What Was Lost
by
Catherine O'Flynn (Goodreads Author)
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"Green Oaks: two hours outside the banks today. Nothing to note except short man walking about unaware of 4-foot length of toilet paper stuck to his shoe."
Kate Meaney, a precocious 10-year-old, is no ordinary sleuth. Notebook in hand, Kate is always on the lookout for suspicious characters and their dodgy doings. And when spunky...more
"Green Oaks: two hours outside the banks today. Nothing to note except short man walking about unaware of 4-foot length of toilet paper stuck to his shoe."
Kate Meaney, a precocious 10-year-old, is no ordinary sleuth. Notebook in hand, Kate is always on the lookout for suspicious characters and their dodgy doings. And when spunky...more
Paperback, 244 pages
Published
April 15th 2007
by Tindal Street
(first published 2007)
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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...more
3 1/2 stars would be more accurate. Quick and mostly compelling first novel--written in 3rd person no less! Free indirect dicoruse! Hooray!
One of the three different narrative focalizations--that is, those sections that emphasises the actions and thoughts of a ten-year old would-be detective in 1980s Britain--is more compelling than the other two. Not so much a crime novel as a meditation on crime. The book also has the virtue of being, esp in its first half, laugh out loud funny. The author app...more
One of the three different narrative focalizations--that is, those sections that emphasises the actions and thoughts of a ten-year old would-be detective in 1980s Britain--is more compelling than the other two. Not so much a crime novel as a meditation on crime. The book also has the virtue of being, esp in its first half, laugh out loud funny. The author app...more
This is one of the most unique and imaginative books I've read in a long time. It's like Office Space meets Nancy Drew meets Silence of the Lambs meets Lost in Translation. It also reminded me of the Beatles song Eleanor Rigby: "All the lonely people, where do they all come from?"
Sorry for the comparison casserole, but it's a hard book to describe. It starts off following a little girl who imagines herself as a secret detective, then fast-forwards 20 years after her mysterious disappearance and...more
Sorry for the comparison casserole, but it's a hard book to describe. It starts off following a little girl who imagines herself as a secret detective, then fast-forwards 20 years after her mysterious disappearance and...more
There were various important aspects of this book which I frankly did not believe - unhappily, the character (however endearing) of 10 year old Kate is one of them. She wanders around town and occasionally stays out all night with zero adult supervision and is hugely braver and more intent and concentrated than any actual 10 year old. She's pure fantasy, she's not a real kid at all, she's the kind of kid character adults make up and they're so nice it seems rude to point out how fake they are. E...more
A few weeks ago, Borders across Sydney had a massive 75-90% off clearance sales. Not expecting anything good, I went into them looking for anything that looked like it would last more than 10 pages before I trash it in the bin and still, somehow, ended up with just 4 books. One of them was Don DeLillo's Underworld, I got it because it was insanely cheap and thick at the same time. The other two were 19th century classics that I planned to use as birthday presents (I know, but hey, I'm sure they...more
Withdrawn from Buckingham County Library
Dedication:
Crime was out there. Undetected. Unseen. She hpoped she wouldn't be too late. The bus driver was keeping the bus at a steady 15mph, breaking at every appproaching green light until it turned red. She closed her eyes and continued the journey in her head as slowly as she could. She opened them but still the bus lagged far behind her worst projection. Pedestria...more
Dedication:
Written for Peter,
and dedicated to the memory
of Donal of Hillstreet
and Ellen of Oylegate
Crime was out there. Undetected. Unseen. She hpoped she wouldn't be too late. The bus driver was keeping the bus at a steady 15mph, breaking at every appproaching green light until it turned red. She closed her eyes and continued the journey in her head as slowly as she could. She opened them but still the bus lagged far behind her worst projection. Pedestria...more
This is a fairly short book, but I spent a long time with it because I was listening to it.
