Phaedra Patrick’s ‘The Library of Lost and Found’ Is Charming and Addictive [REVIEW]

Can one book change your life? (Photo by Suzy Hazelwood, Flickr)

A shy librarian. A mysterious book. Once she opens it, there is no going back to life as she has always known it. Discover the secrets buried in the pages of Phaedra Patrick’s delicious new novel, The Library of Lost and Found. 

Park Row Books

People are complicated, at least for bookish librarian Martha Storm, a woman who has never quite managed to figure out how to connect with the people around her. That isn’t to say that she doesn’t give it the old College Joe try. After all, she keeps fastidious notes about how she can help other people. Despite all that, she never quite succeeds in bridging the gap between her and the rest of the human race.

That all changes, however, when she finds a book of fairy tales on her doorstep. Inside, she discovers the book has been dedicated to her by the one woman she misses most in the world—her grandmother Zelda—a woman who has been dead for years… or so she thought… until she locates a clue that may indicate Zelda is still alive and well. Determined to uncover the truth, she follows a trail that leads to a trove of long-buried family secrets that will undoubtedly rock her world.

As a lifelong bibliophile, I can’t help but be charmed by Martha Storm’s personality. A librarian who truly treasures books, Storm shares with readers her passion for the written word as well as what it represents to her: a way to communicate with the world. For her, relating to a tangible object is much easier than connecting to a human being with thoughts, feelings and emotions which are different from her own.

In The Library of Lost and Found, Patrick describes Martha’s home as a place piled high with projects in various levels of completion. To me this sounds like total chaos, but to Martha it makes sense. I must admit, I almost stopped reading this novel because I was getting anxious envisioning her living space and wondered, “How can she live like this?” Ultimately, however, this scene helps me understand Martha’s frame of mind and how she processes the world.

Every human needs to be needed. For Martha, she makes lists and commits to projects so she can be close to others. And so Patrick opens the way for Martha to lodge in our hearts as we learn of her love for books, writing and her precious Nana named Zelda.

The pages of this novel are filled with poignant stories which take readers back to their own childhoods and as a result, these scenes never quite leave our minds and hearts. Patrick uses Martha’s life to demonstrate that these moments with those we love take on increased meaning as we grow to adulthood. When a book filled with stories she made up as a child arrives in the mail from another bookseller, Martha learns that some stories really do change your life forever, in ways one may never imagine.

Don’t miss Phaedra Patrick’s cozy new read, The Library of Lost and Found. Subtly nuanced and richly developed, charming and addictive, this is a novel every book club should read. It speaks to the heart and explores our own love affair with the stories that populate our lives from childhood. 

Phaedra Patrick
(Photo by Sam Ralph)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Phaedra Patrick is the author of Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone and The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, which has been published in over 20 countries around the world.

She studied art and marketing, and has worked as a stained-glass artist, film festival organizer and communications manager. An award-winning short story writer, she now writes full time.

She lives in Saddleworth, UK, with her husband and son. Visit her home on the Web at Phaedra-Patrick.com, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

THE LIBRARY OF LOST AND FOUND
By Phaedra Patrick
352 pp. Park Row Books. $24.99

Purchase The Library of Lost and Found at one of these fine online retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, and Powell’s.

The Library of Lost and Found is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.