A young girl moves to New York from Tasmania after her mother passes away. She gets a job at a bookstore full of eccentric employees. In fact, they might be too eccentric. It seems at times that the author is pushing them in our faces and trying to convince readers that we should like these characters. It didn't work for me.

I like the idea of a lost manuscript. Although personally, I'm not a fan of Melville, so I say "Let it stay lost." The quest to find acceptance, friendship, romance, and the manuscript just don't come together for me. Too much searching, looking, and yearning, and not enough just plain storytelling. ( )

The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay is about a young woman from Tasmania, who moves to New York and takes a job in a used book store, where all the employees are real 'characters.' Much intrigue ensues when word of a valuable lost manuscript by Herman Melville comes to light, but even before then, Melville and Moby Dick are a running theme of the book. What's odd is that I've studiously avoided anything Melville since having to (attempt to) read Billy Budd in high school, but after reading this book, where everyone is so enamored of Melville, I'm thinking of tip-toeing back into the waters and giving him another try. Highly recommended. ( )

I have to say this was not one of my favorite books. The story line seems to be a good one young woman with no father, looses mother on birthday. She moves to New York to find her way in life, and in the meantime finds a job at a book store. She meets all the misfits in her daily life and also unknowingly gets herself in the middle of a scandle.
The problem I had was how long it took for anything to really start happening. There where several chapters of nothing but set up. Once the story really started moving, it was ok. I liked the historical links, it was a great bonus.
However, I am not so sure I will recommend it. ( )

This book was a read for a RL book group.

I am rather ambivalent about it. On the one hand I thought the writing was very good. There was a sensual quality at times that made me want to roll around in it.

On the other hand the characters and story were exceptionally bland and uninteresting for most of the book. It picked up at the end, and the introduction of Melville and his lost book was interesting.

The story is about a young, innocent, unbelievably naive 18 year old girl from Tasmania, named Rosemary. She had no father and after her mother died, a family friend sent her to New York City. There is no year given but I suspect it was in the 70s.

In NYC she stays in a run down, cheap, women's residence. She eventually finds work at the Arcade bookstore (modeled on the Strand). Just by walking in and asking.

The bulk of the story is about her trying to navigate the world of the bookstore, and its strange employees, while also building a life in the city. Internally she is trying to deal with the loss of her mother and the abandonment of her father.

The owner and the employees are all odd, but not really interesting. The only character I find interesting is Pearl the cashier who is about to undergo sex reassignment surgery to become a woman anatomically.

Rosemary develops father fixations on several employees, and a romantic crush on one who does not have romance/sex or emotional attachments to either sex. Oscar is not above using Rosemary's attraction to him, for his own gain.

The owner, Mr. Pike, attempts to control the store and the employees. The employees in the sections they are in charge of, are plotting against each other, and trying to meet their own idiosyncratic needs. The plotting is around customers/collectors, sales, and finding rare or coveted books. Information about books is the lifeblood of the store.

The store manager is an albino dwarf, who is also infatuated with Rosemary, but he repels her for most of the book. She ends up getting a loan to allow her to take an apartment, and part of the agreement is that she will become Mr. Geist's Assistant. It is never clear if the loan is from the store or Mr. Geist, and she is off-balance because of it.

With her new position as his Assistant she becomes aware of a letter sent to Mr. Pike that is offering to sell a copy of Melville's lost work. Mr. Geist has intercepted it. She is unable to keep it to herself and she tells Oscar. Oscar believes that Geist is plotting to get the manuscript for himself and sell it for profit, keeping the store and Mr. Pike out of it. Oscar thinks the book belongs in a library or museum.

Rosemary becomes involved in various deceptions in trying to find out who has the book for sale, and who is going to buy it. She has also told the man in the rare book room, a father figure, about the letter.

The theme of Melville's book is supposed to be about remorse, and it seems that the actual story is about that as well. Rosemary wonders if her father who deserted them is remorseful.

She is often remorseful for the actions she takes or doesn't take. She is spinning tales to each about what she has told the other 2 men about the letter, She has also made promises to each not to tell anyone else.

She also makes friends with the woman at the desk of the women's residence, Lillian. A strange hostile woman who turns out to be from Argentina and the mother of a disappeared son taken by the government who never returned, and whose body has never been found.

Lillian and Pearl try to warn Rosemary about her infatuation and imaginary romance with Oscar. It does no good.

The lost Melville book project becomes pubic and has dire repercussions.

