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‘What Was Lost’ was long listed for the Booker Prize in 2007, and won the 2007 Guardian First Book award.

The story begins in 1984, and is seen through the eyes of Kate Meaney, a ten year old girl who has set herself up as a detective agency with her pet monkey, Mickey. It continues 20 years later, when we discover that Kate went missing, and her disappearance is re-investigated by the few people who were close to her.

Kate’s section was completely absorbing. It took me right back to my childhood. I can remember being a ten year old girl, having the same sort of thoughts as her, and being obsessed with stationery too! It was amusing, well observed and quite moving in places.

The rest of the book wasn’t as good. The characters were flat, formulaic and not as accurately observed. The plot moved along at a fair pace, but I was craving the return of Kate for all the sections based in 2004. I was rewarded with a brief glimpse of her at the end, and was quite satisfied with the way it finished, but wish that Catherine O’Flynn had based the whole book on Kate’s life, as she was such an interesting character.

I look forward to reading more books by the author in the future, but hope the characters are as realistic as Kate’s.

Books Before Blogging Review

I finished this book about six months ago, and remember it as a beautifully written, well researched book, with a great ending.

It is set during the American depression, and centres around Jacob, who finds himself working for a circus after he is unexpectedly orphaned. Life in the circus is described so vividly that I feel I could recognize each individual animal if they were ever put in front of me.

The story alternates between Jacob’s life in the circus, and Jacob as an old man, living in a nursing home. It is very cleverly paced, and full of twists and turns.

This book transports you to another world. It has a cast of amazing characters, and a very satisfying ending, with a clever twist. You can’t ask for more in a book! Highly recommended.

Also reviewed by: Dreamy Bee

The Rebel Angels tells the story of four academics in a Canadian University, and how their lives are changed by the death of an eccentric art collector. It does not feel like a book in its own right, as it ends fairly abruptly, without covering many of the issues raised initially. It seems to be more like an introduction to the rest of The Cornish Trilogy. The pace of the book is fairly slow, but the writing is so rich that it doesn’t really matter. The characters are introduced gradually, but are all interesting people.

The plot is fairly minimal, but life inside the Canadian University is described well. It may not be strictly realistic, but it was probably more interesting than the real thing.

There were quite a few academic references, and some of them went over my head, as I’m not an expert in art/literature, but it didn’t detract from the enjoyability of the book, and I’m now looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.