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The Secret of Lost Things
Eighteen years old and completely alone, Rosemary arrives in New York from Tasmania with little other than her love of books and an eagerness to explore the city. Taking a job at a vast, chaotic emporium of used and rare books called the Arcade, she knows she has found a home. But when Rosemary reads a letter from someone seeking to “place” a lost manuscript by Herman Melville, the bookstore erupts with simmering ambitions and rivalries. Including actual correspondence by Melville, The Secret of Lost Things is at once a literary adventure and evocative portrait of a young woman making a life for herself in the city.From the Trade Paperback edition.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 6, 2007
93 people are currently reading
3660 people want to read
About the author
Sheridan Hay
3 books32 followersSheridan Hay has worked in book stores (including the Strand) and in trade publishing for many years. She holds an MFA in writing and literature from Bennington, and has published short stories. She teaches writing in the graduate program at Parson’s School of Design at the New School.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 766 reviews
April 16, 2008
A literary mystery can be just the thing you need, particularly when you're sick and stuck at home over the weekend as I was, so it was delightful to find The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay on a Barnes & Noble table... A young redhead named Rosemary just starting her life in Manhattan by working at a bookstore and becoming involved in a secret that involves a lost Melville novel? Naturally, I purchased it on the spot.
But I'm sorry to say that there was one scene that seemed to rather exemplify the whole experience of reading this novel for me... and my summary is not for the faint of heart, so kids, turn back now. The scene is this: an ailing albino with an obsessive interest in the narrator manages (without any arm-twisting or pressure) to get her alone in the rare books room, where he ejaculates into her hand and then assumes an unearned intimacy to their relationship and conversation... shortly before the speedy conclusion to the story.
Granted, the reading of this book was a much less sticky situation, and to be fair, Rosemary/we didn't put up a struggle when she/we found ourselves being groped by our albino manager/reading this book. He asked if she was okay and then suggested that she might be "unsatisfied." I latched onto this word and found it hard to forget as the book spiralled into its quick conclusion. As the reader, I too felt unsatisfied (and not because of a poor sex scene). Perhaps "unsatisfied" isn't even the right word... "disappointed" is a better fit. The book didn't quite build up my sense of anticipation to make "unsatisfied" a qualifiable adjective for my feelings at the end of what was supposed to be a literary mystery.
I was disappointed on two levels... one, that the story had all the intriguing details and none of the complicated interconnectedness that one usually finds in a mystery... and two, that the writing was better than the tale being told and so the author's potential remained buried.
I found the tale at the heart of this novel a great draw in the beginning and a great let-down at the end. As a bibliophile, how could I really turn away from a story like this? A missing Melville novel and a young woman working in a labyrinthine bookstore? It taps into some daydream that literate young women have, kept on the shelf besides the one where we open a book store in a small town. The cast of characters seemed just odd enough for a literary mystery (aside from the open-hearted pre-operative transsexual named Pearl with her wealthy boyfriend)... mostly comprised of older men with various issues (which includes the aforementioned albino manager). In addition, the author brought a wealth of knowledge to the table about various subjects with the tantalizing idea that there might be a more fantastic secret to unearth. All the elements were there, why didn't it work?
Well, partially because the author wasn't trying to write the DaVinci Code or the Thirteenth Tale... the author ultimately decided to write about loss, whereas the book jacket promised adventure. Things did not connect, they remained in their own worlds and Rosemary just did her best to absorb all this information about loss and pain and frustration. One person's past did not converge with another's, the Melville novel did not turn up, the albino died. You can't blame this on the hype of marketing, because for a time, even Hay/Rosemary is caught up in research and is ducking behind bookshelves to eavesdrop on conversations. Perhaps Hay thought she was writing something more of a mystery before being unable to find a conclusion for that kind of story. In the usual literary mystery, all of these characters and detailed subjects should have been interwoven in a complex thread that made the main character realize everything was connected... but no. They weren't. All that Hay could come up with on this front was the knowledge that everyone was hungry for something they lost or never had... and each person dealt with this pain in a different way.
Putting aside my issues with the story (though really, by throwing in an albino, you're already on your way down, I don't care what kind of allusions you're making to Moby Dick), I should say that my true disappointment was with a writer who set us up with the promise of a literary mystery, allusions to other intriguing topics, and complicated characters... but then leaves us... unsatisfied.
Our young narrator cannot be to blame, but because of the coming-of-age factor, you knew from the get-go that nothing else would be solved, nothing would be revealed, and the lost thing that we would mourn was the chance an editor let go to help shape a better novel by getting the author to whittle down the scope a bit. I'm not asking to regain The Isle of the Cross or anything, but Rosemary was never going to see a bigger picture when she was too distracted by the stories around her. Topics like the Argentinian Dirty War are practically thrown in for color, illustrating what real loss is as a mother mourns her son who disappeared. A bigger, unifying idea like a lost novel was never going to come to anything. In the end, I felt like each character and topic was an unfinished short story that should have been explored more fully on its own, but instead we're left with blank pages instead of a Melville novel.
On that note, though, I might say that all is not lost in the reading of this novel. I did enjoy this author's writing style and as a result, I would be willing to read her work again. For all my quibbling between "unsatisfied" and "disappointed," if I cared enough to write out my frustrations with the book, Hay must have done something right, if only draw me in with the promise of her story and style. If you are a person who likes books about books, then you should at least enjoy part of this novel... though I hope that Sheridan Hay's next endeavor does not leave me with the impression that an uncomfortable sexual encounter can be illustrative of my encounter with her book as a whole.
But I'm sorry to say that there was one scene that seemed to rather exemplify the whole experience of reading this novel for me... and my summary is not for the faint of heart, so kids, turn back now. The scene is this: an ailing albino with an obsessive interest in the narrator manages (without any arm-twisting or pressure) to get her alone in the rare books room, where he ejaculates into her hand and then assumes an unearned intimacy to their relationship and conversation... shortly before the speedy conclusion to the story.
Granted, the reading of this book was a much less sticky situation, and to be fair, Rosemary/we didn't put up a struggle when she/we found ourselves being groped by our albino manager/reading this book. He asked if she was okay and then suggested that she might be "unsatisfied." I latched onto this word and found it hard to forget as the book spiralled into its quick conclusion. As the reader, I too felt unsatisfied (and not because of a poor sex scene). Perhaps "unsatisfied" isn't even the right word... "disappointed" is a better fit. The book didn't quite build up my sense of anticipation to make "unsatisfied" a qualifiable adjective for my feelings at the end of what was supposed to be a literary mystery.
I was disappointed on two levels... one, that the story had all the intriguing details and none of the complicated interconnectedness that one usually finds in a mystery... and two, that the writing was better than the tale being told and so the author's potential remained buried.
I found the tale at the heart of this novel a great draw in the beginning and a great let-down at the end. As a bibliophile, how could I really turn away from a story like this? A missing Melville novel and a young woman working in a labyrinthine bookstore? It taps into some daydream that literate young women have, kept on the shelf besides the one where we open a book store in a small town. The cast of characters seemed just odd enough for a literary mystery (aside from the open-hearted pre-operative transsexual named Pearl with her wealthy boyfriend)... mostly comprised of older men with various issues (which includes the aforementioned albino manager). In addition, the author brought a wealth of knowledge to the table about various subjects with the tantalizing idea that there might be a more fantastic secret to unearth. All the elements were there, why didn't it work?
