THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS
BY JOHN CONNOLLY
Set in war-time England, this book charts the central character’s movement from childhood to adulthood in a highly imaginative manner. At the opening of the novel, 12 year old David, who has recently lost his mother, is trying to adjust to a new home, a new stepmother and a new baby brother. He is portrayed as a very disturbed boy, enmeshed in meaningless rituals and convinced that the books on his shelves are whispering to him.
Injured by a falling aircraft, he is propelled into a world full of trolls, talking wolves, knights, a variety of characters from well known fairytales, an evil trickster and an ageing king who apparently holds the key to David’s escape from this nightmarish world in his book of lost things. David’s goal is to find this king and while he is helped on his journey by a number of characters, he also has to overcome various challenges in the form of monsters etc. before he reaches his destination. Several stories, many inspired by ancient legends are told in the course of this journey and the reader is informed by the omniscient narrator that there is something to be learned from every story. With each passing event we witness the growth in wisdom, kindness, courage and knowledge of the central character.
VIEWS FROM THE BOOKCLUB
Everybody agreed that Connolly has a real talent for drawing the reader into an alternative reality. We are treated to extravagant descriptions of a dark world populated by strange frightening creatures, who indulge in terrifying battles, grisly decapitations and all sorts of weird behaviour. There was general agreement that the novel should be categorised as horror rather than fantasy. There was a lot of debate about the type of audience who would enjoy this book. The majority of the group felt that even though it re-cast many of the familiar fairy stories such as Snow White in a darkly humorous manner and contained an in-depth exploration of the maturing thoughts and beliefs of a young boy, it was definitely not suitable material for the under fourteens as it contained too much violence and cruelty and too many nightmarish events. On the other hand, it provides little in the way of nourishment for an adult audience. It was suggested that males in the age category of 18-24 would perhaps enjoy this type of book.
While most of the readers liked the opening and closing chapters, they believed that the author tried to incorporate too many characters, stories and events into the body of the novel and after a while it just lost meaning for them. Too much padding and not enough substance was a common criticism. One reader highly praised the book for what he believed was a very unique description of the battle between good and evil which is played out on a daily basis in every human mind.
Overall rating 5/10
