Get lost in The Book Of Lost Things (The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly)

Member Name: manonfireuk

Product:	The Book of Lost Things - John Connolly
Date:	09/10/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: brilliantly constructed and written tale, will leave you wanting more

Disadvantages: none

When I first read the blurb for The Book Of Lost Things while browsing for a new book in my local book store I thought I'd found a children's book lost in the adult section. However, I was very wrong, this maybe a fairy tale but it's a tale from a very dark place!

The story follows a 12 year old boy called David who is mourning the loss of his mother during the Second World War. David struggles to adapt to his new life, living with his father, his new wife and his step brother. David retreats to his bedroom where he comforts himself with the stories his mother used to read with him of fairy tales and legends. However, these books start to whisper things to him, David starts to have black outs, he starts to see visions of The Crooked Man until one day he is propelled into a strange world that is both very real and a construct of his own imagination.

This is one of the best finds I've ever come across while browsing through a book shop, looking for nothing in particular. It is funny, it's scary and sad too. It is very well written and after just a few chapters you will feel completly involved in the tale and you will believe in this wonderfully constructed fantasy world.

What I also found very interesting was the use of classic fairy tales in the story. The author has woven into the story many classic fairy tales that you will be familiar with, yet he has given them all a dark and sometimes comedic twist. Then at the end of the book the author has written a chapter about the origin of these fairy tales and how they have evolved over the years that I found very interesting.

When I picked up this book John Connolly was a new author to me, I'd never come across his work before. Since then I have met him, read his book of short stories, Nocturnes and have also started reading his crime fiction books. If you enjoy reading this book I can recommend that you move onto Nocturnes afterwards that is written in a very similar style and is full of short stories about the macbre! His crime fiction books are quite different and may not appeal to everyone but still worth a look.

Summary: well written fantasy to lose yourself in