stone” which The Door to Lost Pages called to mind:
“On a cold, wet afternoon
in a room full of emptiness
by a freeway I confess
I was lost in the pages
of a book full of death
reading how we'll die alone
and if we're good we'll lay to rest
anywhere we want to go.”
mjfmjfmjf's review
1.0
To be discussed at the Powells Beaverton SF group Tuesday March 13th at 7pm. In the author's presence. But not including me - I'm invoking the Thumper rule and staying away.
readinggrrl's review
2.0
Very strange and hard to follow I'm not sure I can say I actually liked this book. It is a series of short stories that all seemed to blend together. This was quite disappointing since the first few stories were actually quite good and related to the quirky bookstore Lost Pages which I was much more interested in than some of the other stories. Not all of the stories were horrible though but the later ones do come with a caution since many of them were very sexual and erotic but not over the top. There was however a varied mix of sexual encounters that might not be suitable for younger readers.
I first picked this book because something about the book store reminded me of the Cemetery of Lost Books in Carlos Ruiz Zafon's books but then it seemed to twist into something else. Some readers might find a bit of Neil Gaiman in this author since some of it did remind me of American Gods, which I wasn't particularly fond of (and I think one of the only people who feels that way). There is a battle going on throughout the book between darkness and light, nightmares and good dreams, Angels and Demons but its all sort of vague and the Lost Pages bookstore is at the center of it. I would say if your a Gaiman fan you might really enjoy this book.
I first picked this book because something about the book store reminded me of the Cemetery of Lost Books in Carlos Ruiz Zafon's books but then it seemed to twist into something else. Some readers might find a bit of Neil Gaiman in this author since some of it did remind me of American Gods, which I wasn't particularly fond of (and I think one of the only people who feels that way). There is a battle going on throughout the book between darkness and light, nightmares and good dreams, Angels and Demons but its all sort of vague and the Lost Pages bookstore is at the center of it. I would say if your a Gaiman fan you might really enjoy this book.
tuesdaythemage's review
3.0
The world building in the beginning of this book is insufferable and the prose is narcissistic to the point of being ridiculous but there are good moments in here and the further in you go the more rewarding the experience. The silly and long-winded art prose gets in the way of the interesting ideas and locales here. Many of the character's motivations seem abstract or nonsensical, it's hardest to empathize with the misanthropes among them and their unrealistically scathing hatred for the world around them for its daring to not accommodate their rarified tastes and lust for adventure. This comes off as cheap and forced even to an introvert who you'd think would be the perfect audience for that sort of fare. I can't even imagine how others must take it.
I have a suspicion that most of my points against this book come from it reading initially like a mockery or weird doppelgänger of my own writing from high school, sexually charged and laced with abstract imagery, strange items and monsters and places that are unhinged in time and space yet often lacking direction or cohesiveness. It is to the author's immense credit that after all this strange prejudice and distaste, I came away from this book smiling and feeling like I'd really gotten something from it. The only way to treat some of the most over-the-top prose is to laugh but laughter isn't so bad and where this book succeeds in making compelling creatures and mythologies it does so rather brilliantly. I'd recommend finding a sample of this novel's prose somewhere and reading just a sentence or two. You'll know absolutely immediately if it's for you because of the wry grin creeping across your face, if not, you'll probably grimace in disgust. It's just that kind of book I guess.
I have a suspicion that most of my points against this book come from it reading initially like a mockery or weird doppelgänger of my own writing from high school, sexually charged and laced with abstract imagery, strange items and monsters and places that are unhinged in time and space yet often lacking direction or cohesiveness. It is to the author's immense credit that after all this strange prejudice and distaste, I came away from this book smiling and feeling like I'd really gotten something from it. The only way to treat some of the most over-the-top prose is to laugh but laughter isn't so bad and where this book succeeds in making compelling creatures and mythologies it does so rather brilliantly. I'd recommend finding a sample of this novel's prose somewhere and reading just a sentence or two. You'll know absolutely immediately if it's for you because of the wry grin creeping across your face, if not, you'll probably grimace in disgust. It's just that kind of book I guess.