- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Washington Square Press (October 16, 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 074329890X
- ISBN-13: 978-0743298902
- Goodreads.com synopsis: 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.
"Before she came ill, David's mother would often tell him that stories were alive. They weren't alive in the way that people were alive, or even dogs or cats. (...) Stories were different, though: they came alive in the telling. Without a human voice to read them aloud, or a pair of wide eyes following them by torch light beneath a blanket, they had no real existence in our world. (...) They lay dormant, hoping for the chance to emerge. Once someone started to read them, they could begin to change. They could take root in the imagination and transform the reader. Stories wanted to be read, David's mother would whisper. They needed it. It was the reason they forced themselves from their world into ours. They wanted us to give them life."
— John Connolly (The Book of Lost Things)
What a wonderful book... I know that I don't have the way with words to do justice to how I felt about this book. I could relate so much with the character and how he felt about books. I fell in love with stories as a very small girl when my Nana would tell me stories about growing up in the twenties. I still remember all of them. As I got older, naturally my love of stories turned into a love of books. When I picture my dream house, the first room I mentally furnish is my library. :-) But John Connolly portrays that love of books so well in this story.
The story itself is a dark combination of Narnia and The Neverending Story mixed with some of the most twisted version of fairy tales I've ever heard. The boy, David, becomes part of this twisted fairy tale world and through his adventures, he confronts many of his fears and faces many of his own shortcomings. A wonderful albeit dark coming of age story that I think a lot of people can relate to.
