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A review by vagrantheather
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Book of Lost Things was recommended to me when I put up a request for trashy paranormal romance books. So obviously it was not at all a proper recommendation lol. It's a well written, solid book. It follows David, a child during the first World War, who watches his mother die of a drawn out illness, then his father remarry and have a new child. He's dealing with a lot of difficult, heavy emotions and he's angry at everyone. David is pulled through a wall into a fantasy realm where all the usual fairy tales are just a bit different from how he knows them. On his journey to return home, he does a lot of reflecting and growing up. Essentially it's a coming of age story in a dark fairy tale frame.
Connolly did a great job but it was certainly a more forthright distribution of life lessons than I'm accustomed to reading. The characters - the crooked man, the woodsman - were faithful representations of archetypes, rather than fully developed characters. It's a story that explored heavy themes via the familiar lens of centuries old stories. Connolly even goes so far as to dedicate the last quarter of the book to a discussion of the original material, from the first written versions to variations across cultures to the moral lessons portrayed in each.
For personal enjoyment I'd probably give it a 4/5. It didn't hit emotionally for me, nor am I interested in a coming of age story at the moment. I thought the initial allusions to OCD were unfortunate in that David is cured of his compulsions by a couple words of fatherly advice. I would probably recommend this to literary teenagers. It's probably not compelling for fans of popular booktok fantasy.
Connolly did a great job but it was certainly a more forthright distribution of life lessons than I'm accustomed to reading. The characters - the crooked man, the woodsman - were faithful representations of archetypes, rather than fully developed characters. It's a story that explored heavy themes via the familiar lens of centuries old stories. Connolly even goes so far as to dedicate the last quarter of the book to a discussion of the original material, from the first written versions to variations across cultures to the moral lessons portrayed in each.
For personal enjoyment I'd probably give it a 4/5. It didn't hit emotionally for me, nor am I interested in a coming of age story at the moment. I thought the initial allusions to OCD were unfortunate in that David is cured of his compulsions by a couple words of fatherly advice. I would probably recommend this to literary teenagers. It's probably not compelling for fans of popular booktok fantasy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: War