Lost: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A Good Read - If You're Not Looking for Another "Wicked"
Review: Gregory Maguire has a fascinating command of the English language, and a real knack for developing deep and complex characters - something that alone makes this book worth the read. However, this is not the "Wicked" or "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" treatment given to "A Christmas Carol", despite what the cover (and familiarity with the author's other popular works) might suggest. If you go into this expecting that, you'll be sadly disappointed.

On its own merits, without the context of the rest of Maguire's works, I would probably give this a rating of "4". However, I felt betrayed as a reader. There were teasing elements to suggest that this might be a twisted fairytale of sorts, like Wicked, but ultimately any fantastic elements in the book are just red herrings.

I think a disclaimer is warranted to warn the unwary reader; I felt deceived, hence a final rating of merely "2".

Rating:
Summary: One step closer to greatness
Review: I enjoyed reading Lost. Although, I must add that I enjoyed Wicked and Stepsister much more. Maguire has such an interesting writing style; his lead characters so complex. This book with all of it's plot lines past and present, fictional and super-fictional definitely leaves enough room for interpretation. Maguire has such a talent of making us feel something for even the most unlikeable characters (as anyone who read Wicked would know).
I tend to be very linear and don't like gaps. That is probably why I did not like this one as much. I like a beginning, a middle and an end, and want to understand everything by the end of the book. I don't have the same feeling with this one. I am looking forward to reading Mirror, and what else Maguire has planned for us in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Lost my mind...literally!
Review: I had never read any Gregory Maguire books before this one, but heard nothing but praise for them. I picked up Lost based on the blurb on the back and the creepy cover art. I have a moderate interest in the Jack the Ripper period and settled into this book preparing to be entertained and engrossed by a work of fiction that wove this time period with fairy tales and came out with a unique product.

All I can say is that I was horribly and woefully misled...the most interesting and enthralling paragraph in the book is that blurb on the backside. And, what's more, that is about as close as you get to actually reading anything seriously related to Jack the Ripper or Charles Dickens!!! I could not believe how disappointing this book is....in the beginning, I kept going because I thought Winnie would develop into a dynamic, interesting character that I would CARE about....not so. Halfway through the book, I realised that I was duped - the book was spiraling out of control in a messy plot riddled with confusion and ridiculous characters - and I have a rule that I finish every single book I start no matter what, so imagine my sheer frustration at this point. At the end, I decided that Winnie was schizophrenic and that Maguire's purpose in writing Lost was to let his readers feel what it must be like to be a schizophrenic oneself....broken with reality, unable to form meaningless relationships with characters, depressed mood and blunted ability to emote....summed up in one word, LOST.

I very rarely give books one star, but in this case, unfortunately one star is generous...I would have given none if I had the chance.


Rating:
Summary: Very good book... why all the haters?
Review: I think this was the second book of Maguire's I read. I was very interested in his retelling of "fairy tails" with an emphasis on differing perspectives on good and evil and the like. I took Wicked up first. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and decided to try his others. I very seriously considered not even trying Lost after reading the reviews on Amazon. This book has been absolutely skewered by people who liked his other works. I couldn't imagine they were all wrong (of course, who can say one is right or wrong where taste is concerned). Despite all the other opinions, I must say that I felt Lost was every bit as good as his other works (I have also now completed Stepsister and Mirror).

I do not feel I was left confused or dazed by the story. Of course, that is not to say I feel I understood every nuance. Yet speaking comparatively, I felt Wicked left much more in the dark than did this book. I am shocked by those who would praise Wicked and then denounce Lost. I felt his use of the book in a book was creative and understandable. Suppose the book in the book is not a fictional story at all but the lead character's back story. I didn't find the lead character unusually lovely or wonderful, but I was not put off by her either. I thought she was likable - every bit as much as Elphaba.

At the end of the day, I feel the major difference, and therefore perhaps cause for the turmoil many feel, is that this book is not so much a character study or retelling of a tale with special twists or takes but a fresh tale that primarily concerns itself with advancing a plot rather than fleshing out motivations and the like. It is an intriguing story told by a very talented writer.

I highly recommend it to Maguire fans and anyone who loves a suspenseful story that is well-told. Really a very good book - whatever else you may hear or read...

Rating:
Summary: NOW I'M LOST
Review: LOST is a terrific title for this book: lost time, lost work, lost expectations, lost plot, lost readers...LOST. Maguire's book about an author trying to...well that's just it--I never really discovered what she was really trying to do: find her cousin? find lost cats? find herself? find a friend? find a bistro? find a phone?

Maguire scores a couple of stars for some remarkable wordsmithing but then the wordsmithing gets so involved in some spots that one cannot tell whether this is really a book that the author wants others to read or a self-absorbed word game with himself that he hopes will leave all takers, but himself, in the dust.

And what's all this about Scrooge? Yes there is some word play with the epic miser's name and a possible link to the heroine's family name. Is that it? Apparently so. So why waste wonderful cover art on what amounts to a minor aside in the story? Beats me. Maybe Maguire lost track of the Scrooge connections and just liked what the artist had done.

But I digress!

"Lost" is what I hope I can say about my copy of this book should anyone ask to borrow it.

THE HORSEMAN

Rating:
Summary: Lost......wish I'd have lost my copy before finishing it...
Review: Ugh. This book took me almost 4 months to read. It wasn't because I'm a slow reader, it was because I had no interest in the story. None. Zero.

As always, Maguire finishes up the story with just a few pages left. But NO, like his other novels, you can't just skip to the end of a Maguire book to catch the end of the story. You have to read the whole dang thing for it to make any sense (which Lost barely did anyway).

I'm being generous with the 2 stars, ONLY because the Rudge/Dickens story line and Ritzi (the fruitcake fortune-teller) kept me slightly intrigued. Other than that, Lost went on and on and on about mind-numbing subplot after mind-numbing subplot.

Back to the same recommendation I had after reading Confessions: READ WICKED INSTEAD. Sorry, Maguire, this story doesn't get an A from this reader.



Rating:
Summary: But the ending....
Review: I really thought it was a great book, couldn't put it down, got the chills, was following everything...then the ending. I'm not one for a nice bow-topped package, but I think I truly need to have someone explain to me what exactly happened. Did nothing happen?

This book is not _Wicked_ et al, and shouldn't be compared as such. If I got the ending, I'm sure the rating would be higher.