The Book of Lost Things

New York Times bestselling author John Connolly's unique imagination takes readers through the end of innocence into adulthood and beyond in this dark and triumphantly creative novel of grief and loss, loyalty and love, and the redemptive power of stories.
High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own—populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.
Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.
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Community Reviews
I really liked this book. It's a fairytale for adults. Not that there are "adult" situations, but it's a fairytale like the original Grimm Brothers, so death and tragedy.
I found it, because I got the second book free. (Being a bookseller has some perks.) I do not regret having to purchase this one at all.
I found it, because I got the second book free. (Being a bookseller has some perks.) I do not regret having to purchase this one at all.
Really enjoyable
This book was beautifully descriptive in a gruesome way. I loved the ending and glad I read it.
Just meh
To be perfectly honest, part of the reason I love this book so much is because I read it in highschool and really loved it then. Upon re-reading it a few months ago, I noticed a few things that bothered me that didn't the first time, but they were few and nothing so problematic that it dampened the experience for me. The main big thing is a death that upset me the first time, as it's supposed to, but now I understand why the death of that particular character added to a harmful trope that exists throughout all kinds of media. I won't really go into it, since it's a spoiler, but it just makes me sigh.
This book toes the line of being unneccisarily edgy, since it's a dark fairytale story, but I just think that the story does a good job of explaining why things are the way they are in a very clever way. I really enjoy the tone of the story, and I enjoy watching the protagonist, a boy named David, grow and evolve.
I'm 100% biased towards this book though, do don't take my word for it.
This book toes the line of being unneccisarily edgy, since it's a dark fairytale story, but I just think that the story does a good job of explaining why things are the way they are in a very clever way. I really enjoy the tone of the story, and I enjoy watching the protagonist, a boy named David, grow and evolve.
I'm 100% biased towards this book though, do don't take my word for it.
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