The Book of Lost Things

'The book's epic villainy, mournful tone and tested morality is the essence of Connolly. Worst of all is the Crooked Man, who ranks with the Travelling Man, the Collector and even Mr Pudd among Connolly's most memorable villains. 'THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS is peculiar and perverse and humane, with an incredibly lyrical finale ... The novel should earn the author new readers.' -- The Irish Times 'What gives THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS such a chilling edge is the way the real and illusory worlds sit so comfortably together ... and the most wicked of the wicked, who goes by the name of The Crooked Man, at times possesses the kind of guile and plausibility of which modern-day politicians would be proud ... Even if you aren't normally drawn to stories in which the imagination is given such a free rein, there is something tender, something strangely moving about David's experience of the land called Elsewhere.' -- Daily Express 'Brilliantly creepy coming of age novel' -- Mirror 'Something very special indeed' -- Mark Billingham 'A powerful, powerful writer. I got a very real chill down my spine. This is an amazing book.' -- Jeffery Deaver 'Charming, disturbing and outrageously imaginative. A tremendously exciting change of pace.' -- Lawrence Jackson, Producer of BBC Radio 4's adaptations of John Connolly's short stories 'Here Connolly steps directly into the enchanted forest, and the journey along its twisting path is as sinister and unsettling as anything invented by the Brothers Grimm ... Connolly's control of this material is superb; tension, terror and gallows humour make the book a gripping read. But this allegorical coming-of-age story also cleverly shows the way that traditional stories have been used to reflect the sometimes harsh concerns of our world.' -- Eithne Farry, Daily Mail 'Connolly imagines the emotional cave-in of puberty intelligently, even perceptively' -- Guardian 'A moving fable, brilliantly imagined, about the agony of loss and the pain of young adulthood' -- The Times 'Engaging, magical, thoughtful read' -- Independent 'A new interpretation of old fairy tales, it is imaginative and beautifully written.' -- Choice