Helpful Score: 5
This was an intriguing book. It is about a girl, Rosemary, who lives in Australia. Her mother dies, and a family friend buys a plane ticket for Rosemary so she can move to New York. In New York, she goes to work for an eccentric book store owner who constantly refers to himself in third person. All of the employees are a bit odd. When a lost manuscript supposedly surfaces, the whole book store erupts with suspecion and conspiracy. Rosemary has fallen in love with one of the employees, Oscar, but I will let the reader find out what happens in the story. I recommend this book for anyone who likes a good novel full of secrets and mystery.
Helpful Score: 4
In my opinion, The Secret of Lost Things was a satisfying read about a group of folks working in a NY Book shop. I found this to be a well-written interesting read, with a tiny bit of mystery, that held my attention throughout. Hay's characters are well developed and their quirks framed the plot nicely.
Helpful Score: 2
I really enjoyed this book, mostly because it is set in New York City. The descriptions of The Arcade were so reminiscent of The Strand that I got homesick. I loved the story line and the quirky characters. Recommended, especially for book lovers.
Helpful Score: 1
A young girl leaves her native Tasmania after her mother's death and comes to New York City, where she begins to work at a very odd bookstore, owned and staffed by a variety of wounded characters. Along the way, Hay examines the concept of loss -- lost manuscripts, lost innocence, lost love, and lost futures. Layers upon layers of symbolism here. Engaging read.
Helpful Score: 1
A readable but meandering book whose main plot point doesn't show up until 2/3rds of the way through the story, with a protagonist whose naivete and decisions are at times infuriating to read, and with no clear resolution when you've come to the end of the book.
And yet...I still enjoyed reading this novel, because Hay's writing is absolutely gorgeous. At times it treads perilously near being verbose, yet communicates emotions and settings flawlessly and beautifully. Because of the prose, the flaws of the book are annoyances but don't throw the whole thing off course. There's not much mystery in this literary mystery, but the descriptions of bookstores, young adulthood, and life in New York City push it over into a three star rating.
And yet...I still enjoyed reading this novel, because Hay's writing is absolutely gorgeous. At times it treads perilously near being verbose, yet communicates emotions and settings flawlessly and beautifully. Because of the prose, the flaws of the book are annoyances but don't throw the whole thing off course. There's not much mystery in this literary mystery, but the descriptions of bookstores, young adulthood, and life in New York City push it over into a three star rating.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a really different and interesting novel, the story of Rosemary,a young Tasmanian woman who comes to live in New York after the death of her mother. She finds employment in a huge book store which deals in everything from overstock to rare books. Her fellow employees are as varied as the books they sell. Rosemary becomes embroiled in the search for an unpublished Melville manuscript, and this has unexpected and major consequences. The writing style feels oddly old-fashioned, as though written in an erlier era; it was almost startling to me every time a reference to the present world appeared. Quite enjoyable.
This is an advanced reading copy, so some typos pop up from time-to-time.
This is an advanced reading copy, so some typos pop up from time-to-time.
Helpful Score: 1
For anyone who loves books and a mystery to go with it, this is a great story!
This is a great summer read about love and new adventures!
I liked this, an original story with interesting characters.
I loved the writing! Very talented author with an enormous vocabulary! Interesting characters, and some were REALLY characters.
The "plot" was mildly entertaining, but the basis of the story was really about knowing yourself and accepting others for how they are, faults and all. I hope to read more in the coming years by this author!
The "plot" was mildly entertaining, but the basis of the story was really about knowing yourself and accepting others for how they are, faults and all. I hope to read more in the coming years by this author!
Interesting book about a young girl who comes to New York to begin her life after her mother passed away. She has never experienced life on her own and it was good to see her give travel and new experiences a chance. I would recommend this story as it is a good read.
Liked the premise of this novel but I thought it was a bit shallow in character development. Rosemary is gullible and misled in so many ways I couldn't help wondering of she could be a real person. Guess not. She is all fiction! Her sensitivity to others seemed excessive.
The most interesting part was the search for the lost novel of Herman Melville called The Isle of the Cross. Would have enjoyed seeing that aspect developed more fully. Certainly the correspondence between Melville and Hawthorne was fascinating.
The most interesting part was the search for the lost novel of Herman Melville called The Isle of the Cross. Would have enjoyed seeing that aspect developed more fully. Certainly the correspondence between Melville and Hawthorne was fascinating.
