The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

Incredibly charming. It really was. However…it was charming in the same way that I find Disney’s new releases of actor led classics. If you were to watch the films, they are undeniably delightful, but ultimately you are aware of how Cinderella ends before it even begins. The tale follows Anthony Peardew, a now ageing man who in his youth lost his fiancée tragically the same day he lost her keepsake, and from there on he harbours all lost items he finds with the intention to reunite the objects with their owners. On Anthony’s death this task is passed on to his housekeeper Laura, a woman whose age is potentially alluded to too often,  who takes on the task with the aid of Freddy the gardener and Sunshine, a teenage local girl with down syndrome. With a sprinkling of ghostly happenings and Sunshine’s ghostly intuition, the novel of course reaches a happy ever after. The narrative is interwoven with stories explaining the history of the lost objects.

First of all, the most charming element is the stories of the lost items, such as a suicidal mother who loses a glove, a scorned sister and a jigsaw piece, and a hair tie. I adored the short stories which explored the history of lost objects. My mother was ill, and I gave her this book, which to me is a summary of its light hearted and cheerful nature. On similar lines, the characters were likeable, particularly Eugene and Bomber, although I am unsure how I missed the gay references considering other hints in the novel were not always as subtle.

Frustratingly, the idea behind the novel is interesting, however the execution is predictable and one dimensional. The characters and plot behave exactly as you expect them to, but at the same time not in a way that would ever occur in reality. Furthermore, the ghostly elements detracted from the story – if they were removed, the story would nonetheless exist as a coherent piece of work, just a slightly more subtle and nuanced version. It is not symbolism or foreshadowing, more a circled Next catalogue and a completed order form given to a husband on the 1^st of December. Similarly, the ends tie up far too neatly which perpetuates the lack of realism, for example if there had been stories about lost items who did not find owners, characters who do not just exist to service the plot, or if relationship wise there were threads left loose. The references to technology also exemplified the author’s lack of experience with it – Instagram and Twitter were presented as a token rather than integrated into the story, and equally cliché turns of phrase were relied on throughout.

In terms of recommendations, if predictability can be overcome, the characters and plot are very enchanting. The basis of some really interesting themes are laid – for example the references to writer and reader, the book starts and end with the death of a writer and a reader, which in turn creates a writer in Laura. Writer and reader are symbiotic, just as lost is to found. Hogan could have considered exploration of throwaway single use society embodied in Laura vs old fashioned make do Anthony.  Fatally for this quaint novel, foreshadowing was over-emphasised as to make it predictable, whilst interesting and understated themes were left unexplored. Hogan had the foundations of an excellent novel, executed in a way that is a little too unrefined for myself personally.

*No personal photo as I have passed this book on.