Eighteen years old and completely alone, Rosemary arrives in New York from Tasmania with little other than her love of books and an eagerness to ex...
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Apr 16, 2008
Alana
rated it: 
A literary mystery can be just the thing you need, particularly when you're sick and stuck at home over the weekend as I was, so it was delightful to find The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay on a Barnes & Noble table... A young redhead named Rosemary just starting her life in Manhattan by working at a bookstore and becoming involved in a secret that involves a lost Melville novel? Naturally, I purchased it on the spot.
But I'm sorry to say that there was one scene that seemed More...
But I'm sorry to say that there was one scene that seemed More...
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Jan 30, 2010
Jennifer
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A novel set in a used bookstore with a bit of a literary mystery to it should have been just the thing for me. I found the idea of the lost Melville novel 'The Isle of the Cross' very interesting, but in the end I found 'The Secret of Lost Things' to be overwritten and somewhat painful to read. Even the mystery ended up not really being a mystery at all.
I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, not even Rosemary, the protagonist of the book. Other than Rosemary, I fe More...
I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, not even Rosemary, the protagonist of the book. Other than Rosemary, I fe More...
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Dec 17, 2009
Meika
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The Secret of Lost Things is almost a lost thing itself, it captures transience and a certain desperation that attends the last of hope. In this sense, the setting of a used bookstore called the Arcade is perfect. An arcade in some sense is like a holy place, but since they don't really exist in a modern lexicon, the place itself is an apparition, out of context in a New York City bustling into the 1980s (according to my reckoning). in addition to the Arcade, there's a triptych of grotesqueri
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Jan 10, 2009
Kathy
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I could not get through this book. The main character, a young women from New Zealand, was so sheltered in her life that she apparently knew only her mother, who dies at the beginning of the book, and an older women who is a friend of her mother. She moves to New York and the first third of the book is spent introducing us to several odd, but uninteresting characters in a used book store there.
The author used a lot of words to advance the story very slowly, and about half way through More...
The author used a lot of words to advance the story very slowly, and about half way through More...
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Aug 22, 2007
Laura
rated it: 
I was irritated that the author never specifies when the story takes place, but I liked the idea of it so much that I kept reading. Eventually I realized that it felt like a chore, so I stopped.
None of the characters were particularly likeable to me, and I couldn't understand why Rosemary was so in love with Oscar. Also, it bothered me that all the people that worked in the shop seemed to be so vicious. I couldn't understand why she didn't find a different bookstore to work in. More...
None of the characters were particularly likeable to me, and I couldn't understand why Rosemary was so in love with Oscar. Also, it bothered me that all the people that worked in the shop seemed to be so vicious. I couldn't understand why she didn't find a different bookstore to work in. More...
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Jan 06, 2009
Daryl
rated it:
A looong read with little to no pay off in my opinion ... I bought it because the NY Times review got me curious ... and I am a book whore ... bought it (in Mass Market Paperback), read it, forced myself to finish it ... but I cannot recommend it.
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Apr 28, 2011
Brittany
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I kept finding myself picking this book off the shelves at the library. Mainly, I think, because of the intriguing title and because the spine of the book has pictures of books on it. Quite a good marketing tool, if you think about it. However, this ended up being another lesson in not judging books by their covers (or their titles). Instead of being intriguing and rich, what was inside was bland and unpalatable.
Any story of a remarkably beautiful, introverted, bookish young redhead w More...
Any story of a remarkably beautiful, introverted, bookish young redhead w More...
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Jan 24, 2009
Peter
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Mind-numbingly tedious - did not finish. Pity.
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Nov 20, 2008
Pat
rated it:
It took over half of the book to get to the main premise. I enjoyed reading about the lost work of Herman Melville, which was given about 3/4 of the way into the book . But the book to me wasn't worth it. It should have had some intrigue.
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Mar 31, 2008
Marian
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This book was very boring. I thought it would pick up but it didn't. Had to finish because I was half way thru.
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May 19, 2008
Steven
rated it:
I tried for a hundred pages to like this book and couldn't manage it so I stopped.
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Jul 16, 2009
Ally
rated it:
This book was readable but not particularly satisfying.
To have rated it more highly I would have needed to be locked into the mystery/detective part of the story much sooner. There needed to be more twists and turns within the mystery itself, maybe a few dead ends -it all turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. I'm not sure I really hooked onto a Melville mystery having never read any of his stuff - is he more of an American hero???
Also - I was really intrigued by the who More...
To have rated it more highly I would have needed to be locked into the mystery/detective part of the story much sooner. There needed to be more twists and turns within the mystery itself, maybe a few dead ends -it all turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. I'm not sure I really hooked onto a Melville mystery having never read any of his stuff - is he more of an American hero???
Also - I was really intrigued by the who More...
