Review: The Keeper of Lost Things

Rating: 4 Stars

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan is a sweet book. It is a story of love and loss, and of lost things and people. As I write this, I realize that the simpler the story, the more difficult it is to write a review. Not because the story has nothing in it, but because it is a simple tale with no hidden meanings or life lessons.

Anthony Peardew collects lost things, not for himself, but in the hope that one day he can restore them to their real owners. So he goes about collecting objects he finds in different places; things like hair bobbles, jigsaw puzzle pieces, bracelets, and a biscuit tin containing some dead person’s ashes. All these things are kept safe in his study, duly labelled with the time and place of their discovery. But Anthony is growing old, and he needs to leave his collection with someone who will love it the same way he does, and who will work towards restoring the objects to their rightful owners.

Laura is Anthony’s assistant and as lost as one of Anthony’s things. When she finds out what Anthony has left her, she is overwhelmed by the task in front of her. With the help of a handsome gardener, a girl with Down Syndrome, a mangy dog, and a crazy ghost, Laura sets out to restore the lost things to their rightful owners, finding her own way in the process, and putting an end to the restlessness caused by a particular chain of events forty years ago.

The book is heartwarming and funny. It keeps going back and forth in time, with two different narratives that merge into one over a time period of forty years. Both stories are equally poignant with some laugh-out-loud and some heartbreaking moments. It took me a few days to read because I was on a break and busy with other things, but once I really got into it, I finished it in one night.

Read this book if you want a change of pace and some light hearted, sweet fun. This was a four star read for me.