Fairy tales are everywhere. I just got back from Disneyworld where Cinderella Castle stands prominently at center stage. And of course there's the classic Disney ride, Snow White's Scary Adventures (although I heard the Magic Kingdom in Florida is axing Snow White in a year or two. How sad.).There is also a more modern emergence of fairly tales on network TV. Shows like Grimm and Once Upon a Time peaked my interest, until I started watching them.
So it makes sense that I turned my attention to a different, and more traditional genre for my fairy tale fix, books. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly was written in 2006 and is a departure for the author, who normally writes thriller novels. I've read mixed reviews about his experiment and must say, I agree to some extent with everyone.
Our story takes place during WWII in London. David's mother has died. His father remarries a woman named Rose, and the three move into Rose's family home. Soon after, Rose gives birth to a son. As David feels more and more isolated and forgotten, his grip on reality slowly slips. He suffers seizures, hears books whispering to him, and begins seeing The Crooked Man. One night, he hears his mother calling to him, and David follows her voice to a sunken garden. As the war rages around him, a German bomber plane goes down, heading for the garden. David hides in a crack in the garden, where is he transported to another world.
In this new world, David begins a quest to find the king, whose Book of Lost Things may hold the key to David's return home. Along the way, David quickly learns he is in a land where fairy tales are real. But unlike the the sanitized versions Disney would offer, Connolly's version of our favorite stories is more along the lines of the inspiration followed by the Brother's Grimm. The stories Connolly tells through David's adventures deal with issues like bestiality, homosexuality, and murder for sport, to name a few. And they involve familiar characters like Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Rumplestiltskin, and some new ones as well.
So why the mixed reviews? My biggest issue with the book is that there is something in the way Connolly writes that makes The Book of Lost Things seem like a young adult book. Maybe it's his writing style. Maybe it's the fact that the main character is a twelve year old boy...I can't really place my finger on it. But the stories Connolly tells are more suited for an adult audience. There is overt sexuality and violence that wouldn't have shocked me as much, had I not felt like the book was a YA novel. I was confused by the two voices which clashed, rather than blended.
With that said, it's a damn interesting book. A little slow in the beginning, but a great fantasy novel. And I'm a sucker for good endings. I can forgive a lot in a book if the ending is satisfying, and this one delivered for me.
So if you like fairy tales, fantasy stories, and a bit of the macabre, it's a recommend. Oooh, and while we're on the subject...despite Disney's abandonment of her, Snow White lives on in theaters next year. I can't wait to see the two versions coming out! Click here for the trailer of Snow White and the Huntsman with Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, and Chris Hemsworth. And the trailer for the campier looking Mirror Mirror with Julia Roberts is here.