I really enjoyed this novel, although I found a lot of it sad. I would say it's charming, but sad. There are two main stories being told. Laura, newly divorced from her unfaithful husband, finds employment with an older man, Anthony Peardew, who is an author and the keeper of lost things. Anthony lost the love of his life, Therese, many years ago. She actually died before they married. She had given him a St. Anthony coin and told him to keep it safe. Well, the day she died, Anthony lost the coin. So, he spends the rest of his life mourning the loss of Therese, mourning the loss of the coin, and collecting other "lost" items that he finds. He keeps each lost item and records when and where he found it. Then, he writes books about the items, imagining the significance of each item while telling their story. As a younger man, his stories are positive and happy. As time goes on, his stories turn dark and unhappy. Anthony lives in the same beautiful home that he lived in with Therese. Therese is still "there" - or at least her presence is. She doesn't really "haunt" the house or anything, she just reminds Anthony & Laura that she is there. Sunshine is a young woman with Down Syndrome who befriends Laura after Anthony dies. She senses things about the lost items that no one else does. She actually knows each item's "story" and will discard them if something bad had happened in association with the item. Then there is the gardener, Freddy, who works at the house. Freddy is gorgeous and kind and around Laura's age, so I guess I don't have to spell out what happens there!
The second story is about Bomber and Eunice. Bomber is a publisher and he hires Eunice to be his assistant. Eunice falls in love with Bomber almost immediately, but Bomber is a gay man. So, you would think that Eunice would eventually move on and find someone else. Nope. She loves Bomber. Period. So she spends her live working for him, loving him, and eventually taking care of him when he gets Alzheimer's, like his father before him. Bomber has a horrendous sister named Portia. I sincerely disliked her. She treats everyone terribly - and then does one incredibly generous thing after Bomber's death. Dogs play a significant role in each of these stories, and Bomber has two dogs that he adored. These dogs did NOT like Portia (for good reason). But, in the end, Portia makes an extremely generous donation to a dog rescue. Didn't see that coming! That was her one redeeming act.
In-between these two stories, there are stories of lost items. I wasn't really sure how the two main stories connected - or even if they did connect (which would have been weird), but in the end, they do. The connection allows for a "happy ending", but I was still sad. Anthony pining for Therese his entire life; Eunice loving someone who can't love her back in the same way; two characters (Bomber & his father) wasting away from Alzheimer's; Portia being a total bitch. These are the things that made me sad. Fortunately, Laura, Freddy & Sunshine bring some happiness in too.
Wendy's Rating: ****
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