[R1T]⋙ PDF The Secret of Lost Things A Novel Sheridan Hay 9780385518482 Books

The Secret of Lost Things A Novel Sheridan Hay 9780385518482 Books

Download As PDF : The Secret of Lost Things A Novel Sheridan Hay 9780385518482 Books

The Secret of Lost Things A Novel Sheridan Hay 9780385518482 Books

This story tells a year from the life of the sixteen-year-old Rosemary Savage who comes from Tasmania to NewYork City. Although the novel also covers the backstory of the protagonist in the beginning chapters, the real action in the book takes place during the year Rosemary works in a specialty bookstore in Manhattan.

Young, inexperienced, and alone in Manhattan, Rosemary ends up in the Martha Washington Hotel for Women and through whim and instinct or the grace of Fate, she manages to secure a job in a major bookstore, the Arcade, which mostly specializes in rare and used books for collectors. Each section in the bookstore is filled with eccentric and original characters. Without going too much into the plot, I can say that this author’s art shines through her depiction of these characters as well as that of the protagonist.

Around the half-point mark in the book, the plot twists into a slight mystery-suspense regarding a lost manuscript written by Herman Melville, but still, the novel doesn't lose its original intent of being a coming-of-age story. In fact, the strength of human spirit is especially stressed in this young girl’s determination of overcoming the difficulties on her path and seizing the control of her life.

Since I love bookstores and all novels where books are a major part of them, I enjoyed this story very much. The novel, in general, is a bit sad, yet sweet, gentle, and hopeful and offers several thought-provoking moments. Although I had the feeling that Sheridan Hay did push Rosemary to succeed instead of letting her decide, this didn’t take away from the author's art and astute insight into characterization, especially where the other people that came into Rosemary’s life were concerned.

The storytelling is fluid with beautifully chosen words but without being florid and ornate; therefore, just the storytelling alone encourages a reader to read without stopping.


Tags : The Secret of Lost Things: A Novel [Sheridan Hay] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A missing manuscript A young woman's voyage of discovery And the curious bookshop where it all begins... In this charming novel about the eccentricities and passions of booksellers and collectors,Sheridan Hay,The Secret of Lost Things: A Novel,Doubleday,038551848X,Australians;New York (State);New York;Fiction.,Booksellers and bookselling;Fiction.,Bookstores;Employees;Fiction.,Australians,Booksellers and bookselling,Bookstores,Employees,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Literary,Fiction-General,GENERAL,General Adult,Literary,New York,New York (State),POPULAR AMERICAN FICTION,United States

The Secret of Lost Things A Novel Sheridan Hay 9780385518482 Books Reviews

this is an engaging book about a young girl (18) who comes to america and lands a job in a bookstore. The novel has well rounded characters as seen through Rosemary's eyes. I enjoyed reading it and would possibly read it again to enjoy the characters. Central to the theme is an actual historical accounting of letters between Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne. I give it 4 stars for a good read and excellent character development. I disagree with the author about what exactly is "The Secret of Lost Things" but that is what makes people different and interesting. For her the secret is one thing for me, something entirely different. I would definitely recommend this novel for a great read.
Sheridan Hay in "The Secret of Lost Things" gives us a sweetly sad coming of age tale in the guise of a memento mori, whose heroine repeats the author’s giant step from island to island, from Tasmania to Manhattan. Eighteen-year–old Rosemary Savage, a blazing red-head, was always fatherless, having been raised by her hat-shop owner mother whose funeral propels her to America. She is on a trip of discovery funded by her literary mom, the owner of the bookstore she has worked in. Once she is in New York, thanks to a caring cabby she is installed in a single-women’s residence on 23rd St, ruled by her next mother surrogate, Lillian (part-owner and night clerk), a Chilean expatriate whose son was ‘disappeared.’ She goes to work in the Arcade because she ‘must,’ just as Hay took a job in the Strand bookstore, since it’s the appropriate place for her to find a father. She has always imagined her Dad as a passing Pacific sailor, like Ishmael—hence Hay’s devotion to Melville and Moby Dick. (Which carries on in her present work as a reading group leader at the Center for Fiction.) But the store owner is an Ahab, his manager a white ghost, his rare-book-head dying, the art book specialist is into Mapplethorpe, the heavy-lifting shipper is a potential rapist, and cataloger Oscar, whom she wants, has frozen women out of his life. Even Pearl, the only other woman employee, who constantly tells her ‘girls must stick together,’ is saving up for a tranny operation that will make her a man. The stew thickens as we learn that the Arcade, is more than a remainder house because its estate purchases can yield rare books and manuscripts. Rosemary is caught up in a scheme intended to keep a rare Melville ms in public hands, as a result she finally can open her Tasmanian parting gift, which turns out to be a copy of "The Tempest"—she is no longer savage Caliban and ready to become Miranda. This is a beautifully written book, suggesting Hay’s next novel, set in Venice with a surprisingly new American literary focus, will be important.
This story tells a year from the life of the sixteen-year-old Rosemary Savage who comes from Tasmania to NewYork City. Although the novel also covers the backstory of the protagonist in the beginning chapters, the real action in the book takes place during the year Rosemary works in a specialty bookstore in Manhattan.

Young, inexperienced, and alone in Manhattan, Rosemary ends up in the Martha Washington Hotel for Women and through whim and instinct or the grace of Fate, she manages to secure a job in a major bookstore, the Arcade, which mostly specializes in rare and used books for collectors. Each section in the bookstore is filled with eccentric and original characters. Without going too much into the plot, I can say that this author’s art shines through her depiction of these characters as well as that of the protagonist.

Around the half-point mark in the book, the plot twists into a slight mystery-suspense regarding a lost manuscript written by Herman Melville, but still, the novel doesn't lose its original intent of being a coming-of-age story. In fact, the strength of human spirit is especially stressed in this young girl’s determination of overcoming the difficulties on her path and seizing the control of her life.

Since I love bookstores and all novels where books are a major part of them, I enjoyed this story very much. The novel, in general, is a bit sad, yet sweet, gentle, and hopeful and offers several thought-provoking moments. Although I had the feeling that Sheridan Hay did push Rosemary to succeed instead of letting her decide, this didn’t take away from the author's art and astute insight into characterization, especially where the other people that came into Rosemary’s life were concerned.

The storytelling is fluid with beautifully chosen words but without being florid and ornate; therefore, just the storytelling alone encourages a reader to read without stopping.