Review of THE LIBRARY OF LOST AND FOUND by Phaedra Patrick

2.5 Stars

Martha Storm is a middle-aged library volunteer in an English coastal village.  She caters to the needs of others, believing that “her only worth was in helping others” (66).  People take advantage of her and she lets them.  She even gave up a life with a man she loved to care for her aging parents.  A book, a collection of fairy tales, is delivered to Martha because it is inscribed with a personal message to her from her maternal grandmother Zelda.  The problem is that Zelda died under mysterious circumstances 30 years earlier.  Martha sets out to find out more about the book and to determine if her beloved grandmother is still alive.

The contemporary story is interspersed with flashbacks to Martha’s childhood.  These are given from the perspective of Betty, Martha’s mother.  What emerges is a family ruled by Thomas, a controlling husband and father.  Lillian, Martha’s younger sister, received most of Thomas’ affection; with Martha, he was emotionally distant.  Throughout the novel, there are also some fairy tales which Martha wrote when she was a young girl. 

This book depicts a journey of (re-)self-discovery.  As a child, Martha used to be exuberant and outspoken but as an adult is very submissive.  Encouraged by Zelda, she was very creative, but stopped writing after Zelda’s death.  As an adult, Martha is very timid but slowly learns to assert herself and realizes that her needs are as important as those of others.  In essence, she rediscovers her old self.

I found Martha irritating.  Given her childhood and the loss of her supportive grandmother, it is understandable that she became more like her mousy mother.  But she is now so pathetic:  she is socially awkward and doesn’t even know how to apply makeup?  Since writing stories was so important to her and obviously helped her cope, it doesn’t make sense that she stopped doing that. 

It seems the author knows little about modern libraries.  Though Martha is portrayed as a frumpy old maid (a stereotypical librarian), she is not a librarian.  The book blurb repeatedly refers to Martha as a librarian, but she is a volunteer.  More than anything, Martha wants a job as an assistant-librarian:  “She’d helped out there for over four years, had a diploma in English literature, adored the books and wanted to help people” (33).  Librarians require a degree in library science so she is not qualified for the position of assistant-librarian.  Martha doesn’t even have a home computer when librarians are expected to be expert online researchers?    

There are other unrealistic elements.  Suki, an assistant librarian, constantly speaks in malapropisms?  She refers to a book dedication as a desiccation!  In 1982, would a pre-marital pregnancy be more scandalous than a same-sex relationship?  A seventy-year-old recluse with questionable grooming who always wears the same hat and frayed, turned-up jeans (41) has a fluffy dressing gown, bubble bath, and soap with the scent of roses and vanilla (295) for surprise guests?

I picked up this novel because of its title and because I was looking for a “heartwarming and poignant tale” as promised by the book jacket.  I was disappointed in both respects because the title is totally misleading, and the narrative is clumsy rather than charming.