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eileen_reads 's review for:
The Book of Lost Things
by John Connolly
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book had a great concept. The main character finds himself in a land full of fairy tales, which don't play out exactly as he expects. Kind of has Chronicles of Narnia vibes. But the author wrote in a bunch of homophobic & fatphobic vitriol. He is weirdly fixated on pedophilia. And this story absolutely dragged for me. It felt painfully slow. I listened to the audiobook via my library, and around 70% in I decided I was too far along to stop so I listened at 2X speed just to slog through it.
I might've still given this 2.5 stars if not for all the abhorrent anti-gay and anti-fat content. I also thought the villain was a tired "disfigured" trope. This was also overall a boring black and white "evil vs. good" story with very little nuance. So, I give it one star for an interesting premise and it's lucky to get that.
I won't waste my time on anything else from this author.
I might've still given this 2.5 stars if not for all the abhorrent anti-gay and anti-fat content. I also thought the villain was a tired "disfigured" trope. This was also overall a boring black and white "evil vs. good" story with very little nuance. So, I give it one star for an interesting premise and it's lucky to get that.
I won't waste my time on anything else from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Violence, Death of parent