The book finally ends, with Rosemary growing up. ( )

I fell in love with the language and writing style of Sheridan Hay in the beginning of this book. By the time I got to Part 3, I was ready to change the title to "The Secret of Lost Interest". Despite the writing style, the development of the main character was really annoying to me. The entire cast of characters in the book are more caricature than character, but Rosemary "for remembrance" was naive, and facile. The arc of the story is about a lost manuscript of Herman Melville's with the theme of loss scattered through out the book. There is a bit of a moral at the end: Things are never lost when you hold them inside your memory.

I really wanted to like this book, but I ended up not liking the main character and her naive motivations. ( )

I love books and read books about books but this one was disappointing. It is a coming of age novel about 18 year old Rosemary whose mother died and her guardian urges her to go to America to find herself. So Rosemary leaves Tasmania and heads to New York. She gets a job at a bookstore with some quirky, actually many are downright creepy characters who at times seem more like caricatures. The plot took a long time to develop and while the part about a lost Melville manuscript was interesting I have never been a big fan of his. I was attracted to this book by the books on the cover and reading the dust jacket drew me in, however the book was not satisfying. Some mystery, some facts about antiquarian books, a bit of coming of age and nice prose at points but overall the book fell short. ( )

I think it was a really amazing book -- and it's the author's first! It follows an 18-year-old who moves to NYC from Tasmania after the death of her mother. She goes to work for an eccentric used bookstore and eventually gets wrapped up in a mystery surrounding a lost Herman Melville manuscript. I never read anything by Melville, but still enjoyed the story. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Hay's language is beautiful, though like others said, it is pretty advanced and a dictionary is definitely handy to have next to you. While I found her writing style lovely, I did find it incongruous for an 18-20 year old protagonist to speak in such a manner.
Now that I think of it, my rating for this novel may simply be because of the language. It was interesting, and I couldn't stop reading, but as others have mentioned the plot sort of ambled along without achieving or revealing any coherent point. I recommend the novel, but I think it is definitely one of those books that people will either like or dislike with little middle ground. ( )

I loved this book. I loved being able to be a voyeur in the quirky and fascinating world of the Arcade. It reminded me of a John Irving novel, with extraordinary, well-developed characters. I couldn't put the book down, but was sad when I finished it, always the mark of a good read. ( )

Set in a bookstore with a cast of quirky characters, this debut novel uses a mystery to unites strangers in finding the things they've lost: friends and family. ( )

i very much liked this book about a very woman from down under who makes her way to NYC. She finds a job in a bookstore, much like I imagine it is to work at Powell's downtown store. Has a number of twists and turns that befall a person adopting a dysfunctional "family". Great curl up Friday night book. ( )

Fills the mind with wonder and excitement. The secret of lost things in a beautifully written novel about a young girl who loses her mother, then proceeds on a journey to New York where she finds employment at the most known bookstore in the city. After beginning her work, Rosemary learns the secrets of the book shop and by the end she must choose sides for her loyalty. A great read, I gave this book more stars than can be counted. If you liked The Shadow Of The WInd, you will love this book.

This book is a story of lost things, both literally, and in every sense.
Rosemary Savage finds herself in New York City, working at a bookstore. The Secret of Lost Things chronicles her time there. Written in first person, it reads like a memoir, written by the now much wiser main character, Rosemary Savage. With literary prose, she tells her coming-of-age story as it leads up to life-altering events that change the way she views the world. The people she encounters seem to all be lost in their own, often strange, ways. Apart from being lost, Rosemary is their common thread. They are not necessarily likable, but the way she sees them is. They all want to teach her something, as if she is the key to being found. There are many parallels between Rosemary’s own journey and those of the people, places, and things around her.
I really liked this book. For one thing, it takes place (mostly) in a bookstore, even if it is a strange one. I loved the many references to Shakespeare, among others, and mostly Herman Melville, whose works are much entangled into Rosemary’s story. She finds that he, too, was lost, in a way. I’ve never read Melville, and this left me wanting to read Moby Dick. I think Rosemary did discover the secret of lost things, but I won’t give that away…you’ll have to read it to determine that for yourself.
The author did a lot of research for this novel, which gives it validity. She explains her sources in an author’s note at the end, and I appreciate that she points out what is fact and what is fiction, as they are interspersed throughout the novel. Not all authors are as clear on that point…I won’t name names….
I would recommend to anyone who likes books about books, with a little mystery and intrigue thrown in among some very colorful (and one not…) characters.
It gets a 5 out of 5 from me. ( )

http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/200... ( )

I loved this well written book. What better than a book about books. The story was gentle and interesting and I enjoyed reading about the life of an Australian in the USA ( )

The main character in this novel, Rosemary moves from Tasmania, Australia to New York after the death of her mother. She has a passion for books and finds a job in a large used bookstore called The Arcade. She makes some friends and becomes involved in some intrigue involving an alleged lost manuscript of Herman Mellville's.

