The Book of Lost Things

by John Connolly

book data

4,103 ratings, 3.88 average rating, 1,145 reviews (more data...)

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5		29%
4		39%
3		23%
2		6%
1		1%

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published

November 7th 2006 by Atria

binding

Hardcover, 339 pages

characters

Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Seven Dwarves

setting

The United Kingdom

isbn

0743298853 (isbn13: 9780743298858)

description

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. ...more

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04/18/08

John rated it:

(review of isbn 074329890X)

bookshelves: books-read-in-2008

Read in April, 2008

Which do you think will be read and savoured in 100 years time, the fairy stories of the Grimm Brothers with their roots in the old darkness of firelight nights or the latest Jodi Picoult about a life that the children of parents yet to be born will have no knowledge or interest in. Yet the same children when meeting the stories of world long faded even when written down by the Grimm Brothers will still be amazed and scared. Don’t believe me? Well I do story telling in pubs to adults and ha...more Which do you think will be read and savoured in 100 years time, the fairy stories of the Grimm Brothers with their roots in the old darkness of firelight nights or the latest Jodi Picoult about a life that the children of parents yet to be born will have no knowledge or interest in. Yet the same children when meeting the stories of world long faded even when written down by the Grimm Brothers will still be amazed and scared. Don’t believe me? Well I do story telling in pubs to adults and have known an entire bar go quiet and listen intently as a story of woods, princes and monsters enfolds in their mind.

It is from this deep well that John Connolly’s The Book of Lost Things draws on as he tells the story of 12 year old David’s losing fight to keep his mother and family he knows a alive. His anger and grief causes him blackouts and a wish for revenge as his father deals with grief by marriage and work. David discovers the presence of the Crooked Man who can move between the world of living and story. Books start talking to him and boundaries blur so that when his anger and that of his struggling step-mother collide it sets into train his explosive entry into land of story.

Once there we meet traditional fairyland characters but from an adult and darker angle… Red riding Hood hunts out the wolf for sex and worse! It becomes clear that the adventures reflect David’s fears and the choices he must make as he struggles to deal with his grief and anger. To make the wrong choices will leave worlds destroyed but so will the right ones as he learns that happy endings are for fairy stories. But as heaven is what we make it, his death when it comes is not the end of the story.

This is not a children’s story but an adult story about when childhood ends and what life is made as we grow up. Its portrait of David trying to keep his mother alive and his feelings made me cry in the first 10 pages such was the lyrical nature of the writing. The stories within stories are not distractions as some reviewers suggest but insights into the characters that David meets and his own feelings and choices that he has to make. It has lots of comic moments as well as the Snow White and communist dwarfs’ episode shows. However, ultimately it’s a story about growing up and letting go of illusions, which makes it very sad and poignant. So if it gets to be a film think David Lynch or Tim Burton rather then Disney and you are on the right track about the tone of the book. Recommend for an easy enjoyable and moving read.
(less)

Like this review? yes (14 people liked it)

2 comments

12/27/08

Vera rated it:

(review of isbn 9792238794)

bookshelves: fiction, it-s-mine, translated-into-indonesian

Read in January, 2009

Review yang agak sedikit serius berhubung sudah masuk bulan Februari

Lagi-lagi Ibu memergoki saya sedang cekikikan bersama sebuah buku, "Apa lagi, itu?" tanya beliau.

"Hmmm... coba Ibu bayangkan cerita Timun Mas. Waktu dia berlari melintasi gunung dan lembah dikejar Buto Ijo sambil mengantungi perbekalannya: terasi, garam, cabe (bukan jarum), ia melewati sebuah kebun timun. Di sana Pak Tani dan si Kancil sedang sibuk memanen timun dengan bahagia. Pak Tani mem...more

Like this review? yes (11 people liked it)

18 comments

03/09/08

Robotkarateman rated it:

bookshelves: modern-fantasy

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in February, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Connolly's "Book of Lost Things" came highly recommended as a modern take on the fantasy genre. What I found instead was a completely unlikeable main character, an array of interchangeable father figures, and a disappointing rehash of the usual fairy tale parodies.

"Lost Things" centers on David, a boy whose mother dies and whose father remarries and has a second child, leaving David to bicker bitterly with his new stepmother while trying to avoid anxiety attacks ...more Connolly's "Book of Lost Things" came highly recommended as a modern take on the fantasy genre. What I found instead was a completely unlikeable main character, an array of interchangeable father figures, and a disappointing rehash of the usual fairy tale parodies.

