The Book of Lost Things (thoughts)

I think the act of reading imbues the reader with a sensitivity toward the outside world that people who don’t read can sometimes lack. I know it seems like a contradiction in terms; after all, reading is such a solitary, internalizing act that it appears to represent a disengagement from day-to-day life. But reading, and particularly the reading of fiction, encourages us to see it in a completely different form. It allows us to inhabit the consciousness of antoerh, which is a precursor to empathy, and empathy is, for me, one of the marks of a decent human being. ~John Connolly (author’s interview, The Book of Lost Things)
Chris and Nymeth have both already reviewed John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things. Both of the reviews are simply wonderful, and sum up almost everything that I had planned on saying. :)  As Nymeth pointed out, the paperback version has a ton of fairy tales in the back-all of the ones that Connolly used in the book. While this was awesome in itself, it was a bit of a mixed blessing, because I didn’t realise how soon the actual novel was going to end! Thought I’d provide that warning for anyone else going into it, because this is one of those books you don’t want to end.Connolly has an incredible respect for both children and books themselves. In the author interview, he explains why the dwarves David (the main character) meets are Communists:

[The dwarves’] personalities, though, have been altered slightly by their proximity to a history of communism on David’s bookshelves, a book that David has tried and failed to understand, giving up after only a couple of pages. One of the themes of The Book of Lost Things is the way in which stories and books feed into one another, in much the same way that I, as a writer, have been influenced by the books that I have read.

So, here’s how this post is going to go: go read Chris and Nymeth’s reviews, and then come back here.

Right…they’ve talked really well about the book itself. Now I’m going to introduce you to my favourite characters. :) First, the Communist dwarves…here they are talking with David about their *ahem* roommate:

“Huh,” said the dwarf, apparently satisified, and started walking again. “Everybody’s heard of her: ‘Ooooh, Snow White who lives with the drawfs, eats them out of house and home. They couldn’t even kill her right.’ Oh yes, everybody knows about Snow White.”
“Er, kill her?” asked David.
“Poisoned apple,” said the dwarf. “Didn’t go too well. We underestimated the dose.”
“I thought it was her wicked stepmother who poisoned her,” said David.
“You don’t read the papers,” said the dwarf. “Turned out the wicked stepmother had an alibi.”
“We should really have checked first,” said Brother Number Five. “Seems she was off poisoning someone else at the time. Chance in a million, really. It was just bad luck.”

And then there’s the Woodman, who is rather like Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia (except for the whole lion thing):

There was a man standing in the shadows a short distance from him. He was big and tall, with broad shoulders and short, dark hair. He wore brown boots of leather that came almost to his knees and a short coat made form skins and hides. His eyes were very green, so that he seemed almost like a part of the forest himself given human form.

Oh! And I can’t forget my absolute favourite character: Roland, a gallant knight on a quest to discover what happened to his friend. Anyone who adored the Arthur stories as a child will love him:

As he was packing away the remains of his food, he saw a figure approaching on a white horse. David was tempted to hide, but he knew that if he could see the horseman, then the horseman could also see him. The figure drew nearer, and David could see that he was wearing a silver beastplate decorated with twin symbols of the sun, and he had a silver helmet upon his head. A sword hung from one side of his belt, and a bow and a quiver of arrows lay on his back: the weapons of choice in this world, it seemed. A shield, also bearing the device of the twin suns, hung from his saddle. He pulled his horse up when he was alongside David and looked at the boy.

Finally, there’s one of the best villains I’ve met in a long time: the kind of character that a reader takes great pleasure in hating: the Crooked Man. I won’t share a description of him, because I’d rather keep him off of my blog.

Now go and get your hands on this book! It was a delicious read: like all the best fairy tales, it speaks to something deep inside, about the dark truths of life, but also about the nobility and good there as well. I’m going to share all of my favourite passages, and if you’re not sure whether to read the book or not, take a look. I think you’ll find both fantastic sensibilities and modern humour!

My other favourite passage, that I couldn’t think of a way to work in:
An unseen mother couldn’t go for long walks with you on summer evenings, drawing the names of trees and flowers from her seemingly infinite knowledge of nature; or help you with your homework, the familiar scent of her in your nostrils as she leaned in to correct a misspelling or puzzle over the meaning of an unfamiliar poem; or read with you on cold Sunday afternoons when the fire was burning and the rain was beating down upon the windows and the roof and the room was filled with smell of woodsmoke and crumpets. (11)