This was an enjoyable read and although the plot meanders with a few too many subplots its strength is the quirky characters that inhabit The Arcade. Amongst the mix is an albino bookstore manager, an immigrant woman with a tragic past, the transsexual cashier and Rosemary's infatuation with a man who is obsessed with note taking and trivia but sadly he doesnt feel the same way about her.

The writing is quite beautiful and definitely an author to watch and I would recommend this a decent read with characters that linger rather than the story. ( )

I cannot honestly justify my fondness for The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay. The plot meanders too much to say that it is tightly constructed. The premise is a bit on the far-fetched side, too much so to praise it. The prose is professional but not exactly poetic. The characters, if I really think about them, are a bit hard to believe. But all that said I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and did not want it to end. I even put off reading it, just so I could delay the ending.

The story concerns a young woman, Rosemary, who leaves her childhood home above her mother's hat shop in Tazmania for the excitement of New York City. Her mother has died, Rosemary takes brings her ashes along, and she has no relations in Tazmania but a long time family friend who owns a small book shop and has encouraged Rosemary to go to New York. Rosemary finds a cheap room in a women-only hotel and gets a job at the Arcade, a wonderful used and antique book store in Manhattan. The rest of the novel is about Rosemary and the people she meets at the hotel and at the Arcade. Some may find the cast of characters is not all that original. There is the refugee woman who runs the desk at Rosemary's hotel, a curmudgeonly old man who runs the antique book section and is losing his eyesight, a pre-operative transsexual, Pearl, who runs the cash register and makes up prices for books on the spot, a Lothario who runs one section of the Arcade and an asexual man, Oscar, who runs the other. Rosemary, of course, falls in love with Oscar in spite of Pearl's stern advice not to.

I just really liked them all. I honestly wouldn't want any of them over for dinner, but as characters in a book, they grew on me. So much so, I can state here and now that if there is ever I sequel, I will buy it. In part, I think this is because I've long had a secret fantasy to own or even just work in a book store. Obviously, I could go and get a part time job in one, my evenings are basically free after four, but I think I'd prefer the fantasy over the reality. The Arcade is just the sort of store I'd like to work in-- full of books, packed to the rafters, new books arriving everyday, with an organizing system that can best be described as loose. The sort of store that holds just the book you've always wanted but didn't know existed. There are few stores like it left in America. I'm guessing the Arcade is based on The Strand Bookstore in Manhattan, but I've been to The Strand; the Arcade sounds much more to my liking.

There is a plot about a lost Herman Melville classic that is set in motion about halfway through the novel, but this did not get in the way of my enjoyment. It also never became my reason for reading. I really just wanted to know what would happen in the Arcade from day to day. I still do. So I'm not exactly sure what sort of recommendation this is, but I am recommending the book. ( )

After losing her mother on her 18th birthday, Rosemary Savage arrives in 1970s New York with nothing more than $300 and a burning need to find something to fill the void. She winds up at the Arcade, a spralling used bookstore characterized by piles of books, acquisitive customers, and eccentric employees. As Rosemary tries to adjust to life away from her native Tasmania, she finds herself drawn into an intrigue surrounding a lost novel by Herman Melville. The mystery element of this story was the weakest part in my opinion- the storyline was neither compelling nor convincing, and too many unanswered questions remained unanswered at the end of the book. Regardless, the beautiful prose was enough to carry this weak story from start to finish. The portraits of the characters were deftly drawn, and I truly felt the pain of Rosemary's extreme naiveté and her awkward relationships with Oscar and Mr. Geist. The writing is lyrical and dense, a festival for the eyes and brain that called to mind another novel of literary discovery- [book: The Thirteenth Tale]. Though I wish the details of the mystery had been more fully fleshed, I highly recommend this book for the power of the writing alone. ( )

After the recent death of her mother, eighteen year old Rosemary Savage, alone in the world, moves from a small village in Tasmania to New York City to start a new life. She finds employment at the Arcade, a large used book emporium where she tries to find "family" among the rag-tag and eccentric employees, involving herself in an intrigue over a manuscript supposedly written by Herman Melville.

