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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About this listen

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
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Creative Reimagining • Emotional Journey • Distinct Character Voices • Sympathetic Protagonist • Atmospheric Worldbuilding
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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is one of those books that appeal to a specific listener. If I know my friend has a fondness of fairytales and enjoys rather warped retellings, I'd suggest this book.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was satisfying in its resolution, but it was perhaps a little too "tidy" for a book that was "out there."

What does Steven Crossely bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His agility with regional accents from the UK is admirable.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

David's delicate state after his mother's death was heartbreaking and disturbing. John Connolly did a great job engendering pity for the boy's plight, particularly in the scene at the psychiatrist's office when David has a meltdown.

Any additional comments?

The Crooked Man stands out as a particularly menacing bad guy. Towards the end of the story, the author pushed a little too hard with an overabundance of gory details and sickening anecdotes about the character's misdeeds. My finger hovered over the fast-forward button because the gratuitous detail became irritating. We already got it: he's a really bad dude.

The Book of Lost Things portrays the healing power of stories and books.

For Those Who Enjoy Playing with Fairytales

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Set in England at the start of WWII, the 12-year-old main character, David is struggling with the death of his mother after a long debilitating illness. After his father quickly remarries and has another child, David feels abandoned and resentful. Always a reader, he turns to his books for solace and they in turn begin to talk back. He escapes into a secret world of fairy tales and embarks upon a quest to learn the truth about what really happened to his mother. This book is a mixture of coming of age story interspersed with fairy tales turned grisly. It is rare to find a book with truly creative concepts, but Connolly manages to take what could have been a fairly common format and make it unique. I will definitely be reading/listening to more of his work. I also thought the narrator was perfect for this story and added to the overall experience.

Absolutely loved it!!

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The beginning and ending were superb; however, the rest of the book had me wishing that it would hurry up and end. This book ended up being no more than fractured fairy tales...unfunny ones at that

Disappointing

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First of all, this story is told and presented as a fairytale, however, this book is not for children. People die in every violent way imaginable, a character has a series of torture rooms where each torture is described in detail, detailed descriptions of people being ripped apart, open references to bestiality and child sexual abuse, descriptions of a serial murderer who keeps body parts on display. I have no children and am no pearl-clutching prude but it bothers me that children may listen to this. For the adults, as far as literary quality, the constant violence becomes tiresome and boring with each death trying to be more bloody and violent than the one before. It feels like the author was trying way too hard to shock in a very shallow, simplistic way. It reminded me of a short story I wrote in grade school that I thought would be the scariest story ever because I kept adding more blood and murders. In reality, my teacher was probably rolling her eyes after page one.
That said, the first part of the story, before the violence began, was written and performed very well. All in all, it would have been a good book for adults if the author would have just toned it down.

NOT for children!! Tedious for adults

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Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

This story is so beautifully written and so relatable to one's own life. I wish Connolly would write a series on this theme. Narrator was fantastic, too.

New Favorite

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This book is one to own. Loved everything about it. The narration was spot on.

Spectacular

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I had read this book years ago and had forgotten how powerful it is. Narration made it even better.

Rare chance to love a story like this one.

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To be honest I had a hard time finishing the book. At the beginning I found that the story-line was super basic ( a non magical version of our child bed time stories) but still I continue listening to check how the history end. .

I'm glad I continue listening, as half way trough the book the plot start being really good. Find out the real evil of the book and how our kid become a hero and save not only himself and his family, but also the land and some friends on the way it really make the book a good choice.

If you have some time and don't want to listen to anything to heavy this title is for you. But if you're looking for a A+ titles you may need to keep looking.

It was OK, not exciting.

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Some parts, had to skip a bit ahead (I am a baby when it comes to some of the violent sections) but overall, loved it!

Gruesome, beautiful, satisfying

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I finished this in 4 days! I loved it all the way until the end.

Fairytale

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