The Keeper of Lost Things: The feel-good novel of the year

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This is a feel-good story with a sweet and pleasing ending that I am happy that I read though. Would recommend!

I loved the unusual and funny names the author used in her book and the individual characters are definitely unique and perfectly suited to her stories. I adored teenager 'Sunshine' who had Down Syndrome or as she calls herself a 'dancing drome', she was the star of the book for me, witty, honest without censor and with a very special gift indeed. However, the narrative is simply appalling. The author force feeds, I mean spoon feeds, the reader ad nauseum.Normally, anything to do with ghosts sends me skittering away. But here, the “deceased diva” just adds a bit of humor and poignancy to the equation. Anthony Peardew has learned, through experience, the pain and heartbreak that can come through loss. An object isn’t always just itself; it can be attached to someone’s memories - of a person, an event, and a time of happiness. A time of sadness, even. When he finds items left behind, lost, he brings them home in the hopes that he may reunite them with the person who is missing them. He catalogs each item, and records the place and time he found them, hoping that someday they will return to their home. Anthony Peardew is The Keeper of Lost Things. Lime green plastic flower-shaped hair bobbles—Found, on the playing field, Derrywood Park, 2nd September. Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners. A ghost, an abundance of eye rolling but beautiful coincidences, some lovable characters, especially a young woman named Sunshine.

This was a feel good story, one that will propel you out of the doldrums and make you quite glad that you got to spend some time with Anthony, Laura, Sunshine, Freddy, Eunice, and Bomber and least I forget some lovely four legged friends. In parallel with the memorabilia project, there is another story involving a book publisher Bomber, his assistant Eunice, and Bomber’s hilarious sister, Portia. Portia wants her brother to publish one of her books, but with titles like “Lady Chatterley’s Chauffeur” Bomber has a real problem endorsing her plagiarised writing efforts. Little does he recognise that when plagiarism is so bad and obvious, it becomes a parody. From about the 10% mark, I knew that this book was probably going to be a one star, and I couldn't wait for it to be over. Ha.... and that’s the way I prepare tea in my house every day, several times a day. Why don’t you believe me? I studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths College which was brilliant, but then I came home and got a 'proper' job. I worked for ten years in a senior local government position (I was definitely a square peg in a round hole, but it paid the bills and mortgage) before a car accident left me unable to work full-time and convinced me to start writing seriously. It was going well, but then in 2012 I got cancer, which was bloody inconvenient but precipitated an exciting hair journey from bald to a peroxide blonde Annie Lennox crop. When chemo kept me up all night I passed the time writing and the eventual result was The Keeper of Lost Things.The story about to begin, will lead us into an universe where characters are knots merged in a web -- people crossing at due timings, showing that nothing happens by chance in this mysterious whole where we all interact, complementing each other, towards an incognito purpose -- something undefined, we feel bigger then us, where all those crossing paths will hopefully gain a common sense!... Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.