This is a coming of age story that I mostly enjoyed, and parts of it are beautifully written, but not a book that I am likely to read again. I had some difficulty with Rosemary's immaturity and neediness and kept expecting her to make wiser decisions and to figure out that she would never be able to find herself in an environment where everyone else was more lost than she was. ( )

Rosemary Savage is lost in every sense of the word. Her mother has recently died, and Rosemary is newly arrived in New York City from Australia. Alone and desperate, she ducks into a used bookshop one day and becomes mesmerized. The Arcade (which resembles The Strand in real-life New York) is a sea of books, a place for the lost Rosemary to find herself, or perhaps to vanish even more. She marvels at the knowledge contained within and decides that she has to work there, no matter what it takes. She is reluctantly hired by the owner, George Pike, and his albino manager, Walter Geist. And so Rosemary unwittingly steps into this tale of intrigue and suspicion in which everyone and everything is lost and cannot be found.

The Secret of Lost Things hosts an interesting cast of characters, which may be its strongest attribute. The enigmatic Pike and the troubled Geist are just the beginning. There is Pearl, a transsexual who aspires to be an opera singer; Oscar, the emotionally unavailable but brilliant man who captures Rosemary’s heart; and Lillian, the Argentinean woman whose son is missing, presumed dead. Add to that Chap, Mr. Mitchell, and Art, and the reader finds a whirlwind of oddity and deception surrounding the innocence so vividly embodied within Rosemary.

Where The Secret of Lost Things seems to be lacking is in the literary thriller area. It is evident that the book was written to be a tale of literary suspense; here it does not succeed. The novel involves a lost manuscript of Herman Melville’s called The Isle of the Cross. (Apparently, this is actually a true story – Melville’s publisher rejected the manuscript and it has since been lost). Rosemary stumbles upon references to it with Mr. Geist and takes Oscar into her confidence, an indication of her sheer innocence. Rosemary becomes entangled within the web of lies at the Arcade which surround this lost work and eventually plunges headlong into disaster.

While this should be compelling, it simply isn’t. There is something, some element of literary suspense that is critical to the genre, that is missing from Hay’s work. It is tricky to put a finger on exactly what is wrong, but upon reading the book, the slow pace and difficulty to make any headway into the novel signal that there is something wrong.

The book also does not have a satisfying ending. Like the novel itself, the conclusion is ambiguous and the reader is left wondering if any of it was actually real. In novels, there is a healthy level of ambiguity, but this seems to take it one step too far.

While The Secret of Lost Things is a bit of a disappointment on the literary mystery level, it is still worth reading, if only for the eccentric cast of characters that Hay depicts. Any book lover would probably enjoy this novel, but those outside of that characterization will most likely find it rather dull. Overall, it is worth reading – the vivid descriptions of the Arcade will make any reader wish to find employment at a bookstore.

Originally published at Curled Up With a Good Book and reprinted at http://www.skrishnasbooks.com ( )

A coming of age story. The first half was slow going, it was mostly vignettes about all the employees/characters. When Rosemary moved into her own 'apartment' - which was in a slum neighborhood and very run down - I found it hard to believe a naive young girl would stay there alone. I also found it hard to believe she let herself be seduced by the albino who was her manager. The ending was not much of a surprise to me. While Hay's writing is excellent, next time I hope she chooses a more interesting subject. I don't know if I'd recommend this to anyone I know. ( )

This was actually quite decent, but I'm feeling very stingy with my stars lately. Blame all the bad fiction I've been reading. I liked all the quirky characters populating the novel and, of course, loved the fiction about fiction angle. The writing was better than decent, but the plot was a bit slow in showing itself. Still no desire to read Moby Dick. ( )

I enjoyed the book, I love books about books, but think the author needs more polish.(Tthis refers to the advance reader copy.) ( )

The Arcade is fashioned after the Strand bookstore on 12th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. With over 55,000 square feet of books, the Strand is just as dusty and packed as Hay’s Arcade. Once one of 48 bookstores in Manhattan’s Book Row, today the Strand is the only one left. The language Hay uses transported me back to the days I spent roaming in the city and in the Strand.

Unfortunately, Hay’s main character started to drive me nuts by the end of the book. I really just wanted to shake her. Some strange, distasteful, and, I thought, unnecessary events toward the end of the book really turned me off. Too bad, it started with such promise. Full review: http://passionforthepage.blogspot.com... ( )

A literary mystery can be just the thing you need, particularly when you're sick and stuck at home over the weekend as I was, so it was delightful to find The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay on a Barnes & Noble table... A young redhead named Rosemary just starting her life in Manhattan by working at a bookstore and becoming involved in a secret that involves a lost Melville novel? Naturally, I purchased it on the spot.