May 16, 2010
Katie
rated it:
Up until the abrupt ending, I was totally drawn into this book. It seemed to be just the book I was looking for: a young woman, alone, sets off for a new life in New York City, works at a used bookstore with crazy but intriguing employees, falls in love with a man who is incapable of loving her back, and captures the heart of an ailing albino. It seemed to mirror my own life! Except for the working at a bookstore part. But now I REALLY want to work in a bookstore, or a copy/print shop. ;-)
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Jul 18, 2008
Jeff
rated it:
I was spellbound by this novel, but have mixed feelings about it. I agree with other reviewers who found the "mystery" of the lost Melville manuscript to be rather shallow. In fact, that "mystery" is not the main focus of teh novel. The main focus is the narrator's (and other characters') experience of loss upon the death of loved ones, coming of age, moving away from home, growing old, etc. This brings about my inital mixed feelings. It really wasn't what I was expectin
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May 11, 2008
I just finished The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay and I find that I can't get myself to rate it. I am unsure of how I feel about this book. Maybe my brain just hasn't processed the story fully...
It is a coming-of-age story mixed with a literary mystery. The main character, Rosemary, is an 18-year old from Tasmania who moves to New York City after the death of her mother. She finds work at this massive bookstore called the Arcade and gets caught up in a mystery involving a More...
It is a coming-of-age story mixed with a literary mystery. The main character, Rosemary, is an 18-year old from Tasmania who moves to New York City after the death of her mother. She finds work at this massive bookstore called the Arcade and gets caught up in a mystery involving a More...
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Jul 25, 2007
Cheryl
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THE SECRET OF LOST THINGS by Sheridan Hay - Doubleday / 342pps / 978-0-385-51848-2 / $23.95
Upon the death of her mother.. her only parent, Rosemary is taken in by her mother's friend, a bookstore owner and woman of great wisdom. Allowing Rosemary her mourning time, she then buys her a one-way ticket to New York to live her own life. At 18, Rosemary is transplanted in a place far from her Tasmanian home, a place she dreamed of as a child via scrapbooks filled with pictures that, upon arri More...
Upon the death of her mother.. her only parent, Rosemary is taken in by her mother's friend, a bookstore owner and woman of great wisdom. Allowing Rosemary her mourning time, she then buys her a one-way ticket to New York to live her own life. At 18, Rosemary is transplanted in a place far from her Tasmanian home, a place she dreamed of as a child via scrapbooks filled with pictures that, upon arri More...
Aug 25, 2007
Chris
rated it:
I love a novel about books, bookstores, and those who are book obsessed. This is a bit of a mystery about a lost manuscript and the odd characters that all work in a bookstore in NYC (that sounds rather like the Strand). A young girl comes from Tasmania, secures a job at this strange bookstore, gets mixed up with all these very strange characters - the blind albino manager, the transexual cashier, the eccentric owner of the bookstore, the rare book dealers, and her mentor of sorts, with whom
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Jul 15, 2008
Matt
rated it: 
I love this book so far. For any book lover, this novel is a tale about an orphaned 18 year old girl from Tasmania, Australia who travels to NYC to start a new life. She gets a job at a used bookstore that employs several eccentric characters. Right now it involves a lost Melville manuscript.
Once I finished this novel, it was okay. The ending last a little anti-climatic. Yet, the information about the friendship between Melville and Hawthorne was interesting. I would recommend this b More...
Once I finished this novel, it was okay. The ending last a little anti-climatic. Yet, the information about the friendship between Melville and Hawthorne was interesting. I would recommend this b More...
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Mar 18, 2009
Carola
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This is just one more book I've picked up recently that I was really excited about and when I read it, I was soooo dissappointed. Alana, a previous reviewer on this site expressed it best:
I was disappointed on two levels... one, that the story had all the intriguing details and none of the complicated interconnectedness that one usually finds in a mystery... and two, that the writing was better than the tale being told and so the author's potential remained buried.More...
I foun
Mar 06, 2009
Amanda
rated it:
I didn't think that this book would end up to be much more than a casual, easy read for entertainment purposes only, but this was not so. I soon began to get into the storyline, as my own life story has been somewhat similar to Rosemary Savage's, and was initially fascinated by the character of Oscar. I felt that I related to Oscar's bookishness and solitary life, his inability to truley connect with people, gaining understanding only through his observational notes on life. Besides amazingly re
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Feb 02, 2011
Christie
rated it:
The Secret of Lost Things is a quiet book inhabited by a cast of eccentric characters who all work in a labyrinthine book store in New York City.
"If I start with my own beginning you will understand how I came to the Arcade, and how it came to mean so much to me."
18-year-old Rosemary Savage leaves her homeland of Tasmania after the death if her mother. Rosemary really only knows two things: the hat business (her mother was a milliner) and books (her mother’s onl More...
"If I start with my own beginning you will understand how I came to the Arcade, and how it came to mean so much to me."
