The Keeper of Lost Things - Ruth Hogan

One of my favourite books of the year yet it took me nearly the entire year to finish. I struggled to get into the novel, despite it being only 300-ish pages. It was only when I had approximately 150 pages left that I finally got a wiggle on and finished the book in a few hours. Simply written, Hogan draws you into her world with ease and allows you access into the lives of her characters as if they were your real life friends. I won't deny that it the prose is very simplistic and in hindsight some of the characters are not as developed as they could have been, yet I still enjoyed the storyline. 

The two concurrent narratives throughout the book and cliche ending between Laura and Freddy were predictable, yet I didn't find myself annoyed with Hogan. Instead her lyrical prowess and wit made these moments enjoyable. I will give credit to Hogan for sympathetically writing about a character with Alzheimer’s disease, however, she contrasts this with a heavy handed and cliche portrayal of Summer who has Down’s Syndrome. I found myself felling slightly uncomfortable at times with the overly simplistic and almost comical representation of the character whose sole purpose at times was to provide comedic relief and a bit of a filler. 

Ultimately, I loved the premise of the novel and despite the predictability and slow pace I still enjoyed myself whenever I picked the book up. The novel was original and entertaining and at times this year that's all I wanted. 

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