The Keeper Of Lost Things

Ruth Hogan Two Roads €23.79 Erstwhile writer Anthony Peardew spent half a lifetime collecting lost property: buttons, umbrellas, gloves, even a biscuit tin. As his collection grew, he created fictional narratives for each of the lost items and hoped to one day restore them to their rightful owners. On his death, both his house and his life’s task are bequeathed to his unsuspecting housekeeper. This whimsical debut about the vicissitudes of love is disarming and irritating. Its characters are slightly one-dimensional and its plot has a certain predictability, but ultimately one is beguiled by its old-fashioned sweetness.

Simon Humphreys