Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I waited eagerly for this book, bought it upon release. This is great writing, however, I was not very prepared for how dramatic a change from 'Wicked' and 'Confessions' it was. With Lost I was disappointed that Winnie was SO mundane, even when she came so close to almost being engaged is some potentially exciting stuff; the contractors, where's John, Jack the Ripper, and Old' Mr. Scrooge...all just things you find yourself disappointedly rubbernecking as they slide past with out further mention. I am and will continue to be a fan of Maguire's' work. I will eagerly await his next book. I just hope will be satisfied with his next story rather that simply satisfied that I finished the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Lost in Lost!
Review: Lost was the first book by MacGuire that I've TRIED to read. Unfortuneately, it will probably be the last. I found this was a difficult read, and I didn't care what happened to the characters. If you've never read MacGuire, don't start with this book!
Rating: 
Summary: You'll Lose Time if You Read This . . .
Review: After reading "Wicked," and thoroughly enjoying it, I was very disappointed in this recent work of Maguire's. Despite being a lover of books, and a very enthusiastic reader, "Lost" really was a difficult read. I started this months ago, and it could not grip my attention. Finally, I picked it up last month and decided to push to the end. Never once during the past month, however, did I anticipate the next free minute and run back to the book. Rather, I found myself staying late at work, and reading other books instead. Not a very good sign in my opinion.The biggest problem for me was just the confusion within the story. Was I reading about Ebenezer Scrooge? Jack the Ripper? Peter Pan? Or was this all just a trashy romance between Winnie (the main character) and some cousin of hers, with a few horror stories thrown in? Until the end, I was never sure, and even then I wasn't sure how I got there or what the end really meant. Winnie Rudge is apparently a writer, famous for several children's books. The story opens with her sitting in at a meeting for people interested in international adoptions. Then we're transported to England where she hopes to meet up with her cousin, and begin writing a novel. The home where she stays belongs to her ancestor, Ozias Rudge . . . supposedly the real-life Scrooge. While there, she has flash-somethings to another storyline (later I learned these were flash-backs, but I couldn't tell until 3/4 through the book). She also begins to see some indications that the house is haunted. By the end of the book, everyone (including herself) believes she's somewhat crazy. And I felt that I was crazy to spend my time reading it. <sigh> Of course, like all such tales, there were some interesting discussions about religion and man's/woman's place in the world. That led me to give the book 1 star. And the second . . . because it wasn't the worst book in the world. In the end, I think you can do better.
Rating:
Summary: Something went very awry
Review: Like everyone else, I LOVED WICKED. I bought this book at full hardcover price (silly me!) because of that.
I couldn't get interested in the plot of John gone missing, nor Winnie herself as a character. I tried 118 pages, and just gave up because I don't care how it turns out. One of the worst books I've ever attempted to read, and only the second that I've been unable to finish. Buy something else!
Rating:
Summary: Needs editing
Review: I greatly enjoyed Maguire's book WICKED but am disappointed by LOST. I have a lot of beefs with this book, but I think the main one is that the dialogue is terrible. Each speaker talks like a novelist (and the same novelist, at that); there's a certain elegance and poignancy to the phrases, but the style is overblown, unrealistic, and pretentious, and there is no individuality given to characters. Even those who speak in cutesy regional accents basically have the same tone as the narrator. This wasn't so bad in Wicked, where the fairy-taleish setting excuses a certain stilted elegance in the narration and dialogue, but I consider it inexcusable here. Also, the constant references to other works--nursery rhymes, kid's books, Christmas Carol, etc.--does not (to me) come off as a rich tapestry but as a messy jumble. It doesn't hang together and after a while it just feels like padding when another nursery rhyme is trotted out. There's also a certain superficiality about the references. And there are too many little stories going on here--all the Scrooge and Jack the Ripper stuff just should have been cut out. A short story about the (rather whiny and unappealing) main character dealing with the tragedy of the lost child might have been OK without all the other parts being dragged in--even the ghost story, which ends up being kind of lame. And does the world really need ANOTHER novel about a novelist trying to write a novel? However, I have to admit that there's something very compelling about the book. Even after reading it and initially disliking it, I find I am often tempted to pick it up and start skimming through it again. Maybe this is good because the story is not clear the first time through--too many competing threads, and the foreshadowing is handled clumsily. But I think my fascination is more with the sheer yuckiness of events, from Winnie's constant bungling and rudeness to the revelation about what happened in Romania--it's like rubbernecking at a car wreck. I can't help myself but I get no benefit from doing so.
Rating:
Summary: Lost is simple Lost
Review: This book was a big let down!! If you are a Gregory MaGuire fan and loved his other books (Wicked, and Confessions...) you will be very disappointed after reading Lost. The main character, Winnie is not likeable and Maguire takes the story all over the place and it never really catches the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Creeping Tension
Review: WICKED was the most refreshing book I've read in years. CONFESSIONS didn't have quite the philisophical bite, but was still an extraordinary read and made Mr. Maguire my favorite current author. LOST began strangely, without the absolute connection to the familiar. He merely hints at literary alusion this time. At first the book seems like an ordinary tale of middle aged angst, but slowly and quite creepily the tension mounts. Ultimately the story haunts like its subject. I am depressed there is no new book out yet.
Rating:
Summary: Disapppointing ......
Review: I loved Confessions and think Wicked was brilliant- so much detail, passion and suspense. I couldn't wait to read Lost! What a disappointment. It reads like a romance novel at times. I felt like he had to get something to the publisher and wrote this the weekend before. He is a better writer than Lost! Read Wicked instead (or again) and skip this one. It will only turn you off to a great writer that needs to get back to what he is good at.
Rating:
Summary: Not in the same league as Wicked and Confessions
Review: I was terribly disappointed in this book, which comes nowhere close to the pleasures offered by Maguire's two excellent previous novels. With its hodgepodge of allusions to Peter Pan, Jack the Ripper, A Christmas Carol, etc., all painfully forced, the story goes nowhere interesting, and the central character never comes into sharp focus. She was neither likable nor dislikable. And the author's attempt to inject English flavor into the narrative seemed very self-conscious. I still regularly recommend Wicked and Confessions of an Ugly Step-Sister, but it was obviously a mistake to assume that Maguire's future works would necessarily reach the high standards set by those two books.
Rating: 
Summary: Maguire's departure from fairyland is dark but delightful!
Review: Fans of "Wicked" and "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister," beware: Gregory Maguire's newest offering, "Lost," departs from his charming device of retelling fairy tales from the villain's perspective. Indeed, it departs from fairy tales altogether. But, please don't despair! What Maguire offers instead is a compelling tale of isolation, desperation, family ghosts and medieval spectres -- all in present-day London. The story follows the winding path of Winifred Rudge, an author seeking to write a ghost story but who instead finds herself becoming possessed -- or, perhaps, crazy. Which is it? As she seeks to learn the truth, Winifred is plagued by the disconcerting. And if you're brave enough to read into the wee hours of the morning... well, be prepared for much creepiness. It's an effectively chilling bit of writing! Granted, at times the book does ramble, and the multiple threads can be maddeningly difficult to keep track of. Yet the challenge only makes it that more rewarding to read. Highly recommended! I hope Maguire keeps 'em coming.
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