"Lost Things" centers on David, a boy whose mother dies and whose father remarries and has a second child, leaving David to bicker bitterly with his new stepmother while trying to avoid anxiety attacks that leave him blacked out and feverish. And that groundwork occurs in one of the most poorly paced info-dumps I've had the misfortune to read. The first chapter focuses on David and his mother, leading you to believe this will be the crux of the story - but alas, she dies. The second chapter focuses on the father's remarriage and David's anxiety attacks leading the reader to believe, perhaps, this is the focus of the story - it is not. The third and fourth chapters center on David's mostly absent father whose work is "top secret" and David's fights with his step-mother and we, the audience, raise our index fingers and say, "Ah-ha! Top secret Dad! Conflict with the new parental figure! This, surely, is the story!" But, alas, those are red-herrings as well. In fact, after the sixth chapter, neither of those characters appears again until the (two chapters long!) epilogue.

The real story ends up being David's abduction into the land of fairy tales by the Crooked Man, a Rumpelstiltskin who makes vicious bargains with emotional children to feed his magical slave house. David starts off his true adventure by following the voice of his dead mother - but don't assume that the story somehow involves David's mother's spirit wandering painfully in the fantasy realm awaiting rescue, this too, in Connolly fashion, is completely irrelevant to the story. Instead, David wanders the fantasy realm accompanied by a series of nearly identical substitute fathers who end up betraying David's trust in one way or another - by being gay in one case (Roland), by being fallible in another (the generic Woodsman).

In the end, David finds another potential father figure in Jonathon, and quickly realizes that not only is Jonathon a liar and a murderer, but also that he, David, no longer needs a father figure because he's now become a man of his own right. He then stares down Jonathon, the Crooked Man, and the vicious wolf monsters, who until that point only appeared in the story when Connolly felt the need to remind us that David was in danger because wolf monsters were chasing him; they never catch up to him except at the end and, as I said, David simply stares them down and wins by virtue of his newfound manhood.

In all, "Lost Things" is a plodding, thinly veiled paean to a baby-boomer-era view of "manhood" as stoic resolution and resistance to all hurts, including mental and emotional. Perhaps this story plays better, and I don't wish to be insulting, with a female audience, one that's never had to grapple with questions of "manliness" or had to decide on an appropriate level of attachment to an older male. As for me, I was insulted that David begins the story emotionally wounded by what he views as a betrayal by his father and, instead of finding closure, he learns to just get over it and "be a man" about it.

But a bigger insult, in my eyes, was the closing of the book - Connolly is so in love with his work that he follows up the main story with almost 150 pages of notes and commentary on his story: everything from the origins of the fairy tales he parodies to his woeful recollections of scenes that were cut from the final draft (murder your darlings, Connolly!). It's as jarring as it would be had Stephen King ended Christine with detailed descriptions of a Plymouth Belvedere and ten pages of him crying about the Arnie/Christine tailpipe sex scene that his editors excised from the final publication.

This was my first experience with Connolly, and as it's his most highly recommended book, I'll probably pass on his work in the future. (less)

Like this review? yes (11 people liked it)

2 comments

01/08/09

Wirotomo Nofamilyname rated it:

(review of isbn 9792238794)

bookshelves: aku-beli, novel-fantasy

Read in January, 2009

Saat saya membaca buku ini terus terang saya langsung teringat buku "Politically Correct Bed Time Stories"nya James Finn Garner (1994) yang diterjemahkan oleh Gramedia pada tahun 1996. Buku itu "menjungkirbalikkan" dongeng-dongeng yang sudah kita kenal baik selama ini, dengan maksud untuk mendudukkan cerita dongeng seperti seharusnya (politically correct) dan tidak seksis, tidak diskriminatif, dan tidak merendahkan martabat para tukang sihir, binatang, jembalang dan peri (hal...more Saat saya membaca buku ini terus terang saya langsung teringat buku "Politically Correct Bed Time Stories"nya James Finn Garner (1994) yang diterjemahkan oleh Gramedia pada tahun 1996. Buku itu "menjungkirbalikkan" dongeng-dongeng yang sudah kita kenal baik selama ini, dengan maksud untuk mendudukkan cerita dongeng seperti seharusnya (politically correct) dan tidak seksis, tidak diskriminatif, dan tidak merendahkan martabat para tukang sihir, binatang, jembalang dan peri (hal ini dituliskan dalam kata pembuka buku itu). Tapi pada akhirnya, walaupun memang harus diakui cerita dongeng itu menjadi lebih menyegarkan (karena kita jadi memandang dari perspektif yang lain), namun buku ini gagal mencapai tujuannya karena setelah ia berhasil membuat dongeng2 ini tidak merendahkan wanita, binatang, jembalang, peri dsb ... tapi buku ini malah jadi merendahkan para pria, yang di dalam dongeng itu semua digambarkan sebagai tokoh yang angkuh, serakah dan bodoh. Jadi tujuan bahwa dongeng tidak boleh seksis tidak tercapai, karena dongeng2 ini sekarang menjadi seksis, tapi dengan korban yang berganti ... kaum pria.