Well, partially because the author wasn't trying to write the DaVinci Code or the Thirteenth Tale... the author ultimately decided to write about loss, whereas the book jacket promised adventure. Things did not connect, they remained in their own worlds and Rosemary just did her best to absorb all this information about loss and pain and frustration. One person's past did not converge with another's, the Melville novel did not turn up, the albino died. You can't blame this on the hype of marketing, because for a time, even Hay/Rosemary is caught up in research and is ducking behind bookshelves to eavesdrop on conversations. Perhaps Hay thought she was writing something more of a mystery before being unable to find a conclusion for that kind of story. In the usual literary mystery, all of these characters and detailed subjects should have been interwoven in a complex thread that made the main character realize everything was connected... but no. They weren't. All that Hay could come up with on this front was the knowledge that everyone was hungry for something they lost or never had... and each person dealt with this pain in a different way.
Putting aside my issues with the story (though really, by throwing in an albino, you're already on your way down, I don't care what kind of allusions you're making to Moby Dick), I should say that my true disappointment was with a writer who set us up with the promise of a literary mystery, allusions to other intriguing topics, and complicated characters... but then leaves us... unsatisfied.
Our young narrator cannot be to blame, but because of the coming-of-age factor, you knew from the get-go that nothing else would be solved, nothing would be revealed, and the lost thing that we would mourn was the chance an editor let go to help shape a better novel by getting the author to whittle down the scope a bit. I'm not asking to regain The Isle of the Cross or anything, but Rosemary was never going to see a bigger picture when she was too distracted by the stories around her. Topics like the Argentinian Dirty War are practically thrown in for color, illustrating what real loss is as a mother mourns her son who disappeared. A bigger, unifying idea like a lost novel was never going to come to anything. In the end, I felt like each character and topic was an unfinished short story that should have been explored more fully on its own, but instead we're left with blank pages instead of a Melville novel.
On that note, though, I might say that all is not lost in the reading of this novel. I did enjoy this author's writing style and as a result, I would be willing to read her work again. For all my quibbling between "unsatisfied" and "disappointed," if I cared enough to write out my frustrations with the book, Hay must have done something right, if only draw me in with the promise of her story and style. If you are a person who likes books about books, then you should at least enjoy part of this novel... though I hope that Sheridan Hay's next endeavor does not leave me with the impression that an uncomfortable sexual encounter can be illustrative of my encounter with her book as a whole.
April 27, 2008
A novel set in a used bookstore with a bit of a literary mystery to it should have been just the thing for me. I found the idea of the lost Melville novel 'The Isle of the Cross' very interesting, but in the end I found 'The Secret of Lost Things' to be overwritten and somewhat painful to read. Even the mystery ended up not really being a mystery at all.
I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, not even Rosemary, the protagonist of the book. Other than Rosemary, I feel like the book was almost entirely peopled with stereotypes.
The worst part was Walter Geist, the character with albinism. He was very cliched and the information on people with the condition was so outdated and incorrect, that it was, in the end, offensive.
I didn't find any of the characters particularly likeable, not even Rosemary, the protagonist of the book. Other than Rosemary, I feel like the book was almost entirely peopled with stereotypes.
The worst part was Walter Geist, the character with albinism. He was very cliched and the information on people with the condition was so outdated and incorrect, that it was, in the end, offensive.
October 27, 2024
I am a sucker for novels based in bookstores, so this book quickly made its way into my collection. It combines New York City, second-hand books, Herman Melville, and a heroine from Tasmania. A Tassie! It’s all a bit different, to say the least.
Rosemary arrives in Manhattan at just eighteen years of age, having left Tasmania after the death of her mother. It wasn’t that she necessarily wanted to leave, but her guardian (a Tassie bookseller) sends her overseas to find herself. It isn’t easy for the newbie, as she can only afford a run-down women’s hotel and must walk everywhere. But it’s enough, especially after she finds a job at the Arcade bookstore, stuffed with enough human personalities to keep any inspiring writer busy. The store buys and sells older books with each employee responsible for a specific section. Of course, each employee is their own character, from Pearl the cashier who really wants to sing opera, to Arthur, who spends way too much time with erotic art books, to Walter, the albino in the basement.
As she learns the ropes and improves her circumstances, she also becomes involved in a plan to find the missing manuscript of The Isle Of The Cross, a book supposedly written by Herman Melville in 1853. The work has always been accepted as being lost in a fire so when the Arcade employees and a rich book collector all learn about the possible finding, a mad dash ensues to claim ownership.
This was an interesting read, as it felt as though the central character must complete an odyssey to move forward, which is tough to do at such a young age. The writing is good and the author’s introduction of each Arcade employee is vivid, with all their eccentricities. It’s also clear the author has a real love of books, as shown when she describes the bookstore or a visit to the library.
I knew books to be objects that loved to cluster and form disordered piles, but here books seemed robbed of their zany capacity to conspire. In the library, books behaved themselves.
For me it was an absorbing read, even though it felt rushed toward a strange conclusion. It reminded me of my own time working in a bookstore, where one employee would threaten suicide every day and another hid beer cans in the book stacks, as a reward for any yuppie shopper to find. Good times.
Book Season = Spring (prevailing winds)
Rosemary arrives in Manhattan at just eighteen years of age, having left Tasmania after the death of her mother. It wasn’t that she necessarily wanted to leave, but her guardian (a Tassie bookseller) sends her overseas to find herself. It isn’t easy for the newbie, as she can only afford a run-down women’s hotel and must walk everywhere. But it’s enough, especially after she finds a job at the Arcade bookstore, stuffed with enough human personalities to keep any inspiring writer busy. The store buys and sells older books with each employee responsible for a specific section. Of course, each employee is their own character, from Pearl the cashier who really wants to sing opera, to Arthur, who spends way too much time with erotic art books, to Walter, the albino in the basement.
As she learns the ropes and improves her circumstances, she also becomes involved in a plan to find the missing manuscript of The Isle Of The Cross, a book supposedly written by Herman Melville in 1853. The work has always been accepted as being lost in a fire so when the Arcade employees and a rich book collector all learn about the possible finding, a mad dash ensues to claim ownership.
This was an interesting read, as it felt as though the central character must complete an odyssey to move forward, which is tough to do at such a young age. The writing is good and the author’s introduction of each Arcade employee is vivid, with all their eccentricities. It’s also clear the author has a real love of books, as shown when she describes the bookstore or a visit to the library.
I knew books to be objects that loved to cluster and form disordered piles, but here books seemed robbed of their zany capacity to conspire. In the library, books behaved themselves.
For me it was an absorbing read, even though it felt rushed toward a strange conclusion. It reminded me of my own time working in a bookstore, where one employee would threaten suicide every day and another hid beer cans in the book stacks, as a reward for any yuppie shopper to find. Good times.
Book Season = Spring (prevailing winds)
August 11, 2007
The Secret of Lost Things is almost a lost thing itself, it captures transience and a certain desperation that attends the last of hope. In this sense, the setting of a used bookstore called the Arcade is perfect. An arcade in some sense is like a holy place, but since they don't really exist in a modern lexicon, the place itself is an apparition, out of context in a New York City bustling into the 1980s (according to my reckoning). in addition to the Arcade, there's a triptych of grotesqueries - the hat shop in Sidney, the collection of strange things at Peabody's, and the men that work at the Arcade. Each of these collections holds secrets, clues, and relationships to the main character, Rosemary - who is named for the herb which symbolizes remembrance.
