The Book of Lost Things Audiobook By John Connolly cover art

The Book of Lost Things

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The Book of Lost Things

By: John Connolly
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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High in his attic bedroom, 12-year-old David mourns the loss of his mother. He is angry and he is alone, with only the books on his shelf for company.But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in the myths and fairytales so beloved of his dead mother, he finds that the real world and the fantasy world have begun to meld. The Crooked Man has come, with his mocking smile and his enigmatic words: "Welcome, your majesty. All hail the new king."

With echoes of Gregory Maguire's and C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, author John Connolly introduces us to a cast of not-quite-familiar characters - like the seven socialist dwarfs who poison an uninvited (and unpleasant) princess and try to peg the crime on her stepmother. Or the Loups, the evil human-canine hybrids spawned long ago by the union of a wolf and a seductive girl in a red cloak.

As war rages across Europe, David is violently propelled into a land that is both a construct of his imagination, yet frighteningly real - a strange reflection of his own world composed of myths and stories, populated by wolves and worse-than-wolves, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a legendary book...The Book of Lost Things.

©2006 John Connolly (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC. Coming of Age Genre Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fantasy Wolf Fiction Royalty War Heartfelt Scary Feel-Good
Creative Reimagining • Poignant Allegory • Excellent Narration • Sympathetic Protagonist • Dark Fantasy • Brave Hero
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I really enjoyed this book. It started a little bit slow, but once the little boy disappeared into the other world, I couldn't stop listening. You couldn't help rooting for him, and understanding how he thought. The people he met were as interesting as he was.

Kept me listening.

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A phenomenal book that should never become a Lost Thing, no matter how far - or near - its journey.
Highly recommended, although more so for mature readers (and listeners) - there is violence, and sadness, and loss... much loss. Yet it is a story both touching and ever so sweet...

Brilliantly written and narrated, thank you so much to Mr. Connolly and Mr. Crossley!

Chilling... and Utterly Brilliant

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My goodness...what a wonderful tale...kept me hooked from the beginning to end, where I did, I must say, she'd a few tears. I love this author, and truly loved this book. Narrator was right on the mark, also. I can't think of one negative thing to say. I wouldn't really say this is a children's book, and you will see for yourself what I mean by that once you read it. It truly is more of an adult fairy tale. All I know is that I was swept into the story and savored every single word. I highly, highly recommend this book and author. Come, be swept up into this story...you will not regret it. Enjoy!

Absolutely a joy!

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The original headline for the review was going to be "What a sweet lesson", but as I thought back on the book, it would have been quite misleading! The story was unique; the premise even more so. If you like a little twist in your fairy tales, this is the book for you!

Not for the faint of heart

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wonderful story with fairy tail feature
not all happily ever after but a look into the other side of them

get lost in the imagination

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Insightful, beautifully told. A bit slow at first, but once it takes hold you won’t want to stop.

Offbeat fairy tale

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I read The Book of Lost Things years ago and I never forgot it. I recommended it to several friends who loved it just as much. Set during World War II, this book tells the tale of a young boy, David, who has recently lost his mother. His life is further uprooted when his father remarries and has another son, and they move into an old, mysterious house in the country. David begins to hear voices and suspects there is an evil man prowling around the house. One night, David goes into the garden and he is suddenly transported into another world. It is a world filled with an array of fascinating characters, some of which aim to help David return home and others who mean to harm him. Connolly takes well-known fairy tales and turns them on their head (e.g. Snow White is really a fat, nasty person and the Seven Dwarves are Communists who seek to overthrow her). You will love the Woodsman and Roland and be truly frightened by the Huntress and especially the Crooked Man. Connolly has a magical writing style that is a reminiscent of other fairy tales and he has you hooked with the first few lines. Steven Crossely has a wonderful range for the many characters' voices. I highly recommend this book and believe it will stay in your memory for years to come.

A Dark, Memorable Fairytale

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I really enjoyed the format of this book. It weaved short dark fairytales through out the book that is explained away as side characters keep feeling the need to tell the main character a story as a reference to something going on with the plot.

The short stories add a lot to the atmosphere and tone but most arnt very interesting. It's kinda like hearing the same stories you grew up with but given a darker edge to it. It's kinda boring and not very creative when it feels so same-same to what we already heard. Sometimes it feels a bit of a stretch though and makes changes for shock factor so consistently that it's gets kind of numbing. My favorite reinterpretation though was of Snow White. I found when her short story got brought up to be super funny in a dark way. My least favorite would have to be of Red Riding Hood, The huntress and Hansel/Gretel. I didn't like their plots because it felt kinda plugged in and unnatural. For example Hansel/Gretel is plugged in probably in the weirdest way. Essentially kid is hungry and tries to eat some found chocolate and then is stopped, told the story of Hansel/Gretel, and then the plot moves on. That's a weird way to tell someone not to eat something and felt overstuffed.

The overarching plot also is grim, slow and boring. It takes forever for anything to really happen that when the main plot gets going I just sorta glaze over and wait for the next short story to break up the monotony. It sometimes feel so dark and grim that it gets somewhat numbing. When so much darkness is going on its hard to be consistently shocked

The writing was super beautiful and was descriptive enough to make the world feel alive. Despite the boring plot I just kept wanting to finish this still because the world building elements were still super fun. I appreciate the recnogizable themes with the plot but overall wish something more creative could have been done with it to really make the best use out of such a cool world.

The main character is a child which is normally something I'd avoid like the plague. But he's super cute. The situations he gets involved in though are traumatizing and i found his consistent innocence to be a bit unrealistic. He doesn't often react in a recognizable way that i believe a actual human child would react. He feels like a well realizes character though with his overall innocence but the lack of flexibility on that makes him feel like more of a character to move the plot then someone that is living and breathing. At least he wasn't annoying too, that's a huge plus, it's oh most easy to ignore him completly and just let him take you from one short story/plot device to the next.

I dont know the kind of people I'd recommend this book to. I feel like there's better stuff out there to make a more efficient use of your time.

Beautifully atmospheric but slow and boring

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I don't like gruesome stories especially with children involved, leaves my soul feeling worse then when I started.

gruesome adult fairytale

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Entertaining and enlightening. A book worth the time to listen to it. Bravo. I recommend it to you.

Delightful

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