Nah kembali ke buku The Book of Lost Things ... terlihat bahwa pengarangnya benar2 berusaha melakukan langkah sama yang dilakukan Garner dengan memasukkan tokoh utamanya ke dunia antah berantah dimana para penghuninya adalah tokoh-tokoh dongeng yang kita kenal tapi dengan perilaku dan kehidupan yang berbeda dari yang kita ketahui selama ini. Snow White (tidak diterjemahkan sebagai Putih Salju) tidak digambarkan sebagai wanita cantik dan senang mengurus rumah sang kurcaci. Kurcaci-kurcaci digambarkan "agak kekiri-kirian" dan menyebut dirinya kamerad. Bahkan sang kurcaci berusaha membunuh Snow White dengan mengkambinghitamkan Ibu Tiri Snow White, Sang Ratu ... yang sialnya pada saat kejadian memiliki alibi. Semua dongeng digambarkan dengan pikiran orang dewasa tapi sayangnya tidak segemilang upaya Garner. Cerita menjadi terlalu kekanak-kanakan untuk orang dewasa, tapi terlalu kelam dan brutal bagi anak-anak. Selama ini orang tua akan lebih suka anak tidak membaca cerita yang menggambarkan dunia dalam keadaan sebenarnya (yang kejam dan tidak menarik). Mereka membiarkan anak untuk mengetahui sendiri pada akhirnya bahwa Santa Claus itu tidak ada, kamu tidak perlu pintar untuk menjadi kaya (cukup waktu dan tempat serta kenalan yang tepat) dan sebagainya. Sehingga tidak jelas hendak ditujukan ke siapa dongeng-dongeng ini.

Terlepas dari beberapa cerita memang menyegarkan (ide paling brilian adalah kisah Snow White), namun tetap menurut saya satu-satunya pelajaran menarik dari buku ini hanyalah betapa benarnya pepatah: "There's no place, like home". Anda bisa membenci rumah tempat tinggal anda, tapi tetap tidak ada yang sebaik rumah dimana kita tinggal bersama keluarga. Itu pelajaran terbaik yang diperoleh David dari pengalamannya di negeri "dongeng" tersebut, dan itu yang harusnya kita camkan dalam kehidupan kita sebenarnya saat ini. Seharusnya.... :-)

(less)

Like this review? yes (8 people liked it)

15 comments

01/05/09

Ronny rated it:

(review of isbn 9792238794)

bookshelves: sastra-inggris-irlandia

Read in January, 2009

recommended to Ronny by: Goodreads Indonesia

2009#3

Saya ga terlalu berkesan baca bagian pokok buku ini, yakni soal pengalaman di "negeri dongeng" dan plesetan dongeng2 yg justru memenuhi hampir seisi buku. Sebagiannya mungkin krn saya sudah baca Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: Modern Tales for Our Life Times (James Finn Garner) yg plesetan dongengnya jauh lebih asik (buku Politically Correct Bedtime Stories juga sempat disinggung oleh Tomo di thread GRI). Tapi saya terkesan dg ide dan "pesan" cerita b...more

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

15 comments

10/15/08

AriyatiLestari rated it:

(review of isbn 074329890X)

Read in January, 2009

.... The story ...

It was started with David’s grief and loss for his mother. Being with books and reading was his way to lose himself from reality. The grief has not lost when his father married a woman name Rose. He still can not accept Rosi’s existence and later his half-brother Georgie. This situation drove him more onto his books and tales… and the back yard, the place where he was going to wander about.

The adventures of searching the lost mother was started in...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

1 comment

01/21/08

Kim rated it:

bookshelves: eh, gr-friend-recommendations

Read in April, 2008

This is why I don't read the front jacket of books. I get sucked in thinking 'wow--this makes a good story'. Hmphf.

Okay, it's not a bad story. It had its moments. But, it lost me when it started twisting fairy tales to be all sorts of clever. Snow White as a hefty, insult laden uber wench? yeah. whatever.

The story outside of these sidebars is actually quite interesting, a boy's journey in a strange land, grieving over his dead mom, etc... but I still found myself wo...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

2 comments

01/08/08

Lisa Vegan rated it:

bookshelves: fairy-folktales, fiction, novels, orphaned-and-quasi-orphaned-kids, reviewed, speculative-fiction

Read in January, 2008

recommends it for: everybody, especially those who have used reading to get through challenging times

Part fairy tale and part psychological study, I found this to be an engrossing and powerful book. Recommend to everybody, particularly those who have used reading and books to get themselves through difficult times, especially in childhood.