18-year-old Rosemary Savage leaves her homeland of Tasmania after the death if her mother. Rosemary really only knows two things: the hat business (her mother was a milliner) and books (her mother’s onl More...
Jan 12, 2011
Toni
rated it:
I wanted to rate this book higher- In theory it had everything I need in a book- a coming of age story, quirky characters, a secondary story/mystery about books, takes place in a bookshop ,some historical literary background, beautiful language yet I started this book at least three times before getting into it.I have to admit there were times I wanted to share the writing with someone- and also to ask the meaning of some of the words.Sheridan Hay 's vocabulary puts mine to shame.But then you
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Jun 05, 2010
Micheal
rated it:
I just finished this wonderful book. It is a love letter to all booksellers and all who love reading. Sheridan Hay reminds me of
Donna Tartt (which is funny as they both went to Bennington ).
I found it addictive and had to read in all in one go.
The character of Rosemary made an interesting journeyfrom fresh country girl in the big city to a more understanding and experienced woman. All in one year.
What an education is New York, and more so th More...
Donna Tartt (which is funny as they both went to Bennington ).
I found it addictive and had to read in all in one go.
The character of Rosemary made an interesting journeyfrom fresh country girl in the big city to a more understanding and experienced woman. All in one year.
What an education is New York, and more so th More...
Apr 13, 2010
Ugh, I finally finished one of the many books I’ve started over the last few months. My life’s been all upheavaly (yay, Buffyspeak!), and it’s apparently affected my attention span. But it turns out this is an appropriate book to read when you’re in transition. It’s about a young, naïve woman who moves to New York City looking to make a life for herself. I know the premise screams chick lit, but the author, Sheridan Hay, writes in gorgeous prose and creates flawed and interesting characters, whi
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Mar 06, 2010
Stacy
rated it:
Rosemary, a vibrant redhead, from Tasmania begins a journey of self discovery. She leaves the only home she has ever known to move to NYC.
Rosemary's mother has just passed away, and the only like she has ever known is growing up in their small Hat Shop. Her only friend, like a second mother who owns a bookstore in Tasmania, sends her to American with a small amount of funds and her mothers ashes. She lands in NCY at the age of 19. Her first stop is The Martha Washington Hotel for Wo More...
Rosemary's mother has just passed away, and the only like she has ever known is growing up in their small Hat Shop. Her only friend, like a second mother who owns a bookstore in Tasmania, sends her to American with a small amount of funds and her mothers ashes. She lands in NCY at the age of 19. Her first stop is The Martha Washington Hotel for Wo More...
May 12, 2009
Kari
rated it:
A book that is about books, the love of books, writing, or book stores can never go wrong, in my mind.
That is my usual stance on books about books. However, this author went wrong in a lot of ways. Character development - by the time I could finally keep the names of the different characters straight I was almost finished with the book. Time/decade/century - while reading the book I couldn't figure out which decade it was taking place, and for awhile what century it was in! This was ver More...
That is my usual stance on books about books. However, this author went wrong in a lot of ways. Character development - by the time I could finally keep the names of the different characters straight I was almost finished with the book. Time/decade/century - while reading the book I couldn't figure out which decade it was taking place, and for awhile what century it was in! This was ver More...
Jun 18, 2011
Bev
rated it:
The Secret of Lost Things: A Novel by Sheridan Hay: Coming to New York from Tasmania at the age of eighteen, Rosemary takes a job at a used and rare bookstore run by the gruff Mr. Pike and his idiosyncratic staff and becomes caught up in the search for a long-lost Melville manuscript. She meets Oscar, who is in charge of non-fiction and who seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of anything and everything; Arthur, who naturally manages the art section and seems to spend more time looking at th
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Aug 01, 2011
Jayne
rated it:
I'm fascinated by books, and theoretically this book - which is all about people who are fascinated by books - should have been really enjoyable. Unfortunately it managed to be rather dry and colourless. Written in a careful and competent manner, it lacked the lyrical leaps that bring other stories to technicolour life. I didn't really feel as if I knew the central character, Rosemary, at all, and nor did I understand what it was about her that attracted Mr Geist, unless it was the fact she was
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Nov 17, 2009
Brittany
rated it:
*Some Spoilers*
"Altogether enchanting..." praises The Philadelphia Enquirer about The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay. Altogether ridiculous, I say. I have never read such a disappointing and silly book that is supposed to be a book for book lovers. The only reason that I hung on and read the whole thing was because I thought there but be a chance that it could redeem itself. Perhaps there was going to be some grand twist that I would completely miss out on if I didn' More...
"Altogether enchanting..." praises The Philadelphia Enquirer about The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay. Altogether ridiculous, I say. I have never read such a disappointing and silly book that is supposed to be a book for book lovers. The only reason that I hung on and read the whole thing was because I thought there but be a chance that it could redeem itself. Perhaps there was going to be some grand twist that I would completely miss out on if I didn' More...
Jul 26, 2009
Drew
rated it:
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