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thepagesofmrsd 's review for:
Lost Property
by Helen Paris
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Dot Watson has lost her way. She was living the high life in Paris with a great job and a great boyfriend. Now, over 10 years later, she is dividing all her time between her job at the London Transport Lost Property office and visiting her mum in a care home. That is until elderly Mr Appleby arrives at lost property looking for his late wife's purse. She is determined to help and, in so doing, sets her life on a different path...
.
I read this as part of the #LostPropertyReadalong with @tandemcollectiveuk and I am so glad I had that chance. With a lively DM group, fun challenges, and a Q and A with the author, the readalong really added to my reading experience and helped me to appreciate this lovely book so much more than I think I would have done otherwise. This would be a great buddy read option!
.
I didn't get into it straight away, partly because it just isn't my usual type of read. That said, I was soon a bit more invested in Dot and wanted the best for her!
.
I loved the writing. Helen Paris has delivered an incredibly emotive exploration of loss in all its forms, with the lost property office working well as a symbol for this. There were also some really immersive scenes where I truly felt like I was feeling Dot's joy, sadness, panic or fear right alongside her.
.
I also appreciated the many links to music, literature, and travel. These things served to solidify connections between characters as well as encourage the reader to consider what is important in life - how we can live life to the full!
.
There were some aspects of the plot that didn't quite work for me, and a few chapters that went on longer than I felt was necessary. At these points, I briefly lost interest. This book is based more around chararacter and reflection, and that is where its strengths lie.
.
Overall, this was a great read with a lot of layers that I didn't quite expect. It was very emotional with some difficult themes (eg. dementia, suicide, grief⚠️) but also quite beautiful and, in the end, life-affirming. Contemporary fans will like this a lot, I think!
.
I read this as part of the #LostPropertyReadalong with @tandemcollectiveuk and I am so glad I had that chance. With a lively DM group, fun challenges, and a Q and A with the author, the readalong really added to my reading experience and helped me to appreciate this lovely book so much more than I think I would have done otherwise. This would be a great buddy read option!
.
I didn't get into it straight away, partly because it just isn't my usual type of read. That said, I was soon a bit more invested in Dot and wanted the best for her!
.
I loved the writing. Helen Paris has delivered an incredibly emotive exploration of loss in all its forms, with the lost property office working well as a symbol for this. There were also some really immersive scenes where I truly felt like I was feeling Dot's joy, sadness, panic or fear right alongside her.
.
I also appreciated the many links to music, literature, and travel. These things served to solidify connections between characters as well as encourage the reader to consider what is important in life - how we can live life to the full!
.
There were some aspects of the plot that didn't quite work for me, and a few chapters that went on longer than I felt was necessary. At these points, I briefly lost interest. This book is based more around chararacter and reflection, and that is where its strengths lie.
.
Overall, this was a great read with a lot of layers that I didn't quite expect. It was very emotional with some difficult themes (eg. dementia, suicide, grief⚠️) but also quite beautiful and, in the end, life-affirming. Contemporary fans will like this a lot, I think!