The Secret of Lost Things

Summary (from the publisher): 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.


Review: Rosemary, the narrator of The Secret of Lost Things, grows up only knowing her mother and her friend Mrs. Chapman  on the island of Tasmania. When her mother dies, Mrs. Chapman sends her off to New York to find herself. Rosemary finds an interesting cast of characters when she gets a job at a vast bookstore called the Arcade, including Oscar, a gay man obsessed with fabrics, Walter Geist, a blind albino who falls in love with her, and Pearl, a transgender man who is the only other female employee. 


Despite my love for books, I found the constant description of stacks of books rather tedious in this novel. I also found it hard to believe that Rosemary was content with having no friends her own age and was able to survive on the meager pittance she received for working at the bookstore, in a strange city and country. Also, I didn't find the Melville lost manuscript intrigue too compelling. 


Hay chooses to not specify the time period, and I was unable to figure it out despite my frequent pondering on the subject. Technology is not mentioned, although cars are. Rosemary's mother ran a hat shop called Remarkable Hats, although it failed because when wearing hats when out of style. Not much to go on, meaning the novel could have been set in any number of decades. The timeless quality, combined with the eery nature of some of the encounters (particularly the albino and creepy Geist), gave this novel an almost fantastical vibe.


A novel clearly targeted towards literary lovers that doesn't quite cross the line to join the literary treasures mentioned throughout its pages.


Stars: 3