This book begins in 1984 as little Kate Meaney wanders about her world of council flats and the Green Oaks mall, taking notes and investigating, a sad little Harriet the Spy. Then it jumps forward to twenty years dead smack in the midst of Green Oaks. Kate, we learn, disappeared in 1984 and no one ever knew what happened to her. Now we follow Kurt, a security guard and Lisa, a music store manager, both te...more
This book begins in 1984 as little Kate Meaney wanders about her world of council flats and the Green Oaks mall, taking notes and investigating, a sad little Harriet the Spy. Then it jumps forward to twenty years dead smack in the midst of Green Oaks. Kate, we learn, disappeared in 1984 and no one ever knew what happened to her. Now we follow Kurt, a security guard and Lisa, a music store manager, both te...more
I wanted to love this book, and ultimately found it very funny, fresh, disturbing and original, but the fact that it was so different from what I expected and that I didn't have much in common with the main characters interfered with my positive feelings about it. It was a mystery about a ten year old girl whose disappearance leaves many unanswered questions and repercussions in its wake. The first half follows the activities of little Kate Meany, a self-styled 'detective' who shadows imaginary...more
This first novel has gotten quite a bit of attention already--it's won the 2007 COSTA First Novel Award, was shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Award and long listed for both the Booker and the Orange prize.
O'Flynn is truly a new voice with a great talent. This book starts off with quirky 10 year old Kate, orphaned and living with her grandmother, a very smart, loner of a child. But
she's not lonely--she's too busy running her own detective agency. Falling in love with her takes all of about...more
O'Flynn is truly a new voice with a great talent. This book starts off with quirky 10 year old Kate, orphaned and living with her grandmother, a very smart, loner of a child. But
she's not lonely--she's too busy running her own detective agency. Falling in love with her takes all of about...more
The shopping mall is relatively unexplored territory for writers of literary fiction. So it was an interesting decision by Catherine O'Flynn to use it as the setting for her novel. Focusing on the disappearance of a ten year old girl,the narrative is split between 1984 when the mall is in its early days and 2003, when it has become the kind of cathedral to consumerism we're all so familiar with today. The first half of the novel is told from the point of view of Kate, the girl who disappears, an...more
Jan 17, 2008
Ollie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
shopping addicts, CCTV obsessives and ghost hunters
Recommended to Ollie by:
the newspapers
I never knew ghosts stories could be this depressing. Either they scare you, make you laugh or leave you indifferent, right? Catherine O'Flynn breaks new haunting ground with this novel, winner of the Costa Fist Novel Award 2007, by exploring the sadness generated in a community after the construction of a glossy shopping centre in the 80s, and the ghost that inhabits it. The novel centres around little Kate, who wishes to escape her reality by playing detective and following strangers in the ma...more
Sep 13, 2007
Matt
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those who liked To Kill a Mockingbird, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Shelves:
dawnofthedeadshelf
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, spend...more
Jan 30, 2009
Evanston Public Library
added it
In 1980s Birmingham, England, young Kate Meaney works seriously hard as a junior detective. Accompanied by detective in training, Mickey (a toy monkey), she trails suspects around town and at the Green Oaks shopping mall, recording her every observation in a top secret notebook. When she suddenly disappears, suspicion falls on her older friend Adrian, son of a local shopkeeper, though the case remains unresolved.
Cut to 2003, at the rather malevolent Green Oaks shopping mall, where consumerism d...more
Cut to 2003, at the rather malevolent Green Oaks shopping mall, where consumerism d...more
Jul 15, 2008
Ken
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people looking for a challenging read with a little bit of mystery.
What Was Lost starts out quite strong. In the first section, I could not put it down. As the novel progressed, though, I became less excited, and I felt the ending did not fulfill the promise of the beginning.
What Was Lost follows an ensemble of characters and their relationships to each other and to the Green Oaks Mall in Birmingham, England. The story begins with Kate Meaney, and I could not read enough about her and the world she inhabits and half creates for herself. For reasons I don't want...more
What Was Lost follows an ensemble of characters and their relationships to each other and to the Green Oaks Mall in Birmingham, England. The story begins with Kate Meaney, and I could not read enough about her and the world she inhabits and half creates for herself. For reasons I don't want...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Kurt e Lisa lavorano entrambi a Green Oaks, un enorme centro commerciale che domina l’urbanistica, l’economia e la vita di un sobborgo di Birmingham. Lui è una guardia giurata dall'insonnia cronica, lei commesso capo in un negozio di CD che fa parte di una grande catena. Non si conoscono, ma quando nei nastri delle telecamere a circuito chiuso comparirà Kate, una bambina svanita nel nulla vent’anni prima, un passato doloroso li farà incontrare e li spingerà a indagare e ricordare, anche contro l...more
A good mystery.