But I'm sorry to say that there was one scene that seemed to rather exemplify the whole experience of reading this novel for me... and my summary is not for the faint of heart, so kids, turn back now. The scene is this: an ailing albino with an obsessive interest in the narrator manages (without any arm-twisting or pressure) to get her alone in the rare books room, where he ejaculates into her hand and then assumes an unearned intimacy to their relationship and conversation... shortly before the speedy conclusion to the story.

Granted, the reading of this book was a much less sticky situation, and to be fair, Rosemary/we didn't put up a struggle when she/we found ourselves being groped by our albino manager/reading this book. He asked if she was okay and then suggested that she might be "unsatisfied." I latched onto this word and found it hard to forget as the book spiralled into its quick conclusion. As the reader, I too felt unsatisfied (and not because of a poor sex scene). Perhaps "unsatisfied" isn't even the right word... "disappointed" is a better fit. The book didn't quite build up my sense of anticipation to make "unsatisfied" a qualifiable adjective for my feelings at the end of what was supposed to be a literary mystery.

I was disappointed on two levels... one, that the story had all the intriguing details and none of the complicated interconnectedness that one usually finds in a mystery... and two, that the writing was better than the tale being told and so the author's potential remained buried.

I found the tale at the heart of this novel a great draw in the beginning and a great let-down at the end. As a bibliophile, how could I really turn away from a story like this? A missing Melville novel and a young woman working in a labyrinthine bookstore? It taps into some daydream that literate young women have, kept on the shelf besides the one where we open a book store in a small town. The cast of characters seemed just odd enough for a literary mystery (aside from the open-hearted pre-operative transsexual named Pearl with her wealthy boyfriend)... mostly comprised of older men with various issues (which includes the aforementioned albino manager). In addition, the author brought a wealth of knowledge to the table about various subjects with the tantalizing idea that there might be a more fantastic secret to unearth. All the elements were there, why didn't it work?

Well, partially because the author wasn't trying to write the DaVinci Code or the Thirteenth Tale... the author ultimately decided to write about loss, whereas the book jacket promised adventure. Things did not connect, they remained in their own worlds and Rosemary just did her best to absorb all this information about loss and pain and frustration. One person's past did not converge with another's, the Melville novel did not turn up, the albino died. You can't blame this on the hype of marketing, because for a time, even Hay/Rosemary is caught up in research and is ducking behind bookshelves to eavesdrop on conversations. Perhaps Hay thought she was writing something more of a mystery before being unable to find a conclusion for that kind of story. In the usual literary mystery, all of these characters and detailed subjects should have been interwoven in a complex thread that made the main character realize everything was connected... but no. They weren't. All that Hay could come up with on this front was the knowledge that everyone was hungry for something they lost or never had... and each person dealt with this pain in a different way.

Putting aside my issues with the story (though really, by throwing in an albino, you're already on your way down, I don't care what kind of allusions you're making to Moby Dick), I should say that my true disappointment was with a writer who set us up with the promise of a literary mystery, allusions to other intriguing topics, and complicated characters... but then leaves us... unsatisfied.

Our young narrator cannot be to blame, but because of the coming-of-age factor, you knew from the get-go that nothing else would be solved, nothing would be revealed, and the lost thing that we would mourn was the chance an editor let go to help shape a better novel by getting the author to whittle down the scope a bit. I'm not asking to regain The Isle of the Cross or anything, but Rosemary was never going to see a bigger picture when she was too distracted by the stories around her. Topics like the Argentinian Dirty War are practically thrown in for color, illustrating what real loss is as a mother mourns her son who disappeared. A bigger, unifying idea like a lost novel was never going to come to anything. In the end, I felt like each character and topic was an unfinished short story that should have been explored more fully on its own, but instead we're left with blank pages instead of a Melville novel.

On that note, though, I might say that all is not lost in the reading of this novel. I did enjoy this author's writing style and as a result, I would be willing to read her work again. For all my quibbling between "unsatisfied" and "disappointed," if I cared enough to write out my frustrations with the book, Hay must have done something right, if only draw me in with the promise of her story and style. If you are a person who likes books about books, then you should at least enjoy part of this novel... though I hope that Sheridan Hay's next endeavor does not leave me with the impression that an uncomfortable sexual encounter can be illustrative of my encounter with her book as a whole. ( )