Two nights ago, I closed the final pages of A Midsummer Night's Dream and declared an end to my journey through the Once Upon A Time challenge...But then thunder rumbled outside my window and the rains came...and John Connolly's The Book of Lost Things called to me. So I made myself a cup of tea and began the journey through this amazing book with the following opening passage:
"Once upon a time - for that is how all stories should begin - there was a boy who lost his mother."
This passage, while it may seem a bit dreary, really sets the tone for the novel. It is first and foremost, a book of tales...a "once upon a time" story. It is also a coming of age story, represented well by the picture of a boy losing his mother, a boy losing that childlike innocence.
David is our main character and is very close with his mother. They share a love of books, a love of reading, a love of fables and tales. When his mother becomes ill and dies, David feels that he is somewhat responsible for it because of his failure to be there for her as much as he should have or to perform his ritualistic compulsions that he has created as much as he should have. Shortly after his mother's death, there are new additions to the family. In the midst of all of this, the Germans are attacking near David's home in the middle of World War II.
Books are now beginning to whisper to David. At first they are subtle voices, just faint whispers or coughs, but soon distinct voices are heard and one clear voice is that of his mother's. Following that voice one night, David finds himself in the middle of an air raid from a German plane and when he lifts his head, it is in a world unknown to him. Here is the world that he has read about in every book on his shelves. It is beautiful and sinister. Danger creeps around each corner and strange things lurk in shadows. It is the a land of fairy tales, but not the fairy tales of Mother Goose....these are the tales where modern tales get their origins. Not quite so cheery.
He continues to hear his mother's voice and learns that he must make a journey to the king's castle where he can find The Book of Lost Things which will hold the key to his mother and his return home. Along the way there are adventures galore as we watch David grow from a child to a young man in this beautiful and terrifying tale.
This is one of the most imaginative books I have read. The language is beautiful and I love the way that he has weaved classic tales into his own work and has made them his own - painting them in a new light while preserving the original perfectly. I've never read anything by Connolly, but I will certainly be picking up more of his books after this one. The last few pages of this book were quite emotional. I had goosebumps while reading them and haven't had such an emotional response to a book in ages. This is a book of grief and loss. Of acceptance, of guilt, of experience, humility, growth, strength, bravery, and wisdom.
This book was truly an engrossing and inspiring experience and the shocker of the year so far. Not in that the story itself had a shocking plot...it was just much more powerful than what I expected. I was blown away. I think that this one should be on everyone's reading list. I don't usually rate books, but if I did, this one would definitely earn a 5/5 plus some.
Other Reviews:
Melody