I think also that the author captures New York elegantly. Rather than subsisting on landmarks and assumptions about behavior, she shades it in like Gotham, allowing the creaky and moldy character to offset Rosemary's recognition of places and people. There's a sense that the city has been there for ages and that anyone who is there is lost in its age and history.
Secrets thread throughout, often in the form of advice. They are at once valuable and pernicious, relying on memory and holding it captive.
The plot is also subversive; it's subtle in that it unfolds carefully and in plain sight. It might seem lackluster, lost in overwrought text, but that would be ironic - and I like that kind of irony.
This is one of my favorite books, probably one I'll buy eventually and reread because I missed an abominable number of literary references the first time through. I had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to settle into the twisted world of lostness...definitely a novel you need to be in the mood to read.
I think also that the author captures New York elegantly. Rather than subsisting on landmarks and assumptions about behavior, she shades it in like Gotham, allowing the creaky and moldy character to offset Rosemary's recognition of places and people. There's a sense that the city has been there for ages and that anyone who is there is lost in its age and history.
Secrets thread throughout, often in the form of advice. They are at once valuable and pernicious, relying on memory and holding it captive.
The plot is also subversive; it's subtle in that it unfolds carefully and in plain sight. It might seem lackluster, lost in overwrought text, but that would be ironic - and I like that kind of irony.
This is one of my favorite books, probably one I'll buy eventually and reread because I missed an abominable number of literary references the first time through. I had a hard time putting it down because I wanted to settle into the twisted world of lostness...definitely a novel you need to be in the mood to read.
July 18, 2008
I was spellbound by this novel, but have mixed feelings about it. I agree with other reviewers who found the "mystery" of the lost Melville manuscript to be rather shallow. In fact, that "mystery" is not the main focus of teh novel. The main focus is the narrator's (and other characters') experience of loss upon the death of loved ones, coming of age, moving away from home, growing old, etc. This brings about my inital mixed feelings. It really wasn't what I was expecting, and not exactly what the cover blurbs make it out to be.
However, I was sucked in and still enjoyed it. I loved the Arcade bookstore and its strange and quirky staff. The "drama" on the "stage" of this bookstore was very intriguing. But I think I was most mesmerized by the author's prose, and the strong sense of truth and reality that she instilled. In my opinion, the prose allows you to delve into the soul of the narrator. It was moving, and yet painful, to be privy to all of her thoughts and emotions.
So...what is the "secret" of lost things? I'm not really sure. Unless it's that we all have one. None of us are immune.
However, I was sucked in and still enjoyed it. I loved the Arcade bookstore and its strange and quirky staff. The "drama" on the "stage" of this bookstore was very intriguing. But I think I was most mesmerized by the author's prose, and the strong sense of truth and reality that she instilled. In my opinion, the prose allows you to delve into the soul of the narrator. It was moving, and yet painful, to be privy to all of her thoughts and emotions.
So...what is the "secret" of lost things? I'm not really sure. Unless it's that we all have one. None of us are immune.
December 6, 2016
So I don't know how I found this book but so glad I stumbled across it.
August 22, 2007
I was irritated that the author never specifies when the story takes place, but I liked the idea of it so much that I kept reading. Eventually I realized that it felt like a chore, so I stopped.
None of the characters were particularly likeable to me, and I couldn't understand why Rosemary was so in love with Oscar. Also, it bothered me that all the people that worked in the shop seemed to be so vicious. I couldn't understand why she didn't find a different bookstore to work in.
The book felt like wandering through a long, vague dream where everything is hazy and mostly pointless.
None of the characters were particularly likeable to me, and I couldn't understand why Rosemary was so in love with Oscar. Also, it bothered me that all the people that worked in the shop seemed to be so vicious. I couldn't understand why she didn't find a different bookstore to work in.
The book felt like wandering through a long, vague dream where everything is hazy and mostly pointless.
March 8, 2023
When my husband asked me to describe this book to him, I said, "It's like one of those nurse books from the 60's, except for bookstores." Of course, he's not familiar with that genre, so I had to explain that they were simple books about a young nurse's daily duties and after-work amusements, meant to help teenage girls imagine life as an adult working woman. (Even though I came of age in the 80's, our high school library hadn't been updated in quite some time, so I read more than my share of them as a young teen. It was hard not to want to be a nurse after reading about the profession in such idealistic terms.) I guess I was reminded of those books because this one left me feeling that, more than anything, I'd love to get a job in New York's famous Strand bookstore (which is clearly the model for this book's fictional Arcade). I have no idea what it would actually be like to work there, but Hay, though her protagonist Rosemary, makes it seem an ideal and wonderful workplace.
So, as I was reading this book, part of me was dreaming of this hypothetical future where I live in New York and sell books to tweed-jacketed literary types, while the other part was looking backwards, reminiscing about my first days of professional librarianship. True, I was already 29 years old when I started my first library job, while our dear naïve Rosemary is a tender 18, but I feel in retrospect that I was every bit as wide-eyed as she is. (One of my first assignments at the library was to go around soliciting dues for the staff association. I think my boss thought it was the fastest way to introduce me to all the people of the library, but I was told later that I had managed to get money out of people who hadn't paid in years, simply because I hadn't yet learned to be afraid of any of them.) Rosemary is similarly guileless, quickly becoming friends with everyone at the bookstore, much to their surprise.
There is some silly business about a literary mystery involving Herman Melville, but this is nothing more than a macguffin to keep the story rolling along, and it doesn't amount to anything in the end. Don't read the book for this "mystery," or you'll be very disappointed. (But, on the other hand, if you aren’t interested in Herman Melville at all, this material will probably annoy and distract you.) Do read the book if you want some gentle fantasies about working in a bookstore where everyone is nice to you, even the people who normally aren't nice to anyone.
A couple of side notes
1. This book has a wonderful trans character named Pearl, definitely the best example of a supporting trans character I've ever read anywhere.
2. Many people have commented that they couldn't tell what year this book was set. If you read very carefully, you'll eventually discover that it's 1979.
So, as I was reading this book, part of me was dreaming of this hypothetical future where I live in New York and sell books to tweed-jacketed literary types, while the other part was looking backwards, reminiscing about my first days of professional librarianship. True, I was already 29 years old when I started my first library job, while our dear naïve Rosemary is a tender 18, but I feel in retrospect that I was every bit as wide-eyed as she is. (One of my first assignments at the library was to go around soliciting dues for the staff association. I think my boss thought it was the fastest way to introduce me to all the people of the library, but I was told later that I had managed to get money out of people who hadn't paid in years, simply because I hadn't yet learned to be afraid of any of them.) Rosemary is similarly guileless, quickly becoming friends with everyone at the bookstore, much to their surprise.
There is some silly business about a literary mystery involving Herman Melville, but this is nothing more than a macguffin to keep the story rolling along, and it doesn't amount to anything in the end. Don't read the book for this "mystery," or you'll be very disappointed. (But, on the other hand, if you aren’t interested in Herman Melville at all, this material will probably annoy and distract you.) Do read the book if you want some gentle fantasies about working in a bookstore where everyone is nice to you, even the people who normally aren't nice to anyone.