I don't look at this book the way some readers apparently have: as sci-fi or fantasy, but instead see it as showing the redemptive power of books and stories in children's and adults' lives. And as an account of one boy's inner life and imagination...more

Like this review? yes (6 people liked it)

3 comments

09/22/07

Abby rated it:

(review of isbn 0340899484)

bookshelves: fantasy

Hmmmm. What to say about this book...

Okay, in many ways, brilliant. It started off reading like a children's story and I was immediately thinking that I'd lend it to my 8-year-old niece. But as the book progressed, it moved further and further into a clear adult-fantasy. And like many adult-fantasy authors these days, Connelly has taken old fables/fairy tales and put his own twist on them. Rather than revelling them into an entire story, like Gregory Maguire does, Connelly just keeps...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

1 comment

01/13/09

miaaa rated it:

(review of isbn 9792238794)

bookshelves: fairy-haven

Read in January, 2009

recommended to miaaa by: Goodreads Indonesia

The first few chapters remind me to Sally Nicholls' Ways to Live Forever, about how a child deals with death, although in this case it's not his but someone he loves, his mother. And as if it is not enough his father brought Rose into their lives, and from David's perspective, someone who came in a wrong time and tried to replace his mother, as he wanted to believe, is still alive somewhere. David then escaped from his domestic tension, especially after his half-brother has born, to his books of...more The first few chapters remind me to Sally Nicholls' Ways to Live Forever, about how a child deals with death, although in this case it's not his but someone he loves, his mother. And as if it is not enough his father brought Rose into their lives, and from David's perspective, someone who came in a wrong time and tried to replace his mother, as he wanted to believe, is still alive somewhere. David then escaped from his domestic tension, especially after his half-brother has born, to his books of tales. The night when his rage erupted, he ran and his mother's voice lured him to another world, a world of tales.

I believe what Connolly has done in this book, rephrasing tales in different point of interest, was not something new but it works. You'll encounter the Loup Clan, werewolves who were more vicious than an ordinary wolf [I'd like to know why in some tales wolves, cute creatures I must say, represent the mischief. I need to look up some reference about this later:]. You'll meet the Trolls who guarded the bridge and confront you with a riddle [surely not the troll we have met in Harry Potter's as they care nothing but their bats!:]. What struck me most are the Socialist Dwarfs, seven Kamerad who had conspired to put the annoying Snow White asleep for ever, and failed due to some errors and the Step-Mother has an alibi. Yes you heard me right, she has an alibi!

Throughout the journey, David met some awkward creatures, Knights, a Queen who kissed all men to death [this one reminds me to Grimm's tale but not so sure:], a King who was not happy at all, and the brain behind all mischieves occured in that world, and the Book of Lost Things. It's not the Book that matters but how David was growing up as all those obstacle have made him stronger, and wiser too as we all aware experience is the best teacher in life. Connolly ended the tale a little more than I've expected, especially about his family, but then if he ended it in a happy-ever-after one, the Seven Kamerad might conspire to put him asleep for ever.(less)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

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02/01/09

Dini rated it:

(review of isbn 9792238794)

bookshelves: fiction, translation

Read in February, 2009

recommended to Dini by: Sanji

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Melihat judul buku ini, Kitab Tentang yang Telah Hilang, kita bisa menebak ceritanya berhubungan dengan kehilangan sesuatu atau seseorang. Di awal buku kita langsung dihadapkan pada nasib pahit David, seorang anak lelaki yang kehilangan ibunya karena penyakit. Tak lama setelah ibunya meninggal ayahnya kemudian menikah lagi. Tanpa pernah meminta David diberi ibu baru, Rose, dan adik lelaki baru, Georgie, serta harus pindah ke rumah baru pula. Di tengah masa perang yang berkecamuk di Inggris, hidu...more Melihat judul buku ini, Kitab Tentang yang Telah Hilang, kita bisa menebak ceritanya berhubungan dengan kehilangan sesuatu atau seseorang. Di awal buku kita langsung dihadapkan pada nasib pahit David, seorang anak lelaki yang kehilangan ibunya karena penyakit. Tak lama setelah ibunya meninggal ayahnya kemudian menikah lagi. Tanpa pernah meminta David diberi ibu baru, Rose, dan adik lelaki baru, Georgie, serta harus pindah ke rumah baru pula. Di tengah masa perang yang berkecamuk di Inggris, hidup David pun tak kalah berkecamuk karena sulitnya menyesuaikan diri dengan semua perubahan yang terjadi. Ia mulai sering mendapat penglihatan-penglihatan aneh dan mendengar buku-buku di kamarnya berbicara. Puncaknya, ia masuk ke dunia lain ketika sedang menghindari pesawat Jerman yang jatuh di kebun rumahnya.

