The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’ve enjoyed Patrick’s previous novels, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper and Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone each of which had good, heart-warming stories, likable characters, and were well-written, but neither of them provoked the strong emotions in me that this, her third novel, did. And they were mostly not good emotions.
The Library of Lost and Found is the story of Martha who is lost in her own life after losing love twice. First when she was a teenager and her parents announced that her best friend, her nana Zelda, was dead, and second when she lost her chance at love when she chose to stay behind to care for her aging parents. When an unusual book finds its way to her, though, it brings up memories of the past she’s tried to bury by filling her life with small, unappreciated jobs for others. Martha’s story was painfully familiar to me at times and affected me deeply at a particularly emotional time in my own life. The strongest emotion I felt, however, was anger. The way that many of the people in her life treated Martha – the villagers that she helped, her sister, her boss (what a pig!), and – in the past – her father (and occasionally her mother) often left me in a rage. Even Martha herself upset me, especially early on in the story, when she allowed these people to walk all over her.
In the end, though, the story is an empowering one as Martha learned not just the truth about her past but about who she still is and can be. After all of the ups and downs of Martha’s journey, the end was a bit of a rush from deep emotion and moments of self-realization to happy families in a matter of paragraphs. I felt that the reconciliations and moments of healing between Martha and her family and herself could have been expanded.
The Library of Lost and Found is not the first story of a woman who has lost her direction or sense of self after tough times and sacrifices that have affected me deeply. In fact, you might say that I have a love/ hate relationship with these stories. Sometimes I hate the emotions books like Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigiani make me feel. Sometimes I love the hope and empowerment I find in others such as The Late Bloomers Club by Louise Miller.
I was really looking forward to reading this book for a couple of reasons. One, I’d read Patrick’s first novel, 
This uplifting book was recommended to me by both my mother who listened to the audiobook earlier this year and my friend at the local library who has made so many wonderful recommendations before so I was anxious to read it. I was not disappointed. This novel about Arthur Pepper, a widower who on the first anniversary of his beloved wife’s death finds among her things an expensive charm bracelet he has never seen before is a charming, heartwarming, and empowering story. Curiosity about the bracelet and the unique charms leads him on a journey of discovery not only about his wife’s life before meeting him but about himself, the people in his life, love, and the world at large. His path is a winding one with turns that bring pain and some that bring joy during which he meets a wonderful cast of characters who each add something to his life. Despite the weight of Arthur’s grief and the importance of the lessons to be found in his story, there is a gentleness and a wonderful sense of humor to the story that makes you want to stay in Arthur’s world long after the final page.
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