Book Review - The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

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.

First Line:  "Once upon a time - for that is how all stories should begin - there was a boy who lost his mother."

Random Quote:  "After they had walked for a little while, their footsteps echoed by the beating of the harpies' wings, they saw a pair of bridges spanning the gorge.  The bridges were identical."

Review:  John Connolly is one of my favorite writers.  His Charlie Parker series of books is utterly reliable and always provides a great read.  This is a stand-alone novel that shares some common ground with Connolly's other books, but is very much its own thing.

Serving up Snow White's heart - Image via Wikipedia

I loved the exploration and retelling of fairy tales in the book, the darkness, the explosions of humor.  When I was a kid I pretty much lived inside of the books I read (okay, so that hasn't changed that much) and this book very nicely captures what that's like.  Connolly tells a story here about the power of imagination and about a child's relationship to change and I'm sure it'll be happy on my bookshelves next to Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

FTC Disclosure:  PaperbackSwap.com

Rating:  Purple

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