Kate Meaney "works" as a junior detective, trailing potential suspects and sharpening her observation skills so that when she grows up, she can become a full-fledged detective. During her daily travels through the neighborhood, she becomes friends with Adrian, a 22 year old shopkeeper who, unlike most adults Kate knows, treats her with respect. When Kate goes missing, Adrian is the top suspect.
Twenty years later Adrian's little sister Lisa works in a dead end job at the mall, miss...more
Kate Meaney "works" as a junior detective, trailing potential suspects and sharpening her observation skills so that when she grows up, she can become a full-fledged detective. During her daily travels through the neighborhood, she becomes friends with Adrian, a 22 year old shopkeeper who, unlike most adults Kate knows, treats her with respect. When Kate goes missing, Adrian is the top suspect.
Twenty years later Adrian's little sister Lisa works in a dead end job at the mall, miss...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is almost a 5 star review, and the only reason it isn't is because I listened to the audiobook edition, which was narrated SO brilliantly by Catherine Skinner that it may well have increased my love for the book. All the action centers around Green Oaks, a shopping mall in Birmingham, and never was a shopping mall such a depressing, cynical, malignant, and soul-deadening character. In one segment of this story, 10-year-old Kate, a very odd yet wonderful loner whose main companion is a stuff...more
For anyone who is considering reading this novel, this is my disclaimer.
The first 20 pages or so are slow, but after you read those pages you're out of the woods. KEEP READING. I assure you it's worth it.
This novel was an unexpected treasure. I was impressed with O'Flynn's perception of today's generation and it's values (or lack there of.) I haven't come across many good modern novels talking about today's society.
That wasn't really the focus of the book, but it was probably my second favorite...more
The first 20 pages or so are slow, but after you read those pages you're out of the woods. KEEP READING. I assure you it's worth it.
This novel was an unexpected treasure. I was impressed with O'Flynn's perception of today's generation and it's values (or lack there of.) I haven't come across many good modern novels talking about today's society.
That wasn't really the focus of the book, but it was probably my second favorite...more
This was a complex and very intriguing story. I think when I started reading the book, I did not give it the full attention that it deserved that when the central mystery started unfolding, I was kicking myself for not knowing the subtle hints/scenes that had unfolded earlier. But I guess that speaks to the quality of the story, that after I finished reading the book, I immediately went back and did some searching. The story centers around a precocious young girl who is fascinated with detective...more
Gleich vorneweg damit es zu keinen Missverständnissen und falschen Erwartungen kommt: Dieses Buch ist alles andere als ein Krimi oder eine Geistergeschichte, obwohl der Klappentext dies suggeriert. Ich würde das Buch eher unter Belletristik oder Zeitgenössische Literatur einordnen und ja die Kurzbeschreibung stimmt erstaunlicherweise trotzdem!
Da ist dieses ernste Mädchen mit den traurigen blauen Augen, die einem folgen, die immer beobachten. Kate Meaney, eine Detektivin die beinahe unsichtbar du...more
Da ist dieses ernste Mädchen mit den traurigen blauen Augen, die einem folgen, die immer beobachten. Kate Meaney, eine Detektivin die beinahe unsichtbar du...more
Kate Meany is 10 years old in 1984, a lonely little girl who wants to be a detective. She hangs out at the brand new shopping mall with her stuffed monkey, watching people for suspicious behavior, her only friend an aimless young man who is twice her age. Fast-forward twenty years, where we learn that Kate disappeared as a child and was never found again, that her friend Adrian was the only suspect in the crime, and that he disappeared too, unable to take the suspicion surrounding him. As you ma...more
This mystery book was nominated for a number of awards including being longlisted
for the Booker Prize. You can argue that the structure of this book is a little disjointed.
It begins wonderfully with the evocative details of the daily life of Kate, a 10 year old
junior detective who has formed her own detective agency with her toy monkey
Mickey. Kate disappears on the day of her taking an entrance exam to a private
school. Then the book switches rather abruptly to the daily lives of several empl...more
for the Booker Prize. You can argue that the structure of this book is a little disjointed.