A couple of side notes
1. This book has a wonderful trans character named Pearl, definitely the best example of a supporting trans character I've ever read anywhere.
2. Many people have commented that they couldn't tell what year this book was set. If you read very carefully, you'll eventually discover that it's 1979.
May 24, 2013
This is another book from my speed-dating project. I took it up again because it is an easy read. I feel torn about rating it because I enjoyed it quite a bit, but really there isn't a lot of depth to it. It reminds me of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore in the way that most of the story takes place in a bookstore with characters that are more like caricatures. That stereotyping makes the book less successful, but I still found myself going back to it and finishing it quickly. Maybe it helps that there is an Australian redhead who is at that age where she falls in love with everyone who is bad for her.
There are a few grand statements about reading and books that are a bit forced but I still like them, like "The books housed in one's first adult bookshelf are the geological bed of who we wish to become... How illusory is any accumulation of knowledge!"
And then this comment on review copies that is true to my situation where I am surrounded with boxes of audiobooks:
"Selling copies of books that had been mailed free of charge was considered one of the perks of reviewing. It was impractical for reviewers to keep stacks of books around after reviewing them (or not reviewing them) for a newspaper or magazine...."
And this commentary on Auden:
"Whenever there's a gift there's a guilty secret, a thorn in the flesh. Both things are given at once, and the nature of one depends on the other."
It is clear that the author is smitten with Melville, but it almost takes over the story. It was interesting, but telling that story through the bookstore doesn't quite succeed as much as I wanted it to. Perhaps because all the characters other than Rosemary are keeping secrets that the reader is not privy to! So I'm not going to say this is a fantastic read, but someone who likes books set in bookstores with characters who love books will probably still enjoy it.
There are a few grand statements about reading and books that are a bit forced but I still like them, like "The books housed in one's first adult bookshelf are the geological bed of who we wish to become... How illusory is any accumulation of knowledge!"
And then this comment on review copies that is true to my situation where I am surrounded with boxes of audiobooks:
"Selling copies of books that had been mailed free of charge was considered one of the perks of reviewing. It was impractical for reviewers to keep stacks of books around after reviewing them (or not reviewing them) for a newspaper or magazine...."
And this commentary on Auden:
"Whenever there's a gift there's a guilty secret, a thorn in the flesh. Both things are given at once, and the nature of one depends on the other."
It is clear that the author is smitten with Melville, but it almost takes over the story. It was interesting, but telling that story through the bookstore doesn't quite succeed as much as I wanted it to. Perhaps because all the characters other than Rosemary are keeping secrets that the reader is not privy to! So I'm not going to say this is a fantastic read, but someone who likes books set in bookstores with characters who love books will probably still enjoy it.
April 19, 2020
If you want a story that isn’t fluff, sunshine and conventional sexual relationships all wrapped with a neat little bow, you’ve come to the right place!
Unlike a lot of reviewers on here what I really liked about this novel was that it wasn’t cliche. Let me explain. Conventional novels tend to have heightened drama (characters freak out, they do something brash, they have a blow-up that no one in real life actually does ...but it all works out in the end); essentially they have a climax, a dénouement, and mysteries are resolved in a neat little package and the main character receives either love or money or happiness – they are “rewarded” for their efforts in the story. This makes us happy because we wish the real world worked that way (life spoiler alert: it doesn’t).
Likewise, in these kinds of “lost manuscript” stories, the novels are usually something mega-important to society (but, strangely enough no one in real life has discovered it yet) or the lost manuscript ends up relating to the main character physically/the stories run mysteriously parallel to one another. There is none of that here. The only thing the “missing” story shares with the plot is the theme, which is of loss and acceptance. Similarly the characters were realistic to me – though Rosemary is clearly looking back on her life, the way she acts as an 18 year old is pretty bang-on. She’s unsure of herself, she’s pretty naïve, she has a crush on the first attractive guy that she comes into contact with but can’t see that he’s a douchebag (because she doesn’t have any experience with guys), she’s sexually inexperienced but willing to give it a try, and when she is rejected by the man she “loves” she accepts the attentions of a man she isn’t emotionally attached to but fascinated/flattered by. Had the end result of said relationship not happened as it did in the story, she likely would have went along with it for awhile, realized that she was too young for something so intense, and broken it off.
The story does not wrap everything up nicely at the end, which I thought was different and rather refreshing.
The prose was quite lovely. And the references to Auden were a bonus.
Unlike a lot of reviewers on here what I really liked about this novel was that it wasn’t cliche. Let me explain. Conventional novels tend to have heightened drama (characters freak out, they do something brash, they have a blow-up that no one in real life actually does ...but it all works out in the end); essentially they have a climax, a dénouement, and mysteries are resolved in a neat little package and the main character receives either love or money or happiness – they are “rewarded” for their efforts in the story. This makes us happy because we wish the real world worked that way (life spoiler alert: it doesn’t).
Likewise, in these kinds of “lost manuscript” stories, the novels are usually something mega-important to society (but, strangely enough no one in real life has discovered it yet) or the lost manuscript ends up relating to the main character physically/the stories run mysteriously parallel to one another. There is none of that here. The only thing the “missing” story shares with the plot is the theme, which is of loss and acceptance. Similarly the characters were realistic to me – though Rosemary is clearly looking back on her life, the way she acts as an 18 year old is pretty bang-on. She’s unsure of herself, she’s pretty naïve, she has a crush on the first attractive guy that she comes into contact with but can’t see that he’s a douchebag (because she doesn’t have any experience with guys), she’s sexually inexperienced but willing to give it a try, and when she is rejected by the man she “loves” she accepts the attentions of a man she isn’t emotionally attached to but fascinated/flattered by. Had the end result of said relationship not happened as it did in the story, she likely would have went along with it for awhile, realized that she was too young for something so intense, and broken it off.
The story does not wrap everything up nicely at the end, which I thought was different and rather refreshing.
The prose was quite lovely. And the references to Auden were a bonus.
January 6, 2009
A looong read with little to no pay off in my opinion ... I bought it because the NY Times review got me curious ... and I am a book whore ... bought it (in Mass Market Paperback), read it, forced myself to finish it ... but I cannot recommend it.
January 10, 2009
I could not get through this book. The main character, a young women from New Zealand, was so sheltered in her life that she apparently knew only her mother, who dies at the beginning of the book, and an older women who is a friend of her mother. She moves to New York and the first third of the book is spent introducing us to several odd, but uninteresting characters in a used book store there.
The author used a lot of words to advance the story very slowly, and about half way through I gave up hoping for some enthralling mystery to materialize.
The author used a lot of words to advance the story very slowly, and about half way through I gave up hoping for some enthralling mystery to materialize.
March 26, 2009
One small quibble... One doesn't write "Tasmania" on the customs form. One writes, TAS and the postal code and then AUSTRALIA. Despite Tasmania's cultural independence, they are still part of Australia. Just as when mailing things Hawaii gets reduced to HI.
The review:
Sometimes a book will just click with a reader. Everything (or almost everything) will fall into place and just be a shared experience between the author, the fictional characters and the reader. The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay was one of those books for me.
