Book Review by Pat Allchorne: The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan

When you find a book with reviews such as “charming”, “exquisite”, “joyous”, and “a smile of a book”, you just have to buy it. When you read the first paragraph:
 

imagination is stirred, and you can’t help but read on.

The title alone was intriguing; the blurb on the back told me it was about a man who has spent forty years collecting things people have lost, hoping that one day he could reunite them with their owners.

As he is ageing, he advertises for a personal assistant/housekeeper and Laura, recovering from an unhappy marriage, applies. She finds a Victorian villa by the name of Padua, owned by an elderly man by the name of Anthony, and is instantly captivated by both and knows that this is where she must work.

The love of Anthony’s life was Therese, who died many years ago before they could marry. He is a writer but lost the will to write after Therese died. However, as his collection of lost things grows, he is inspired by the items to write short stories about them. His study, where they are kept, is the only room Laura is not to enter. When Anthony dies, her life changes in a way she could never have imagined. From wondering where she will now live and what she will do, she finds that Anthony has not only left her Padua and all its contents, but he wants her to do what he never could: return the lost items to their owners.

Sunshine lives across the road from Padua; she has Down’s Syndrome and her own way of looking at life. She decides that Laura needs a new friend now that Anthony is gone, turns up on Laura’s doorstop to offer to be just that, and an unusual relationship develops. She can read things into the lost items and knows the sort of person to whom they belonged.

Alongside this story is another, happening over twenty years before: another woman who works for another man. Eunice answers an advertisement in The Lady:

And so she meets Charles Brockley, AKA Bomber, who files things in cabinets named Tom, Dick and Harry after the tunnels in “The Great Escape”, and they instantly discover a shared love of the film. The other member of the household is Douglas (after Douglas Bader), a terrier who gets around by being attached to a trolley and propelling himself with his front legs, his back legs being useless after a car accident.

All the characters are engaging and real, offset by the insufferable Portia, Bomber’s sister, who writes the most appalling romantic fiction with stories plagiarised from the classics and expects her brother to publish it. (He won’t…) There is Freddy, the gardener, who proves to be a tower of strength to Eunice after Bomber’s death. There are hints along the way as to how these two stories intertwine, but all is not revealed until near the end of the book.

When Anthony dies, Laura is determined that his ashes be scattered in the rose garden, which Therese loved and where her ashes were scattered so many years before. Sunshine conducts the ceremony, making it into a cross between a burial and a wedding, seeing it as a chance to unite Anthony and Therese at last.

Strange things begin to happen in the house; things move, and there are noises when nobody else is there apart from Laura. Therese, whom they thought would be happy to be reunited with Anthony, apparently isn’t satisfied and wants something more. Laura, Sunshine and Freddy set out to discover what that something is.

There is so much to commend this book, and I could write on and on about it, but I mustn’t give too much away, just enough to tempt you to read it. It really is sheer joy and completely lives up to the reviews I read. Ruth Hogan began to write whilst having chemotherapy for cancer, and this book was her first. I hope it gave her as much joy to write it as it has given me to read it.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A charming, clever, and quietly moving debut novel of of endless possibilities and joyful discoveries that explores the promises we make and break, losing and finding ourselves, the objects that hold magic and meaning for our lives, and the surprising connections that bind us.

Lime green plastic flower-shaped hair bobbles—Found, on the playing field, Derrywood Park, 2nd September.

Bone china cup and saucer—Found, on a bench in Riveria Public Gardens, 31st October.

Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancée, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost objects—the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidentally left behind—and writing stories about them. Now, in the twilight of his life, Anthony worries that he has not fully discharged his duty to reconcile all the lost things with their owners. As the end nears, he bequeaths his secret life’s mission to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, leaving her his house and all its lost treasures, including an irritable ghost.

Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners.

Long ago, Eunice found a trinket on the London pavement and kept it through the years. Now, with her own end drawing near, she has lost something precious—a tragic twist of fate that forces her to break a promise she once made.

As the Keeper of Lost Objects, Laura holds the key to Anthony and Eunice’s redemption. But can she unlock the past and make the connections that will lay their spirits to rest?

Full of character, wit, and wisdom, The Keeper of Lost Things is heartwarming tale that will enchant fans of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Garden Spells, Mrs Queen Takes the Train, and The Silver Linings Playbook.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR | WEBSITE

I was born in the house where my parents still live in Bedford: my sister was so pleased to have a sibling that she threw a thrupenny bit at me. As a child I read everything I could lay my hands on: The Moomintrolls, A Hundred Million Francs, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the back of cereal packets and gravestones. I was mad about dogs and horses, but didn't like daddy-long-legs or sugar in my tea.

I studied English and Drama at Goldsmiths College which was brilliant, but then I came home and got a 'proper' job. I worked for ten years in a senior local government position (I was definitely a square peg in a round hole, but it paid the bills and mortgage) before a car accident left me unable to work full-time and convinced me to start writing seriously. It was going well, but then in 2012 I got cancer, which was bloody inconvenient but precipitated an exciting hair journey from bald to a peroxide blonde Annie Lennox crop. When chemo kept me up all night I passed the time writing and the eventual result was The Keeper of Lost Things.

I live in a chaotic Victorian house with an assortment of rescue dogs and my long-suffering partner (who has very recently become my husband - so I can't be that bad!) I am a magpie, always collecting treasures, and a huge John Betjeman fan. My favourite word is 'antimacassar' and I still like reading gravestones.

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