📘 The Keeper of Lost Things
by Ruth Hogan
Genre Fiction ◦ Contemporary
Publication William Morrow ◦ 2017
Format & Source Print ◦ For review, TLC Tours
Rating ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
📝 My Review
The Keeper of Lost Things is kind of a quiet story. It’s a bit sad, a bit hopeful. I’d definitely describe it as a character driven novel without much action, but a lot of interesting details to make up for it.
There are two stories taking place here. The main story is of middle aged Laura, who inherits a home from an elderly writer she took care of. Upon his death, she discovers a room full of lost objects that he had found and cataloged over the years. Turns out these objects were the basis of his short stories. His final wish was for her to somehow reunite as many of the lost objects as possible with their original owners. Her journey takes off with potential love interest Freddy, the gardener, and young Sunshine, a delightful child who has Down syndrome. The other story takes place in the not so distant past, and centers around a young woman named Eunice and her boss and dear friend Bomber. Eventually, the stories tie together.
I liked this story, though it was a bit slow moving at times. I liked the characters and how their stories all wove together. Sunshine was delightful, much like her name, and helped add a touch of humor and innocence to the story. There was a lot of sadness in the background of everything. Anthony, the former “keeper of lost things,” had a very specific reason for collecting these objects, which involved the death of his fiancé many years earlier. Laura was also struggling when Anthony “found” and hired her. Relationships prove to be very important in this story — from romantic relationships to close friendships.
The stories are woven together in such an intricate way, from the story of Laura to the story of Eunice, and even Anthony’s short stories about the lost objects, which were interesting and heartbreaking and beautiful. It was definitely a unique and one of a kind book.
All in all, I enjoyed my time with this book. While it won’t go down as one of my favorites, it was a nice, quiet, cozy read for these cold winter nights.
“In this world, Daisy, we are tiny. We can’t always win and we can’t always be happy. But the one thing that we can always do is try.”
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