Thursday, May 29, 2014

ARC Review: The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst

The Lost
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publication: Harlequin MIRA (May 27, 2014)

Description: Award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst has been praised for her captivating novels that merge the darkly imagined with very real themes of self-discovery and destiny. In The Lost, we'll discover just what it means to lose one's way….

It was only meant to be a brief detour. But then Lauren finds herself trapped in a town called Lost on the edge of a desert, filled with things abandoned, broken and thrown away. And when she tries to escape, impassible dust storms and something unexplainable lead her back to Lost again and again. The residents she meets there tell her she's going to have to figure out just what she's missing—and what she's running from—before she can leave. So now Lauren's on a new search for a purpose and a destiny. And maybe, just maybe, she'll be found….

Against the backdrop of this desolate and mystical town, Sarah Beth Durst writes an arresting, fantastical novel of one woman's impossible journey…and her quest to find her fate.

My Thoughts: What happens to lost things? The socks, the wallets, the suitcases? Sarah Beth Durst has created a place called Lost. It is not only stuff that ends up there, but people too. Lauren started driving one day, didn't make a right turn when she should have, and finds herself there. The people who end up in Lost have all lost something and they can't go home or on until they find out what it is or find it. Lost is surrounded by in impenetrable dust cloud. There are two men who are important in Lost too. The Finder can go into the dust and bring out anyone who still has a shred of hope. The Missing Man is the one who can send people on or out.

At first, Lauren doesn't believe where she has ended up. She has responsibilities at home. Her mother and best friend is dying of ovarian cancer. As hard as it is, Lauren needs to be with her mother. But the Missing Man takes one look at her, asks her name, and then disappears. The rest of the residents of Lost blame Lauren for his disappearance but a little girl named Claire and the Finder adopt her and help her survive.

Lauren struggles to understand Lost and, despite falling in love with both Claire and the Finder, she is determined to find her way home. She discovers that she has some powers of her own. And she has a horribly difficult decision to make.

I spent so much time thinking about what it was that Lauren lost and whether or not she would find it and be able to go home. I loved the periodic lists at chapter ends showing things lost and found and how the lists contained items both mundane and profound.

This was an excellent story about a young woman dealing with a terrible situation. I loved Lauren and empathized with her. I am eager to read the next story to find out what happens.

Favorite Quote:
I wake with the feeling that dreams have swapped with reality. Any second, a dirigible will land on the roof, deploy dozens of alien ninjas, who will sneak into every motel room to rendezvous with the lime-green monsters that are camouflaged in the bathroom, and then conquer the world; all the while I am due on stage in three minutes but have never learned my lines. Also, I'm naked.

Except I'm not naked, because I slept in my underwear. Oddly, I find that more comforting than the absence of alien ninjas.
I got this ARC both in the mail and from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

1 comment:

  1. I love the sound of this. Like a land for lost stuff. But what really intrigues me is that it includes lost people. Fragments of Life

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