It begins wonderfully with the evocative details of the daily life of Kate, a 10 year old
junior detective who has formed her own detective agency with her toy monkey
Mickey. Kate disappears on the day of her taking an entrance exam to a private
school. Then the book switches rather abruptly to the daily lives of several empl...more
What Was Lost is a 246-page adult realistic fiction novel by Catherine O’Flynn. It is about an independent ten-year-old girl, Kate Meany, who lives alone in England with her grandmother and works as a detective in her free time. She spends her days trailing suspects around the local Green Oaks Shopping Center with her toy monkey, Mickey, and making notes about people in her little detective handbook. When Kate goes missing, everyone immediately suspects Kate’s only friend, her 23-year-old neighb...more
In 1984, a 10-year-old wannabe PI disappears without a trace. 20 years later, two employees in the shopping centre that was one of the little girl's usual haunts start noticing a mysterious little girl wandering the service corridors at weird times. Thinking it can't really be a ghost, they investigate.
This was one of those books where you have absolutely no idea where the author's going, and I quite enjoyed that. The sections narrated from little Kate Meaney's point of view, as she compensates...more
This was one of those books where you have absolutely no idea where the author's going, and I quite enjoyed that. The sections narrated from little Kate Meaney's point of view, as she compensates...more
Catherine O'Flynn is an amazing writer, and I will definitely read more books by her. She made me see the simple and everyday - a mall, school room, corner store - seem like interesting and sometimes magical places. Yet I wish this story went in a completely different direction - but it's the author's story to tell, not mine.
The book starts in 1984 in an English suburb/small city and then moves to 20 years later. The main character in the 1984 section is an elementary school-aged girl named Kate...more
The book starts in 1984 in an English suburb/small city and then moves to 20 years later. The main character in the 1984 section is an elementary school-aged girl named Kate...more
This shortish novel is a captivating and complex story of loss, disconnection, generosity and redemption; but I was practically at the end of it before I accepted that. The plot has a lot going for it: part mystery, part ghost story, the connections between the various strands are skilfully teased out so that I always wanted to know more and was genuinely surprised by a satisfying twist at the end.
A young girl who fancies herself a sleuth, Green Oaks Shopping Centre, a security guard with a secr...more
A young girl who fancies herself a sleuth, Green Oaks Shopping Centre, a security guard with a secr...more
I picked this one up because it was on the "Books you might have missed" shelf at the library. I can usually find something good there. This one seemed interesting, and I thought the premise sounded good, but it wasn't quite what I expected. I was expecting some mystery about the kidnapping, and there wasn't. The story was not about that, but thankfully it does get solved in the end. Though it takes reading to the last few pages to find out. I liked the little twist.
I really liked all of the cha...more
I really liked all of the cha...more
I had an odd reason for reading this novel. Somebody told me my novel reminded them of What Is Lost, as both are set in shopping centres. There are other striking similarities in some of the small details, but overall they are two very different books.
I looked forward to What Is Lost and really wanted to enjoy it. It's in the kind of setting and with the kind of characters, themes, and storylines that appeal to me. The strengths of the writing showed at times when the story zoomed in with a clea...more
I looked forward to What Is Lost and really wanted to enjoy it. It's in the kind of setting and with the kind of characters, themes, and storylines that appeal to me. The strengths of the writing showed at times when the story zoomed in with a clea...more
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| Bound Together: What Was Lost discussion | 59 | 65 | Jul 15, 2012 08:41am |
Catherine O'Flynn, born in 1970, is a British writer.
Her debut novel, What Was Lost, won the Costa First Novel Award, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, The Commonwealth Writers' Prize and The Southbank Show Literature Award. It was longlisted for the Booker and Orange Prizes. She was named Waterstone’s Newcomer of the Year at the 2008 Galaxy British Book Awards.
Her second novel T...more
More about Catherine O'Flynn...
Her debut novel, What Was Lost, won the Costa First Novel Award, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, The Commonwealth Writers' Prize and The Southbank Show Literature Award. It was longlisted for the Booker and Orange Prizes. She was named Waterstone’s Newcomer of the Year at the 2008 Galaxy British Book Awards.
Her second novel T...more
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“I don’t know – I suppose if you’re very unhappy at home, anywhere is better than there.”
—
3 people liked it
“She found the evenings long and empty, and the nights worse. She dreaded the weekends.”
—
2 people liked it
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