Author: Amanda Block
Publish Date: July 08, 2021
The Lost Storyteller is a beautiful Literary Fiction that explores complex family relationships and mental health. Through seven original fairy-tales written by her long absent father, main character Rebecca is reintroduced to a man she barely knows while trying to solve the mystery of his disappearance. Where I struggled to connect with Rebecca and felt the story could be a little more streamlined, I was still enraptured by the clever and beautiful way this story unfolds. This book is perfect for readers looking for a character/relationship focused story with a little bit of whimsy thrown in.
Not wanting to risk the hurt that can come with pursuing ambitions again, Rebecca finds herself alone and stuck in a dead end job. The monotony of everyday life threatens to drag into eternity until a journalist named Ellis shows up at Rebecca’s office looking for her father. Once the famous lead actor on a show called The Stowaway, Leo Sampson had suddenly disappeared from the public eye soon after disappearing from Rebecca’s life when she was very young. Though she had not thought much about the father she could barely remember, Ellis’s appearance dredged up questions and feelings that have long been buried. Rebecca’s curiosity is stirred even further when her grandmother gives her a book of seven fairy tales written for her by her father. As Ellis and Rebecca begin their search for the missing Leo, these stories might be the key to reconnecting.
I found the fairy tales a beautiful and clever way to tell Leo’s story. Whimsical with a slightly dark twist, these stories felt like true classic stories. Though it takes Rebecca a while to catch on, each story is deeply symbolic and reveals Leo’s personal journey in a unique and intimate way. This is layered on top of the complex feelings and opinions Rebecca’s family seems to have about Leo that they refuse to share. Though Rebecca finds herself ready to delve back into the past, the same cannot be said for her other family members. This book not only does a wonderful job characterizing complex family relationships, but is great at showing how easily the social balance can shift under pressure.
Though I liked seeing the family dynamics and seeing how Rebecca’s journey affected those around her, most of the ‘in between’ sections were longer than they needed to be. A good example of this is Rebecca’s grandmother’s birthday dinner at the beginning of the book. There are some key moments during the dinner that ultimately leads Rebecca receiving the book of fairy tales. However, this section of the story also includes the walk from Rebecca’s house to her grandmother’s among other extraneous details that don’t really add to the development of the story or characters. It is fine to have this fluff on occasion, but there are definitely moments and developments that drag on more than they should because of it.
Special thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC!
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