Dunia yang dimasuki David penuh hal-hal aneh dan berbahaya, di antaranya makhluk Loup yang merupakan gabungan serigala dan manusia, Binatang mengerikan yang ganas dan sering memangsa penduduk, atau pemburu yang doyan memutilasi anak-anak. Banyak pula tokoh-tokoh yang sering ada dalam dongeng seperti Snow White dan Putri Tidur, tapi mereka tak seperti dalam kisah-kisah yang pernah dibaca David. Untuk mencari jalan pulang David harus menghadap raja negeri itu yang konon memiliki sebuah kitab yang mungkin bisa membantunya. Dengan bantuan si Tukang Kayu dan seorang ksatria, Roland, David harus menghadapi berbagai rintangan terutama dari seorang Lelaki Bungkuk yang tampaknya tahu banyak tentang dirinya dan punya rencana tertentu untuknya.

Saya cukup kaget saat tahu bahwa penulis buku ini, John Connolly, sebelumnya banyak mengarang novel kriminal, karena ia cukup piawai meramu 'dongeng untuk orang dewasa' ini. Meski penuh dengan hal-hal mengerikan, kejam dan twisted, inti cerita sebenarnya adalah perjalanan psikologis dan emosional David dari seorang anak kecil menuju lelaki dewasa. Ia harus menghadapi rasa takut, iri dengki, prasangka, dan kehilangan. Kita kemudian tahu bahwa sang raja negeri itu dulunya adalah seorang anak dari dunia David yang pernah mengorbankan adik angkatnya sendiri kepada si Lelaki Bungkuk. Ketika David dihadapkan pada situasi yang sama, ia memilih untuk tidak mengorbankan adik tirinya, Georgie, meski dahulu ia merasa benci pada Georgie karena dianggap merebut kasih sayang ayahnya. David telah cukup dewasa untuk tidak menyerah pada pikiran-pikiran buruk yang ada dalam dirinya.

Kejutan lain adalah tokoh si Tukang Kayu yang dikisahkan tewas oleh serigala di awal cerita belakangan diketahui masih hidup dan bertemu lagi dengan David. Ia juga ternyata sudah tahu yang sebenarnya mengenai sang raja dan si Lelaki Bungkuk. Ketika si Tukang Kayu mengatakan "semua anak-anak adalah anak-anakku", ia seakan mengungkapkan dirinya sebagai figur otoritas simbolik di dunia tersebut – seperti tokoh Aslan di kisah Narnia. Dan seperti Narnia juga, David pun pada akhirnya akan kembali ke dunia tersebut. Dilihat dari sisi psikologis, bisa saja seluruh petualangan David di negeri antah berantah itu hanyalah mimpi atau buah imajinasinya sendiri. Ia memang sedang mengalami masalah pribadi yang pelik dan butuh cara alternatif untuk mengatasinya. Entah perjalanan David itu dikhayalkannya atau tidak, kisah ini cukup memesona bagi saya dan berhasil mencapai tujuannya untuk menjadi dongeng bagi orang dewasa.(less)

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01/01/09

Amang Suramang rated it:

(review of isbn 9792238794)

bookshelves: goodreads-indonesia, indonesian

Read in March, 2009

recommended to Amang by: Goodreads Indonesia
recommends it for: Pratono

Entah apa yang merasuki John Connoly waktu menulis novel ketujuhnya ini, ia seperti keluar dari jalur thriller dan kriminal-nya. Tapi buatku tak soal karena dengan karya ini, bolehlah kita sebut John Connolly adalah 'Quentin Tarantino'-nya novel fantasi. Mengapa demikian? Ingat adegan besutan Quentin yang berjudul "Kill Bill" yang diperankan Uma Thurman, ingat adegan demi adegan upaya The Bride aka Black Mamba mencari pembunuhnya yang tergabung dalam Deadly Viper Assassination Squad su...more Entah apa yang merasuki John Connoly waktu menulis novel ketujuhnya ini, ia seperti keluar dari jalur thriller dan kriminal-nya. Tapi buatku tak soal karena dengan karya ini, bolehlah kita sebut John Connolly adalah 'Quentin Tarantino'-nya novel fantasi. Mengapa demikian? Ingat adegan besutan Quentin yang berjudul "Kill Bill" yang diperankan Uma Thurman, ingat adegan demi adegan upaya The Bride aka Black Mamba mencari pembunuhnya yang tergabung dalam Deadly Viper Assassination Squad suruhan Bill? Ada darah dimana-mana. Tepat. Begitulah dalam banyak bagian buku ketujuh karangan John Connolly ini, darah seolah bagian yang tak terpisahkan dari kisah sang tokoh utama, menetes-netes pada lembar-lembarannya, kisahan yang berpusat pada David, anak sebelas tahun yang ditinggal mati ibunya dan harus hidup dengan ibu tiri dan adik tiri Georgie yang membuatnya iri. Namun kisah-kisah berdarah itu bukan terjadi di alam nyatanya: bukan pada Rose ibu tirinya atau Georgie adik tirinya. Semua terjadi di dunia paralel David yang letaknya ada celah dinding di kebun cekung di belakang rumah.

