📚 19/52 ~ The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly
genre: fiction, fantasy, children
The Land of Lost Things is John Connolly’s second novel in the Lost Things series. If you read The Book of Lost Things, it’s going to be pretty much the same, with minor variations.
Spoiler Alert: No spoilers, ever
1. Why this, why now 🤔
The Book of Lost Things, the first part of the series, is my wife’s favorite book.
It was my first read of this year, and it was truly good. Read its review here.
2. Quotes of the book 💭
“You can destroy a book. You can burn it, you can tear it to pieces and scatter them to the four winds, you can soak it until it reverts to pulp or the ink turns the water black, but you can’t destroy the contents of the book, or the idea of the book, not as long as there are those who care, who remember… Who read. Neither can you destroy stories, not unless you destroy people—and some have tried.”
“A dull life is one in which every question has been answered.”
“That was what stories did, or the ones that mattered to us: They helped us to understand others, but they could also make us feel understood in turn, and less alone in the world.”
“Time is cruel. More than it gives, it takes: youth, beauty, even dreams. It steals them all, and consigns you to the dark at the close.”
3. Going deep 🧐
As I said, The Land of Lost Things is a decent book for anyone who is reading this series for the first time. However, as someone who really liked the first version (The Book of Lost Things), it was disappointing for me just to read more of the same. Maybe it’s a me thing—I’ve never liked to rewatch movies or reread books.
Like the first time around, a person (the mother of a comatose girl) gets lost in a magical world, searching for answers to revive her daughter. She meets beasts and men, both mortal and immortal. She also has to fight with and against unimaginable creatures to survive in the fantastical world she finds herself in.
If you read this book before the first part of the series (please go with the first book), you may actually like it. You may even end up loving it if it’s been a long time since you read the first part. I took this up after falling in love with book #1 (read this January), and I had high expectations, which were wiped away when I found the book was just a copy with a few changes here and there. Maybe I should’ve waited more time. No idea.
4. The author 😎
John Connolly was born in Dublin, Ireland. Before his writing career started, he was a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper. In fact, he was so bored with his day-to-day work that he ended up writing his first novel, Every Dead Thing. It made him the first person outside of the US to win the Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel in 2000. Since then, he has written more than a dozen books in the series and a few other novels as well.
For a writer who is known for his mystery novels, The Lost Things series comes as a surprise to many, other than the author himself, who reiterates his use of common concepts throughout his work. Nevertheless, he feels it’s his most important work.
5. Reviews 🤩
~
Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. If you like it, consider sharing it with your friends and family.
Also, a huge thanks to my wife, Luisa, who proofreads my writings and makes them sound less foolish.
Book 20/52: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Read about my thoughts on it next week.
Happy new week! ✨
(Disclaimer: Some of the links are affiliate links, and I will make a few cents from your purchase. I only link to books I’ve personally read and think you’d like too.)