A seventeen-year-old book blog offering book reviews and news about authors, publishers, bookstores, and libraries.
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Secret of Lost Things
Sheridan Hay’s debut novel weighs in at over 350 pages and gives her ample opportunity to explore several different genres. She has written a combination coming-of-age novel, literary mystery, and sexual awakening novel (which I classify here as a subgenre of the more general coming-of-age novel). It is an ambitious first novel, to say the least, one in which Hay displays keen writing skills and, at times, striking observations about the human condition. That said, the novel does suffer a bit from her use of stereotypical characters (in particular, the transsexual character and the albino character) and a failure to keep the reader entirely engaged in the literary mystery at the heart of her story. Still, The Secret of Lost Things will definitely appeal to avid readers and book lovers, especially those who enjoy novels set in a bookstore environment.
Labels:
Reviews
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I guess you can classify me as one of those booklovers who can't resist a book set in a library or bookstore. Even if the writing isn't great, I usually like it simply because of the literary allusions.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way, Lisa...I have to at least take a long hard look at any novel set in a bookstore. That seems to be a whole new genre these last few years, in fact. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt has become very popular, sadly for me - I wanted to write a book set in a bookstore, but at this point, I probably wouldn't have anything new to add.
ReplyDeleteI've been interested in this one since it was in hardback, but haven't gotten around to picking it up yet. Thanks for the review!
I haven't grown tired of the genre, Annie...so write me a new one. :-)
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you think of the book if you do get around to it.