Meskipun disebut paralel, sebenarnya dunia di seberang itu memiliki tatanan sendiri yang berbeda dengan dunia nyata David yang saat itu tinggal di London yang sedang dilanda Perang Dunia II. Di dunia seberang itu, berlaku tatanan bahwa imajinasi bisa tumbuh sedemikian liarnya bahkan mimpi buruk sekalipun mewujud menjadi nyata.

Di dunia lain inilah, alusi-alusi bertebaran demikian banyak. Mulai dari alusi Snow White yang diceritakan tidak cantik, boro-boro langsing, dan baik hati, alusi 7 Kurcaci yang ternyata jago berslogan ala teman-teman perburuhan, Tudung Merah yang bukan lagi si gadis baik yang membawakan buah bagi nenek, tetapi justru yang melahirkan kaum Loup dan serigala, bahkan alusi Rumpelstiltskin yang kemudian diubah John Connoly menjadi Mahluk Bungkuk (The Crooked Man) yang menjadi protagonis dari David karena dialah yang akhirnya ingin menguasai David.

Dan dengan gemilang, David dibuat John Connoly tumbuh dari anak yang 'naif' dan 'pendek pikir' menjadi ksatria berpedang yang bisa membunuh, bahkan mengatasi musuh terbesar dalam hidupnya: rasa takutnya sendiri. Dan amat menarik ketika David dikontraskan dengan Raja Jonathan Tulvey, yang ketika masuk ke dunia itu juga masih anak-anak tetapi ia justru tidak belajar banyak dari pengalamannya tapi justru terbenam makin jauh dalam cemburunya pada adik tirinya Anna.

Biarpun buku ini menghabiskan waktu dua bulan untuk dibaca, tapi aku tidak merasa dua bulan ini merupakan dua bulan yang penuh kesia-siaan. Buku ini memberi banyak pelajaran, meski untuk mempelajarinya, ada banyak darah yang berceceran.

Penasaran bila nanti novel ini jadi difilmkan oleh sutradara John Moore apakah akan tetap sedemikian penuh kekelaman seperti ini atau tidak. Mungkin harus dipasang plang besar-besar di poster film soal darah bercipratan ini. Layak ditunggu kehadirannya di bioskop.

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10/27/08

Endah rated it:

(review of isbn 9792238794)

Pada dasarnya saya ini penggemar fiksi realis, tetapi juga tidak menolak bacaan-bacaan bergenre fantasi walaupun tentu saya lebih banyak membaca jenis buku yang pertama dibanding yang disebut terakhir. Entah kenapa dalam pikiran saya sudah terpatri bahwa buku fantasi identik dengan buku anak-anak/remaja. Dan saya sudah lama meninggalkan masa-masa indah tersebut. Namun, diam-diam saya sering merindukan saat-saat itu kembali lagi. Barangkali itu salah satu alasan saya tetap menyukai kisah-kisah fa...more Pada dasarnya saya ini penggemar fiksi realis, tetapi juga tidak menolak bacaan-bacaan bergenre fantasi walaupun tentu saya lebih banyak membaca jenis buku yang pertama dibanding yang disebut terakhir. Entah kenapa dalam pikiran saya sudah terpatri bahwa buku fantasi identik dengan buku anak-anak/remaja. Dan saya sudah lama meninggalkan masa-masa indah tersebut. Namun, diam-diam saya sering merindukan saat-saat itu kembali lagi. Barangkali itu salah satu alasan saya tetap menyukai kisah-kisah fantasi dan petualangan pada usia saya yang sekarang (Berapa sih? :D) Alasan yang tidak sepenuhnya saya sadari, karena seperti tertulis dalam lembar pertama buku The Book of Lost Things, dalam diri setiap orang dewasa masih tersimpan jiwa kanak-kanaknya.

Hal itu rupanya disadari betul oleh John Connolly (40) sehingga ia lalu membuat novel (dewasa) apik bergenre fantasi yang judulnya telah saya sebut di atas, The Book of Lost Things.