Rosemary born on Anzac Day and therefore named for the herb often worn on lapels in Australia. Until her eighteenth birthday her home is her mother's hat shop in Tasmania. When her mother dies she is sent by a bookseller friend to New York with her mother's ashes in a box of Huon pine, one of the most pungent pine scents I have ever smelled; it seems to permeate the entire island.
In that first chapter I was drawn back to my own experience as an exchange student in Tasmania at the age of 17. I can picture the very first place I visited on my own, a used book shop in Ulverstone to buy Nova by Samuel R. Delany for $5.20. I was just as naive and confused by Tasmanian culture (which is a blend of mainland Australian and British ex-pat cultures) as Rosemary is in New York. I can remember being overwhelmed by homesickness at the aroma of the Huon pines (which aren't really pines but smell enough like them to confuse a jet-lagged nose) growing at the Don college.
Then there is Rosemary's time in New York where she works at a place called The Arcade (and apparently inspired by the author's time working at the Strand). Although I haven't worked in a bookstore (would love to someday) I have worked in a university library and in my father's antique shop both which attract people similar to the characters in The Secret of Lost Things.
The final point where I clicked with Rosemary was with her involvement in the search for Melville's lost novel, Isle of the Cross (1853). While I'm no Melville scholar, I am a bit of a fan of his and Hawthorne's books and was vaguely aware of their odd friendship.
Had all those different pieces in my life not been in place I probably would have been more troubled by the novel's flaws. The wacky characters are sometimes too two-dimensional, Rosemary stays naive too long, her obsession with Oscar is just as creepy as Geist's obsession with her is. Yes, those flaws are there but the connection I felt with the book was so strong I don't care about any of them.
The review:
Sometimes a book will just click with a reader. Everything (or almost everything) will fall into place and just be a shared experience between the author, the fictional characters and the reader. The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay was one of those books for me.
Rosemary born on Anzac Day and therefore named for the herb often worn on lapels in Australia. Until her eighteenth birthday her home is her mother's hat shop in Tasmania. When her mother dies she is sent by a bookseller friend to New York with her mother's ashes in a box of Huon pine, one of the most pungent pine scents I have ever smelled; it seems to permeate the entire island.
In that first chapter I was drawn back to my own experience as an exchange student in Tasmania at the age of 17. I can picture the very first place I visited on my own, a used book shop in Ulverstone to buy Nova by Samuel R. Delany for $5.20. I was just as naive and confused by Tasmanian culture (which is a blend of mainland Australian and British ex-pat cultures) as Rosemary is in New York. I can remember being overwhelmed by homesickness at the aroma of the Huon pines (which aren't really pines but smell enough like them to confuse a jet-lagged nose) growing at the Don college.
Then there is Rosemary's time in New York where she works at a place called The Arcade (and apparently inspired by the author's time working at the Strand). Although I haven't worked in a bookstore (would love to someday) I have worked in a university library and in my father's antique shop both which attract people similar to the characters in The Secret of Lost Things.
The final point where I clicked with Rosemary was with her involvement in the search for Melville's lost novel, Isle of the Cross (1853). While I'm no Melville scholar, I am a bit of a fan of his and Hawthorne's books and was vaguely aware of their odd friendship.
Had all those different pieces in my life not been in place I probably would have been more troubled by the novel's flaws. The wacky characters are sometimes too two-dimensional, Rosemary stays naive too long, her obsession with Oscar is just as creepy as Geist's obsession with her is. Yes, those flaws are there but the connection I felt with the book was so strong I don't care about any of them.
July 1, 2020
People are weird when it comes to collecting things--whether it's Beanie Babies, Funko toys, Disney pins, or rare books. They are willing to pay outrageous amounts of money for an item they deem special enough to add to their collection. Supply and demand, I guess, although why anyone would demand a jacked-up price Funko toy is beyond me. Books, on the other hand...they are special. We owe some measure of thanks to people who do collect them, as undoubtedly many great original works would be lost to the ages. (I may or may not have a wee book collection of my own, but certainly no interest in privately owning super rare books.)
So I do understand obsession with collecting books. What a thrill it is to come across a first edition (sometimes signed!) of a favorite book in a used bookstore. At the end of the day, though, mine are just books, and a signed first edition is no more valuable to me than a book given and inscribed to me by a dear person.
Some people take book collecting way too far, for real. (See Nicholas Basbanes, A Gentle Madness.) Thus it's not unbelievable what the characters in Sheridan Hay's novel do in pursuit of a rare book. It's a fun read, but not without quibbles...were 19 year olds allowed to buy alcohol in New York in the late 80's? Was Rosemary really naive enough to endure all that harassment? The narrator's voice seems to slip between her older, wiser self, and the immature teen she was when she arrived in New York. Annoying, and also hard to judge how much she understood what was happening to her.
2.5 stars.
So I do understand obsession with collecting books. What a thrill it is to come across a first edition (sometimes signed!) of a favorite book in a used bookstore. At the end of the day, though, mine are just books, and a signed first edition is no more valuable to me than a book given and inscribed to me by a dear person.
Some people take book collecting way too far, for real. (See Nicholas Basbanes, A Gentle Madness.) Thus it's not unbelievable what the characters in Sheridan Hay's novel do in pursuit of a rare book. It's a fun read, but not without quibbles...were 19 year olds allowed to buy alcohol in New York in the late 80's? Was Rosemary really naive enough to endure all that harassment? The narrator's voice seems to slip between her older, wiser self, and the immature teen she was when she arrived in New York. Annoying, and also hard to judge how much she understood what was happening to her.
2.5 stars.
May 17, 2010
Up until the abrupt ending, I was totally drawn into this book. It seemed to be just the book I was looking for: a young woman, alone, sets off for a new life in New York City, works at a used bookstore with crazy but intriguing employees, falls in love with a man who is incapable of loving her back, and captures the heart of an ailing albino. It seemed to mirror my own life! Except for the working at a bookstore part. But now I REALLY want to work in a bookstore, or a copy/print shop. ;-)
When Rosemary (the young woman) realizes that she has been falsely living in a dream, she makes note that all her life she has been in love with fictional characters, such as Austen's Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley. That made me sure this was the book I had been yearning for. I call this condition the "Mr. Darcy complex," and have been searching for a book about a girl who has such a complex: too in love with fictional characters, never finds a suitable guy in the real world... do they even exist?
The ending has been called "unsatisfying" by a number of reviewers on this site, but having just read a book that doesn't tie up loose ends (Jane Austen Book Club), I wasn't too shocked when this too failed at that.
I gave it five stars because I was able to identify with many aspects of the book, I really liked the quirky characters, and I was very drawn in by the plot. I can see why other readers may not like it, but I did, so voila.
When Rosemary (the young woman) realizes that she has been falsely living in a dream, she makes note that all her life she has been in love with fictional characters, such as Austen's Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley. That made me sure this was the book I had been yearning for. I call this condition the "Mr. Darcy complex," and have been searching for a book about a girl who has such a complex: too in love with fictional characters, never finds a suitable guy in the real world... do they even exist?
The ending has been called "unsatisfying" by a number of reviewers on this site, but having just read a book that doesn't tie up loose ends (Jane Austen Book Club), I wasn't too shocked when this too failed at that.
I gave it five stars because I was able to identify with many aspects of the book, I really liked the quirky characters, and I was very drawn in by the plot. I can see why other readers may not like it, but I did, so voila.
