The Book of Lost Things

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly is a coming-of-age novel for young adults. It follows the voyage and return plot structure, in which the hero, David, is transported to a magical land, Elsewhere, where he encounters an evil power and eventually returns home having learned a valuable lesson. Published in 2006, The Book of Lost Things is Connolly’s first non-mystery novel and was a nominee for the Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year award in 2007. This guide refers to the paperback edition published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Plot Summary

When 12-year-old David’s mother dies, he struggles to accept her death as well as the many changes it brings to his life. His father starts dating a woman named Rose, and he soon tells David that Rose is pregnant. Amid World War II, they move into Rose’s country house to escape the wartime dangers of London and prepare for the arrival of the baby. When his half-brother, Georgie, is born, David feels neglected by his father and resentful of the attention Rose and Georgie have taken away from him.

David turns to books as a means of comfort and escape, and in his attic room, discovers a collection of old fairytale stories that once belonged to a boy named Jonathan Tulvey. David learns from Rose that Jonathan used to live in the same room that David now occupies. Jonathan and his younger adopted sister, Anna, both disappeared as children.

Since his mother’s death, David has heard his books whispering to him. He also experiences many blackouts and “waking dreams” (48), in which he hears his mother’s voice and sees a dark forest, a castle, and a hunched figure he calls the Crooked Man. One night, after arguing with Rose, David hears his mother’s voice calling to him from the sunken garden outside his room. He follows her voice through a crack in the garden wall and finds himself emerging from a tree trunk into another world that he calls Elsewhere.

There, David the Woodsman, the forest caretaker, who explains that David’s best chance at returning home is to journey to the king’s castle and consult his magical Book of Lost Things for answers. As they begin their journey, they are pursued by Loups, creatures that are half men and half wolves. The Woodsman protects David from the wolves, but after crossing a canyon, David sees him dragged away into the forest and believes him to be dead.

As David continues towards the king’s castle, he meets several other characters, such as a feisty group of dwarves, their gluttonous roommate, Snow White, and a sick-minded huntress who fuses the heads of children to the bodies of animals. He also meets a soldier named Roland, who he agrees to accompany on his search for his friend Raphael. Alongside Roland, David helps defeat a monstrous Beast to save a village. He also encounters the Crooked Man on a few occasions, who promises that he can help David return home, if only David will speak the name of his younger brother.

Roland and David reach the Fortress of Thorns, an enchanted tower, and Roland enters the fortress alone in search of his friend Raphael. That night, David hears his mother’s voice calling to him. He still harbors hope that she may be alive somewhere in this world. He follows her voice into the fortress and finds that an evil enchantress has been posing as his mother to lure him to the tower. Although Roland has died, David bravely defeats the enchantress, and as he continues towards the king’s castle, he finally accepts that his mother is dead.

David finally meets the king, and finds that he is Jonathan, who went missing as a child. The Crooked Man feeds off the anger of children who are jealous of their younger siblings, and Jonathan betrayed Anna to the Crooked Man. He was too ashamed to ever return home. The Loups attack the castle, and the Crooked Man promises to save David if he speaks his brother’s name. David refuses, and the Crooked Man dies. The Woodsman returns and helps David back to the tree.

David awakes in a hospital bed to see Rose sitting beside him. He now has a new appreciation for Rose and Georgie and understands that accepting his mother’s death is a part of facing reality and growing up. He has grown from a child into a young man. David’s adult life is full of both pain and happiness. He experiences the loss of more loved ones, such as Georgie, his wife, and his child. When David grows old and prepares to die, he returns to Elsewhere and reunites with the Woodsman once more.