Tokohnya adalah David, seorang bocah lelaki 12 tahun yang–seperti sering terdapat dalam kisah-kisah petualangan–“malang” (Ingat saja Harry Potter). Ia harus menjadi piatu pada usianya yang kedua belas itu. Sejak itu David merasa sangat kesepian. Apalagi kemudian ayahnya menikah lagi dan dari perkawinan tersebut David mendapat adik tiri laki-laki, Georgie. David merasa kian diabaikan dan mulai mencari pelarian untuk menghibur dirinya yang tengah kecewa. Tak dinyana, suatu hari setelah pertengkaran mulut yang hebat dengan ibu tirinya, David terdampar ke negeri lain. Dan dimulailah petualangannya yang seru dan fantastik.

Di negeri ini David bukan saja mengalami kejadian-kejadian menegangkan, tetapi juga bertemu dengan tokoh-tokoh dongeng favoritnya, seperti Snow White dan Tujuh Kurcaci serta Gadis Kecil Bermantel Merah. Lucunya, sosok atau kisah tentang mereka berbeda sama sekali dengan yang selama ini David baca dari buku-buku. Pada bagian ini saya benar-benar terhibur dan tak sanggup menahan tawa ngakak.

Gimana nggak ngakak jika Snow White yang selama ini kita kenal sebagai putri berparas jelita, berkulit seputih salju dengan bibir merah merekah, tiba-tiba berubah menjadi sosok perempuan gemuk yang rakus dan kejam. Ia selalu menghabiskan jatah makan ketujuh kurcaci. Saking rakus dan kejamnya, suatu malam pada sebuah musim dingin dan makanan sulit didapat, Snow White kedapatan sedang menggerumiti kaki salah seorang kurcaci. Gila nggak sih? )

Tak kalah sintingnya adalah penggambaran tentang para kurcaci yang saling memanggil di antara mereka dengan sebutan kamerad. Mereka tak ubahnya buruh pertambangan yang miskin dan tertindas. Dalam obrolan mereka sering terucap kata-kata “kerja kolektif” atau “anjing-anjing kapitalis”. Huahaha. Jangan-jangan mereka baca Das Kapital juga ya? Yang tak kalah seru juga adalah twist dari dongeng Little Red Riding Hood serta Hans and Gretel.

Bagian itu memang kocak tetapi selebihnya kisah The Book of Lost Things ini cenderung kelam dengan seting Inggris pada masa Perang Dunia II. Mungkin itu sebabnya Gramedia selaku penerbit buku ini merasa perlu menyematkan label “novel dewasa” di sampul belakang. Sebab, kendati ini buku fantasi dengan tokoh utamanya anak-anak, di dalamnya banyak memuat adegan kekerasan (kepala yang dipenggal, darah berhamburan, usus terburai, dsb) yang mungkin menurut pertimbangan Gramedia tidak sesuai untuk konsumsi anak-anak. Tapi kalau saya punya anak, saya akan mengizinkan mereka membacanya. Sebab saya percaya, dalam diri setiap anak bersemayam jiwa yang kelak akan menjadi dewasa (kalimat terakhir ini hasil mengutip dari buku ini).

Selanjutnya, lazimnya kisah fantasi dan petualangan, akan kita jumpai banyak makhluk ajaib yang cuma ada dalam dongeng. Misalnya, troll dan harpy untuk menyebut salah duanya. Tentu juga harus ada petualangan, perkelahian, dan pahlawan. David dong pahlawannya. Selain karena ia mampu mengatasi lawan-lawannya yang jahat, juga lantaran dia berhasil mengalahkan rasa takut dan kebencian dalam hatinya. Bukankah perang terbesar adalah perang melawan diri sendiri?

Secara umum novel ini menarik dan cukup menghibur. Buat Anda penggemar kisah-kisah dongeng dan fantasi pasti akan menyukainya.***
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08/13/07

LJ rated it:

bookshelves: england, horror, paranormal_fantasy, ww2_1939-45

Read in December, 2006

THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS (Dark Fantasy/England/WWII) – Okay
Connolly, John – Standalone
Hodder & Stoughton, 2006- UK Hardcover
*** 12-year-old David loves to read and, upon the death of his mother, hears books talking. Still mourning the loss of his mother, his father tells him he’ll have a new mother and a baby brother or sister. They move out of London to his stepmother Rose’s huge house in the country where he is given a room filled with books but feels angry and displ...more

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03/27/08

Kirsty rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in July, 2008

recommended to Kirsty by: Lori Hettler

This book was fun. I liked the author's take on the fairytales I read as a child. They become very dark, and in some places very funny. I especially liked the tale of Snow White.

The characterisation was ok, for me there was something missing from the main character - I just can't quite figure out what. That said, I liked the character of The Crooked Man, even if he did creep me out a little.

There was a little more gore than I was expecting, and I'm not sure all of it was ...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

2 comments

10/29/07

Lori rated it:

bookshelves: farbetterthanmost

Read in December, 2007

Read this book without really knowing too much about it. Just that other reviewers were impressed and it centered around a little boy and some dark versions of fairy tales that I had grown up on.