June 3, 2014
I ended up powering through this one as I realized part way through that I had read it some time ago but couldn't remember...so I have revisited it. I remember the characters now and I think I rather enjoyed it more the second time around.
From memory I originally found the characters a bit off putting and odd ball...which indeed they are, especially Walter Geist, but I think I found a bit more substance this time around...not sure why as there are so many odd ball people throughout, it was sometimes a little frustrating. I wanted more normality, but it's not that kind of place.
It is about a bookshop who's many and varied stories and perplexing characters are not confined to the pages within it's many thousands of books.
This story was moving on many levels.
I gave it 3.5★s
February 28, 2019
Wow, was für ein Buch! Aus jeder Seite, aus jeder Zeile spricht die Liebe zur Literatur und zu Büchern. Da ist es für mich sogar nebensächlich, dass die Handlung gering und nur im Hintergrund auftaucht.
Wenn ich die Reviews hier bei Goodreads sehe, dann haben viele das Buch mit einem Stern bewertet oder abgebrochen. Ich kann diese Meinung durchaus nachvollziehen, denn das Buch ist absolut speziell, man liebt es - oder eben nicht. Ich liebe es!
Ein Stern Abzug für die völlig unkritische und unreflektierte Darstellung von sexueller Belästigung (sowohl verbal als auch physisch) und die naive Dummheit der Protagonistin, da musste ich doch innerlich ab und zu (besonders am Ende) die Augen verdrehen.
Wenn ich die Reviews hier bei Goodreads sehe, dann haben viele das Buch mit einem Stern bewertet oder abgebrochen. Ich kann diese Meinung durchaus nachvollziehen, denn das Buch ist absolut speziell, man liebt es - oder eben nicht. Ich liebe es!
Ein Stern Abzug für die völlig unkritische und unreflektierte Darstellung von sexueller Belästigung (sowohl verbal als auch physisch) und die naive Dummheit der Protagonistin, da musste ich doch innerlich ab und zu (besonders am Ende) die Augen verdrehen.
July 30, 2020
I really wanted to like this book: mystery, bookstore, lost Melville title, bookstore,...! Alas, it fell quite short. There really wasn't much of a mystery but there really were some creepy characters, i.e., Walter Geist and Arthur. Yikes! Rosemary, the main character, is brave in that she moved from Tasmania to NYC by herself and only 18-years-old. Thank goodness that I had visited the Strand in NYC several years ago because that was my visual for the Arcade bookstore. Time frame? Who knows, that was intentionally ambiguous. Reading this book wasn't a complete waste of time because I learned that Tasmania is an island state belonging to Australia, not New Zealand. There is always something to learn even if the book isn't enjoyable.
Go Cards! L1C4!!
Go Cards! L1C4!!
August 21, 2021
Not a fan of this one.
January 13, 2023
An intriguing & well-written story with a unique cast of characters. A story of finding oneself and of new beginnings, transformation and imagined reality. The story starts in Tasmania, Australia and then moves to New York City. The setting is primarily in a bookstore.
The book contains numerous references to Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick or, the Whale. Curiously, while re-reading in 2023, I also experienced a new film in the theater starring Brendan Fraiser, The Whale, which also references Moby Dick.
Favorite Passages:
It was imagination that saved us. Hers, in particular. And I like to think imagination was her gift to me.
_______
Of course, isolation itself worked on our imaginations, our illusions, separating us even more. We were only glancingly acknowledged, and never included. I helped in the store after school. Friends were discouraged, if they'd ever been interested, or more precisely, curious.
We had each other.
_______
I used to imagine that the endlessly varied objects contained in the drawers appeared only moments before the knob was pulled and the drawer opened, as if conjured by my wish to see them. The wall of drawers appeared to my small self to hold everything; and "things," of course, were the sum of the world.
_______
"It says 'Eternity,' love," Mother replied, taking my hand. "A man has been writing that word in chalk for thirty years. It's famous now. I don't remember a time when I didn't see it, written there on the street." She put her arms around me.
"What does it mean?"
"We'll never know it, Rosemary. It's a word that means something going on always and forever. And you know, nothing does. Not a human thing, anyway. Everything ends eventually. That's something you should remember, love."
________
As a reader of fables, she must have recognized that I would need one of my own. And antidote to catastrophe. My world had been emptied of all its contents, save her, and she knew a city would be the cure to the small life I had lived, the one I'd lost.
But it was myself I was calling into being.
________
"He is one of the disappeared," she said with finality, as if this explained what I had asked.
________
"Reality is as thin as paper, girl," said Pearl, shaking her head. "I thought that was one thing you did know, what with an imagination like yours - as thin as paper, and as easily torn."
________
This was a museum as home, a house where objects jostled each other for attention, where they might be touched and even used, accessible and almost carnal in their appeal, their variety.
________
The brochure boasted that nobility had invented the practice of collecting, formalizing it during the Renaissance to a degree that gave rise to the modern museum. Nobility could buy anything. Knowledge was power, and collections controlled knowledge.
________
THE THEATER OF THE WORLD
________
"Everything is beautiful here," I said, hoping she understood I didn't include her. "And what isn't obviously beautiful has its own particular loveliness."
________
" 'Before me there was no time,' " he said, and moved through the door. " 'After me there will be none.' "
He stood by my side, speaking almost intimately.
" 'With me it is born, with me it will also die.' "
________
How preoccupations insist themselves - how they pursue one! Whenever I land on an interest, I always wonder whether I discovered it, or the other way around.
________
The Arcade, and now Peabody's, combined to tell me that there was life in objects, in books. It was all about having eyes to see the true meaning of things. As Pike proved daily, books held a kind of magic, an apparent as well as a hidden value.
________
"Here, read this book of letters. Just read and tell me when you find something interesting. It's called research. The idea is that you don't know what you'll find until you find it," he added, irritated.
________
The evening possessed an imagined design, and I thought my will played a part in bringing it about.
________
"Hope is something that's hard to live without."
________
Chaps told me once that aging was a process of exchanging hope for insight, and it occurs to me that Lillian had made this exchange well before her time.
________
"Remembrance is nothing more than quotation, of course."
________
Before I removed another piece of tape, before I saw inside the wrapping, I experienced an immense hallucination. Staring down at the bluish parcel in my lap, my eyes blurred, and I closed them upon a waking dream.
The book contains numerous references to Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick or, the Whale. Curiously, while re-reading in 2023, I also experienced a new film in the theater starring Brendan Fraiser, The Whale, which also references Moby Dick.
Favorite Passages:
It was imagination that saved us. Hers, in particular. And I like to think imagination was her gift to me.
_______
Of course, isolation itself worked on our imaginations, our illusions, separating us even more. We were only glancingly acknowledged, and never included. I helped in the store after school. Friends were discouraged, if they'd ever been interested, or more precisely, curious.
We had each other.
_______
I used to imagine that the endlessly varied objects contained in the drawers appeared only moments before the knob was pulled and the drawer opened, as if conjured by my wish to see them. The wall of drawers appeared to my small self to hold everything; and "things," of course, were the sum of the world.
_______
"It says 'Eternity,' love," Mother replied, taking my hand. "A man has been writing that word in chalk for thirty years. It's famous now. I don't remember a time when I didn't see it, written there on the street." She put her arms around me.
"What does it mean?"
