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The Book of Lost Things

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The Book of Lost Things

By: John Connolly
Narrated by: Nick Rawlinson
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About this listen

Once upon a time, there was a boy who lost his mother.... As twelve-year-old David takes refuge from his grief in the myths and fairytales so beloved of his dead mother, he finds the real world and the fantasy world begin to blend. That is when bad things start to happen. That is when the Crooked Man comes. And David is violently propelled into a land populated by heroes, wolves, and monsters, and begins his quest to find the legendary Book of Lost Things.

©2006 John Connolly (P)2007 ISIS Publishing Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Scary Fantasy Wolf

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A very good story although I felt that the narrator left to many long dramatic pauses so I listen to it at 1.10 speed and that fixed it.

Great dark fairytale

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This was a beautifully haunting experience, with both dark old fashioned fairy tale motifs and all the hallmarks of a great coming of age story with moments both emotional, occasionally funny and often existentially terrifying. Highly recommend for any age, but will likely especially hit home for older children and teenagers. Solid performance from the narrator as well, with great range and command of characters.

Reads like a fairy tail, stings like only real life can.

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Although this story features a young boy as it’s main protagonist it is not a child’s tale. It starts with building his “normal” life and that is uncomfortable as he struggles with the loss of his mother, the war and his father’s new companion.
As the tale proceeds there instances of antiquated attitudes to same sex relationships but these are shown in a negative light and I think that the same sex relationship in the story is handled beautifully. There is no carnality or explicit behaviour described.
There are also references to exploitation of children, although as a child the character David does not understand the full implications.
Later in the narrative are elements of terror and horror. But it is handled well with a convincing level of fear and peril and balanced with humour and affection.
The narration is measured and clear. Accents to differentiate characters are used well. Other reviews found them inappropriate, but if taken as representing how a child would imagine the character to speak I think that they work well.

Not a fairy story, fantastic though.

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A wonderful book, well written with surprises all the way through to the end, sand what a lovely ending. The narrator was excellent and kept me enthralled throughout.

What a surprise this book was

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Loved this story - I didn’t know it was a fairytale but it’s so beautifully written and narrated!

Great fairytale

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I've loved Fairytales since my childhood, where every book I took out from the library and read, transported me into different worlds of wonder, magic and mystery. I lived for the next book and the next and would become so engrossed in the tales, my imagination working overtime, conjuring up all the magical places and characters and leave me gasping for more. I've never really grown out of Fairytales as an adult and have returned to them in many different guises. As adult fiction, young adult fiction, supernatural, fantasy and sometimes, even delving back, into childhood stories from long ago.
This Fairytale was dark and gruesome, frightening and shocking. A grown up Fairytale with adult themes. I found it very dark and sometimes zoned out of the gloom, wishing for daylight to reappear. It did eventually in a grown up way. But it didn't leave me with that euphoric feeling of good having won over evil, that I used to feel when coming to the end of a Fairytale as a child. Have I become too old and lost my imagination or become cynical and sceptical with age. I don't really know. All I know is this book was too dark for my liking and really did scare me in places with it's graphic horror scenes. What I did enjoy was spotting all my favourite fairytales popping up throughout the book, retold and re-imagined, but still true to life and legend.

A Dark and Scary Fairytale

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I have just bought the land of lost things and the book of lost things and both are wondrous. I like best the continuous encounters with the grimmest of tales but each leave a nugget of hope. The ending of the book of lost things is absolutely pitch perfect and having lost a brother called David I cannot but hope that someday in a wondrous country he might be found again. Both books are wonderful but I found the slow and at times slightly ponderous tone of the narrator slightly off putting. The west coast accent of the woodsman, well, no thank you. But I am quibbling because I still fell under the spell of both books. Amazing.

The darkest of fairy tales

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I just started to listen to the book. it's red quite slowly so if you read and listen at the same time it's frustrating... also it goes from normal voice to whisper a lot so it's hard to listen to it quietly without turning it up all the time and ending up with a loud boom.

ok

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I loved this book.
A slow start but masterfully narrated, dark humour and a great tale.

Great story with the flavours of dark fairy tales.

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John Connolly is undoubtedly my favourite author, but even I was surprised at how gripping, magical and thoroughly satisfying this was. A proper grown-up story for children with a villain to rival all others.

Masterful enthralling, wondrous…

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