Wow.

Wow.wow.wow.

That is what I have to say when I got to the last page.
It was a really really great story. 10 year old boy who loves to read, loses his mother, hates his new stepmother and stepbrother.... gets pulled into this fairy tale world where things are fa...more

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04/06/08

J.b. Stanley rated it:

Read in February, 2007

I really enjoyed this book. No, it's not for children. It's an adventure story and fairy tale for grown ups in the style of fairy tale masters Andersen and the Grimm Brothers. For those who like Disney fairy tales, forget this book. This is written in like an old-school fairy tale - those harsh and magical morality tales meant to teach a lesson by using monsters, beautiful women, and courageous children stepping from childhood into adulthood. I thought the World War backstory was excellent and g...more

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10/19/08

ame rated it:

(review of isbn 9792238794)

Read in January, 2009

recommended to ame by: Goodreads Indonesia

After finished reading the last page of this book, I took a deep sigh, and go to bed. And in the next morning, I hardly remember how the story goes.

John Connolly didn't offer any new idea. Some author did the fairy tales twisting before, and some of them did it better.

Although I have to say the first pages seems quite promising to me; when David struggling with his own feeling after his Mom's death, Rose shows up into his Dad's life, the new baby, and also about the war. ...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

4 comments

08/31/08

Nielam rated it:

bookshelves: adventure, fantasy

Read in September, 2008

recommends it for: roos, runi, adisti

sejauh ini...terjemahannya bagus. banyak kata2 yang dah terlupakan bermunculan lagi.

rasanya kayak balik baca buku jaman kecil dulu, saat bahasanya masih terasa indah dan klasik. entah karena penulisnya yang hebat, atau memang penterjemahnya yang niat.

br sampe hal 55 sih, hehehe.

-----review-----

yaiii selesaaaaiiii, dengan sangat manis dan menyenangkan, although it depends on your own interpretation sih, tapi kalau gue sih mikir yang indah2nya ajah....more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

7 comments

07/07/08

mellymel rated it:

Read in December, 2008

recommended to mellymel by: Allison

Points for the clever imagination,the weaving of fairy tales into a dark and fantastical story of a 10 year old boy who loves to read. When he is pulled into a nightmarish forest he must use his wits & imagination to survive the perilous journey home. I'm not usually a big fantasy reader, but this was definitely worthwhile.
Things I could have done without:
- while I loved Roland, the not so hidden agenda of his character (anti God, in love with Raphael) seemed so ridiculously out of ...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

3 comments

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polls

Nominasi baca bareng bulan Januari 2009: Bulan Buku Fantasi

The Hunt For Atlantis ( Perburuan Jejak Atlantis )

The Hunt For Atlantis karya Andy McDermott (Gagas Media)

33 votes, 33.3%

Sabine karya Tim Kennemore (Bentang Pustaka)

6 votes, 6.1%

Persekutuan Penyihir (The Magicians Guild - The Black Magician Trilogy, Buku 1)

Persekutuan Penyihir karya Trudi Canavan (Mizan)

13 votes, 13.1%

Dragon Keeper karya Caroline Wilkinson (Matahati)

4 votes, 4.0%

The Book Of Lost Things (Kitab Tentang yang Telah Hilang)

The Book of Lost Thing karya John Connolly (Gramedia PU)

43 votes, 43.4%

99 total votes

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quotes from this book

"Eventually the Woodsman spoke. ‘We all have our routines,’ he said softly. ‘But they must have a purpose and provide an outcome that we can see and take some comfort from, or else they have no use at all. Without that, they are like the endless pacings of a caged animal. If they are not madness itself, then they are a prelude to it.’ The Woodsman stood and showed David his axe. ‘See here,’ he said, pointing with his finger at the blade. Every morning, I make certain that me axe is clean and keen. I look to my house and check that its windows and doors remain secure. I tend to my land, disposing of weeds and ensuring that the soil is watered. I walk through the forest, clearing those paths that need to be kept open. Where trees have been damaged, I do my best to repair what has been harmed. these are my routines and I enjoy doing them well.’ He laid a hand gently on David’s shoulder, and David saw understanding in his face. ‘Rules and routines are good, but they must give you satisfaction. Can you truly say you gain that from touching and counting?’ David shook his head. ‘No,’ he said, ‘but I get scared when I don’t do them. I’m afraid of what might happen.’ ‘Then find routines that allow you to feel secure when they are done. You told me that you have a new brother: look to him each morning. Look to your father, and your stepmother. Tend to the flowers in the garden, or in the pots upon the window sill. Seek others who are weaker than you are, and try to give them comfort where you can. Let these be your routines, and the rules that govern your life." More quotes...