What Was Lost

published	April 15th 2007 by Tindal Street Press
binding	Paperback
isbn	0955138418 (isbn13: 9780955138416)
ebook
pages	240
literary awards	2007 Costa Award (First Novel); Orange Prize Longlist (2007)
description	In the 1980s, Kate Meaney — “Top Secret” notebook and toy monkey in tow — is hard at work as a junior detective. Busy trailing “suspects” ...more [close] In the 1980s, Kate Meaney — “Top Secret” notebook and toy monkey in tow — is hard at work as a junior detective. Busy trailing “suspects” and carefully observing everything around her at the newly opened Green Oaks shopping mall, she forms an unlikely friendship with Adrian, the son of a local shopkeeper. But when this curious, independent-spirited young girl disappears, Adrian falls under suspicion and is hounded out of his home by the press. Then, in 2003, Adrian’s sister Lisa — stuck in a dead-end relationship — is working as a manager at Your Music, a discount record store. Every day she tears her hair out at the outrageous behavior of her customers and colleagues. But along with a security guard, Kurt, she becomes entranced by the little girl glimpsed on the mall’s surveillance cameras. As their after-hours friendship intensifies, Lisa and Kurt investigate how these sightings might be connected to the unsettling history of Green Oaks itself. Written with warmth and wit, What Was Lost is a haunting debut from an incredible new talent. [close]
date added	05-15-07 edit book

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Mary-anne rated it:

09/08/07

bookshelves: bookerlonglist2007

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in September, 2007

After reading this book, I can't wait for Cathering O'Flynn's next novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The opening is so charming and Kate Meaney is such a sweet character. As the first part opens up a bit more, we see that she's actually quite lonely and her situation is sad, but she bravely carries on in her quest to get her detective agency off the ground, even though she's only 10 years old. The details of her agency (buying stationery, researching walkie talkies, staking out the mall,...more After reading this book, I can't wait for Cathering O'Flynn's next novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The opening is so charming and Kate Meaney is such a sweet character. As the first part opens up a bit more, we see that she's actually quite lonely and her situation is sad, but she bravely carries on in her quest to get her detective agency off the ground, even though she's only 10 years old. The details of her agency (buying stationery, researching walkie talkies, staking out the mall, etc.) are so funny, but it's her notetaking and the observations she makes that are so clever and insightful and just make her so endearing. I loved this character.

When the second part of the book begins, we flash forward 20 years and Kate is missing, and has been missing for 20 years. The story follows three characters who are all related to her disappearance, the sister of the man who was suspected of being involved in her disappearance (Lisa), a man who may have been the last person to see her alive (Kurt) and another person I don't want to say too much about because I want you to get chills at the end of the book too. Lisa and Kurt both work at the mall where Kate carried out her surveillances as a young girl, Lisa as an assistant manager at the music store, and Kurt as a security guard. They both hate their jobs and have some pretty funny situations, observations, and dialogues pertaining to the life of the mall that make this book very current. The effect of the mall on society is a main theme in this book. "High street" shopping is often compared to mall shopping and how that's affected daily life and how people relate to each other.

This book covered things I haven't come across in fiction yet and so I found it fresh and modern. The "mystery shopper" concept, the glass cube classical department in the music store, the modern upper retail management style, with it's ever-threatening store visit, and the constant surveillance are just some of the current topics this novel covers. It has already changed my mall experience - just today I noticed a guy at the mall with an ear-piece thingy and it made me feel so watched.

O'Flynn is very good to her reader. She ties all the loose ends up beautifully and even leaves you with an unexpected tear in the eye (Oprah-style).

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Matt rated it:

09/13/07

bookshelves: dawnofthedeadshelf

recommends it for: Those who liked To Kill a Mockingbird, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

In 1983 10 year old junior detective Kate Meaney--with her stuffed gangster monkey Mickey in tow--vanishes from a public school entrance exam. Her detective instincts previously leading her all throughout the newly opened Green Oaks shopping mall near her home, not to mention the curious neighborhoods near her English home, her disappearance suggests she stumbled upon activities of a nature no 10 year old ought to witness. "What Was Lost," which splits its time 33/67 between 1983 and...more In 1983 10 year old junior detective Kate Meaney--with her stuffed gangster monkey Mickey in tow--vanishes from a public school entrance exam. Her detective instincts previously leading her all throughout the newly opened Green Oaks shopping mall near her home, not to mention the curious neighborhoods near her English home, her disappearance suggests she stumbled upon activities of a nature no 10 year old ought to witness. "What Was Lost," which splits its time 33/67 between 1983 and 2004, spends it's final two thirds in the 21st century unraveling the mystery of her disappearance. In 2004 a haunted and lonely mall security guard Kurt befriends benumbed and lonely Lisa, a manager at one of the mall's music superstores, and their burgeoning relationship, and the connection they share with the lost girl Kate, pulls the disparate mysteries of this story to a resounding close.

Catherine O'Flynn's real accomplishment should be the way she bridges 20 years and two vastly unrelated narratives to tie up--if not entirely resolve--the unknowns in the lives of her three protagonists. But what will stand out is Kate's voice. Part Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird," part Nancy Drew (without the technological gadgetry and know-how of Veronica Mars), Kate's imagination and ambition nearly drown out her despondant loneliness. Her friendship with Adrian, her relationships with her family--both parents are gone and she's being raised by a grandmother--all evince aspects of her solitude. And yet she's a charmer, a girl you'd want to an ice cream for.

The shift in tone from Kate's fairly light-hearted opening in 1983 to Lisa and Kurt's glum 2004 is as evident as the author's intention for us to connect these three characters. It's handled deftly and without incongruous linguistic pyrotechnics. O'Flynn's clear, lucid prose tells the story at it's own leisurely pace, and the patience with which she writes demands a certain patience from the reader. In the end much is revealed; no one is good or bad, or even mostly good and a little bad, or mostly bad and a little good. These are people stuck in a time and a place and they simply seem to exist as the world at large dictates their lives. Kate escapes that--and through the mystery of her disappearance, most others do as well....less

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