"We'll never know it, Rosemary. It's a word that means something going on always and forever. And you know, nothing does. Not a human thing, anyway. Everything ends eventually. That's something you should remember, love."
________
As a reader of fables, she must have recognized that I would need one of my own. And antidote to catastrophe. My world had been emptied of all its contents, save her, and she knew a city would be the cure to the small life I had lived, the one I'd lost.
But it was myself I was calling into being.
________
"He is one of the disappeared," she said with finality, as if this explained what I had asked.
________
"Reality is as thin as paper, girl," said Pearl, shaking her head. "I thought that was one thing you did know, what with an imagination like yours - as thin as paper, and as easily torn."
________
This was a museum as home, a house where objects jostled each other for attention, where they might be touched and even used, accessible and almost carnal in their appeal, their variety.
________
The brochure boasted that nobility had invented the practice of collecting, formalizing it during the Renaissance to a degree that gave rise to the modern museum. Nobility could buy anything. Knowledge was power, and collections controlled knowledge.
________
THE THEATER OF THE WORLD
________
"Everything is beautiful here," I said, hoping she understood I didn't include her. "And what isn't obviously beautiful has its own particular loveliness."
________
" 'Before me there was no time,' " he said, and moved through the door. " 'After me there will be none.' "
He stood by my side, speaking almost intimately.
" 'With me it is born, with me it will also die.' "
________
How preoccupations insist themselves - how they pursue one! Whenever I land on an interest, I always wonder whether I discovered it, or the other way around.
________
The Arcade, and now Peabody's, combined to tell me that there was life in objects, in books. It was all about having eyes to see the true meaning of things. As Pike proved daily, books held a kind of magic, an apparent as well as a hidden value.
________
"Here, read this book of letters. Just read and tell me when you find something interesting. It's called research. The idea is that you don't know what you'll find until you find it," he added, irritated.
________
The evening possessed an imagined design, and I thought my will played a part in bringing it about.
________
"Hope is something that's hard to live without."
________
Chaps told me once that aging was a process of exchanging hope for insight, and it occurs to me that Lillian had made this exchange well before her time.
________
"Remembrance is nothing more than quotation, of course."
________
Before I removed another piece of tape, before I saw inside the wrapping, I experienced an immense hallucination. Staring down at the bluish parcel in my lap, my eyes blurred, and I closed them upon a waking dream.
May 22, 2014
Rosemary Savage grows up in Tasmania, beloved child of a single mother who keeps a hat shop to make ends meet. When her mother dies, a family friend scrapes together the money to send the grief-stunned teenager off to New York. Rosemary drifts around NYC for a few weeks, then finds a job in a used-book store, the Arcade. This cavernous bookstore is home to a strange group of misfits : the avaricious owner George Pike, a pre-op transsexual named Pearl, the good-looking but emotionally incapacitated Oscar, and the manager, Walter Geist. Mr. Geist is an albino with deteriorating eyesight who covers his loneliness with defensiveness and curtness. When Rosemary, desperately short of money, asks for an advance on her wages, he lends her the money on the condition that she becomes his personal assistant. In that capacity, she reads to him part of a letter from an unidentified writer claiming to possess the only copy of a long-lost manuscript by Herman Melville.
Rosemary reveals this event to several other bookstore employees, including Oscar, with whom she is infatuated. And soon everybody is spying on everybody, the suspicion being that Walter Geist is about to defraud his employer by buying this manuscript and then selling it to a wealthy collector. The situation is complicated when Rosemary finally understands that Walter is madly attracted to her. So there they are : Walter loves Rosemary who loves Oscar who is incapable of love. Things come to a climax shortly after an ill-fated Christmas party at the bookstore. In the end Rosemary moves on from the Arcade, finding that she is even able now to send her mother's ashes back to Tasmania, which represents some form of closure for her.
I feel ambivalent about this book. On one hand, the story of young girl who moves to the big city to work in a bookstore must be appealing to everyone who loves books and the eccentric characters who haunt them. The book is perfused with a sense of loss, with romantic and usually impossible longings. The research that Rosemary and Oscar do about Herman Melville is quite interesting and forms a good framework for the second part of the novel. Some of Rosemary's musings are insightful and well expressed.
And yet... the reason why I can't give this book 4 stars is that I found it too self-conscious. The author has an MFA in writing, and I seemed to sense her thinking about what writerly tricks to use all though the book. There is nothing organically grown in the structure of this book, it is all cleverly constructed. There are too many dreams in the book, for instance, an overused literary device if there ever was one. All characters, except the irrepressible Pearl, seem to speak in aphorisms and oracles all the time. And then towards the end of the book, it seems like the author ran out of tricks and had no inspiration as to how to wrap it all up. So she had people die, disappear and move away. The mystery of the letter that started the whole intrigue about the lost Melville manuscript was not satisfactorily cleared up, either.
Bottom line : a novel that will appeal to those who love bookstores, and which has a lot of strong writing - but which comes across as artificial and contrived.
Rosemary reveals this event to several other bookstore employees, including Oscar, with whom she is infatuated. And soon everybody is spying on everybody, the suspicion being that Walter Geist is about to defraud his employer by buying this manuscript and then selling it to a wealthy collector. The situation is complicated when Rosemary finally understands that Walter is madly attracted to her. So there they are : Walter loves Rosemary who loves Oscar who is incapable of love. Things come to a climax shortly after an ill-fated Christmas party at the bookstore. In the end Rosemary moves on from the Arcade, finding that she is even able now to send her mother's ashes back to Tasmania, which represents some form of closure for her.
I feel ambivalent about this book. On one hand, the story of young girl who moves to the big city to work in a bookstore must be appealing to everyone who loves books and the eccentric characters who haunt them. The book is perfused with a sense of loss, with romantic and usually impossible longings. The research that Rosemary and Oscar do about Herman Melville is quite interesting and forms a good framework for the second part of the novel. Some of Rosemary's musings are insightful and well expressed.
And yet... the reason why I can't give this book 4 stars is that I found it too self-conscious. The author has an MFA in writing, and I seemed to sense her thinking about what writerly tricks to use all though the book. There is nothing organically grown in the structure of this book, it is all cleverly constructed. There are too many dreams in the book, for instance, an overused literary device if there ever was one. All characters, except the irrepressible Pearl, seem to speak in aphorisms and oracles all the time. And then towards the end of the book, it seems like the author ran out of tricks and had no inspiration as to how to wrap it all up. So she had people die, disappear and move away. The mystery of the letter that started the whole intrigue about the lost Melville manuscript was not satisfactorily cleared up, either.
Bottom line : a novel that will appeal to those who love bookstores, and which has a lot of strong writing - but which comes across as artificial and contrived.
June 5, 2010
I just finished this wonderful book. It is a love letter to all booksellers and all who love reading. Sheridan Hay reminds me of
Donna Tartt (which is funny as they both went to Bennington ).
I found it addictive and had to read in all in one go.
The character of Rosemary made an interesting journeyfrom fresh country girl in the big city to a more understanding and experienced woman. All in one year.
What an education is New York, and more so that amazing bookstore the Arcade, a country, or at least, a city, unto its own. The characters who worked there are unforgettable - an obese and totally comfortable-with-it, gay man who looks at nudes all day to the pre-op transsexual who helps to teach Rosemary how to be a woman and about men.
