Reviews

Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski

jdeval's review against another edition

5.0

An extraordinary novel. So terribly moving and sad and then so stunning in its outcome. What a last line!

Laski lived and wrote in the UK during the period she writes about and the novel has the immediacy of current events.

Just. So. Fine.

sofabell's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

rosyroo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

rpgw84's review against another edition

emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

roseofmay's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

we_are_all_mad_here26's review against another edition

2.0

I sometimes have trouble deciding whether to rate a book based on how much I enjoyed it, versus how good I thought it was. In this case I am going with the former - Little Boy Lost was good, but I did not particularly enjoy reading it.

In the Afterword Anne Sebba refers to Hilary, the protagonist, as "a sympathetic character even though not all his qualities are admirable," and I would heartily disagree with her. Hilary is almost entirely unsympathetic, even when you throw a murdered wife and lost baby into his history. He is possibly the most arrogant, egotistical, selfish and childish character I've read in recent memory. His ugly thoughts and attitudes made me feel like the sooner I could be done with him, the better. That he was the personification of this sad and adorable little boy's hope - well, Little Boy Lost, indeed.

This is the 28th book published by Persephone and the 13th I've read.

dootsiez's review against another edition

emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

andrew61's review against another edition

4.0

A fascinating picture of a France recovering from the occupation where the country has to reconcile the duality in its response to nazi invasion. The story is about Hilary, an English man who in 1943 has escaped Paris leaving behind his French wife and new born child. One evening a French man arrives on his doorstep, telling him that his son is lost after the death of his wife. In 1945 he returns to a France devastated by the war and pierre tells him of an orphan in a small town convent, Hilary visits and builds a relationship unsure whether the child is his son.
The interaction between the child and the adult is well done and Hilary is a character whose frailties are dramatically exposed in a story which seemed a unique portrayal of a remarkable period in European history

wendoxford's review against another edition

3.0

I did really like this book but there were two things that made it less than perfect for me. Usually I am un-bothered by the style of period writing but the over-extended descriptions, feelings (shown and un-shown) would have been exmeplified so much better (and elicited a better reader response) in the more contemporary way of "show not tell". The only time we saw action rather than internalised action was right at the end. The tension there was so much more palpable when the author used this technique.
That said, the setting and close-up view of post-war France and a man trying to re-build himself was fascinating and made the book compulsive.

paula_s's review against another edition

5.0

Marghanita Laski nos mete dentro de la cabeza de Hilary. A través de sus ojos vemos una Francia destruida, empobrecida, corrupta y miserable, pero conservando el orgullo y la cabeza muy alta. Igual que Hilary, Francia tiene que reconstruirse y no perderse en la felicidad de un pasado lejano ni sumirse en el terror y la desolación del pasado cercano. Ambos, Hilary y Francia, deben mirar para adelante y empezar de nuevo, rescatar la esperanza, aunque sea en un niño de tan solo cinco años.

En resumidas cuentas, es un libro sobre sentimientos y deberes, sobre traiciones a otros y a uno mismo. Sobre renacer de los escombros, sobre el amor. Una obra tan emocionante como emotiva. Una auténtica maravilla.