There is a bit about a Melville lost novel which was fascinating and I can't tell if Hay was implying that Melville was in love with Hawthorne , but If you have seen portraits of Hawthorne when a young man, he would be easy to fall in love with. It certainly was an intense
realtionship, especially on Melville's part.
It evokes the love of reading, the love of New York and the infinite
variety of the human race and all the wonders you will
find there.
I also enjoyed getting a few of the many, many
literary allusions that she sprinkles throughout the
book.
Donna Tartt (which is funny as they both went to Bennington ).
I found it addictive and had to read in all in one go.
The character of Rosemary made an interesting journeyfrom fresh country girl in the big city to a more understanding and experienced woman. All in one year.
What an education is New York, and more so that amazing bookstore the Arcade, a country, or at least, a city, unto its own. The characters who worked there are unforgettable - an obese and totally comfortable-with-it, gay man who looks at nudes all day to the pre-op transsexual who helps to teach Rosemary how to be a woman and about men.
There is a bit about a Melville lost novel which was fascinating and I can't tell if Hay was implying that Melville was in love with Hawthorne , but If you have seen portraits of Hawthorne when a young man, he would be easy to fall in love with. It certainly was an intense
realtionship, especially on Melville's part.
It evokes the love of reading, the love of New York and the infinite
variety of the human race and all the wonders you will
find there.
I also enjoyed getting a few of the many, many
literary allusions that she sprinkles throughout the
book.
March 6, 2009
I didn't think that this book would end up to be much more than a casual, easy read for entertainment purposes only, but this was not so. I soon began to get into the storyline, as my own life story has been somewhat similar to Rosemary Savage's, and was initially fascinated by the character of Oscar. I felt that I related to Oscar's bookishness and solitary life, his inability to truley connect with people, gaining understanding only through his observational notes on life. Besides amazingly realistic (and quirky) characters, Hay's ability to sink deeply into the psyche of the people of The Arcade and bring forth minute details of emotionality really struck me. In the end, I was left with a residual scarring memory, a haunting of the character of Walter Geist and his inability to truley engage in the world and find happiness. This seemed to be a common theme with many of the characters, and it was rather wrenching to me when I realized how few people in the world are able to find contentment and peace in life. We are always grasping for material possessions, titles of prestige, and human connections. It seems that Sheridan Hay's insights on the delicacies of interconnectedness are far superior to those of many other authors of today.
July 16, 2009
This book was readable but not particularly satisfying.
To have rated it more highly I would have needed to be locked into the mystery/detective part of the story much sooner. There needed to be more twists and turns within the mystery itself, maybe a few dead ends -it all turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. I'm not sure I really hooked onto a Melville mystery having never read any of his stuff - is he more of an American hero???
Also - I was really intrigued by the whole 'lost boys' of Argentina sub-plot but it all came to nothing. I found out nothing about the politics, the situation or the conspiracy theories etc that would have been a great 'mirror' for the main plot and added real depth to the story.
I was pretty appalled by Geist and didn't really understand Rosemary's motivations with regards to him. I understood her motivations towards Oscar as we all love a brooding anti-hero BUT, I needed to know WHY Oscar was the way he was - maybe the mystery could have been extended whereby Rosemary was investigating the lost Melville but also finding out all about Oscar too. The only characters I really liked were Pearl and Mr Mitchell.
I'm almost sorry I couldn't like this book more - I found it highly disappointing.
Ally
To have rated it more highly I would have needed to be locked into the mystery/detective part of the story much sooner. There needed to be more twists and turns within the mystery itself, maybe a few dead ends -it all turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. I'm not sure I really hooked onto a Melville mystery having never read any of his stuff - is he more of an American hero???
Also - I was really intrigued by the whole 'lost boys' of Argentina sub-plot but it all came to nothing. I found out nothing about the politics, the situation or the conspiracy theories etc that would have been a great 'mirror' for the main plot and added real depth to the story.
I was pretty appalled by Geist and didn't really understand Rosemary's motivations with regards to him. I understood her motivations towards Oscar as we all love a brooding anti-hero BUT, I needed to know WHY Oscar was the way he was - maybe the mystery could have been extended whereby Rosemary was investigating the lost Melville but also finding out all about Oscar too. The only characters I really liked were Pearl and Mr Mitchell.
I'm almost sorry I couldn't like this book more - I found it highly disappointing.
Ally
April 21, 2014
The blurbs promised a book about a bookstore in NYC where a literary mystery occurs. Yay! My favorites things - books, bookstores, NYC, mystery, but unfortunately, really it was just an odd book about odd people. Let me describe the characters, and I think you will understand exactly what I mean by "odd": an eighteen year old orphan from Tasmania who was raised by her single mother above a store called "Remarkable Hats"; an albino bookstore manager; the bookstore owner who speaks in the third person and dresses as if he lives in the 1890s; an Asperbergian manager of the non-fiction department; the obese, gay British manager of the art book department; the transgendering, opera-singing cashier; and the Irish paperback manager who lost his nose in a bar fight. So, there you have it - if you want to spend a week or so with these folks, then read this book.
September 10, 2024
While Rosemary seems almost unrealistically innocent for the time period (I am guessing early 80's) and there are some bits and pieces that seemed a bit too "coincidental", I will forgive these flaws. I found so much of the writing beautiful. I loved the characters, although some of them felt a bit too stereotyped.I felt there were stories within the story. Many references to Moby Dick that intrigued me--I may yet pick up a copy and read it someday just because of this book. And I think I want to read some poetry by Auden. This is a great book lovers book!
What worked: New York
Eccentric characters
Quiet story
What worked: New York
Eccentric characters
Quiet story
August 19, 2017
I wanted to love this story for so many reasons but I also found myself getting bored with it. The writing and thus, the narration, was eloquent and the use of vocabulary made me feel as though I was being elevated to a new level of intellect simply by listening and absorbing the use of words I knew but rarely used in place of my more common choices. This inspires me to explore my vocabulary offerings. The story itself was good but the main character's naivete wore on my patience a bit and I wanted it to end so I could indulge in another story.
March 17, 2015
I hate closing a book half way, but this simply left me no option.
You know it's going to be hard going when each character is set apart from the others by what they are rather than who they are.
Almost every one of them was an uber weird social standout ie albino, transgender or even (and this was the most gimmicky of all) Australian..
I didn't hate this but it was clumsy and lacked charm, especially for a fish out of water tale set in an old bookstore.
You know it's going to be hard going when each character is set apart from the others by what they are rather than who they are.
Almost every one of them was an uber weird social standout ie albino, transgender or even (and this was the most gimmicky of all) Australian..
I didn't hate this but it was clumsy and lacked charm, especially for a fish out of water tale set in an old bookstore.
February 12, 2020
Not an exceptional debut novel, the author showed promise in some of the characterization but otherwise this book is unimpressive. The main character is excessively naive, oblivious of so many things as if Tasmania lacked members of the opposite sex or dating or any knowledge of basic human desires. In the end the book is not much of a literary mystery, it's more about mourning the loss of someone and finding that relationship with other people in your life.
January 30, 2013
Well written book and very creative style. I love stories that take place in bookshops as I used to work in one. I liked this author but the story was very slow for me. Characters were certainly lively enough but in the end, I have to say it was an average story with a pace that didn't get going. I found myself skimming too much.
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