Book Review - Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst

Title: Lost and Found
Author: Carolyn Parkhurst
Publisher: Back Bay Books/Little, Brown and Company, 2006
ISBN-10: 0-316-06639-7
ISBN-13: 978-0316-06639-6
Read It: If you prefer fiction sans vampires and cheesy romance, but still fun.

It was the cover image, the barefoot women walking along the beach and carrying a suitcase between them, that first caught my attention. I really wanted something light – a little escapist and fun, but not vapid – to kick off my summer reading challenge. The back cover hints at a "shocking" secret between single mother, Laura, and her teenage daughter, Cassie, who are contestants on a reality TV show that is a globe-trotting scavenger hunt competition with a million dollar prize (think Amazing Race.)

I was a little skeptical about this novel at first, but was pleasantly surprised. There is so much more to the story. The short chapters are narrated in turn by several of the contestants and all of them are trying to escape their own pasts and keep their secrets – which the unscrupulous television producers are bent on revealing. Juliet, for example, is a former child star looking to make a comeback, and Justin and Abby are a married couple who met at a ministry for ex-gays.

Lost and Found is really a satirical novel about the reality TV genre and about the personas people hide behind. The plot is clever, original and unexpectedly complex without being too heavy. And the writing is fast-paced and witty. I did find the multiple narrators to be a little jarring at first, but I quickly got used to it. And I think I was expecting a just a little more drama than the story delivered. But I just fell in love with some of the characters. And, overall, this novel is an intelligent exploration of relationships and identity, with just the right amount of sentiment.

Carolyn Parkhurst lives in Washington, D.C. and is also the author of the bestselling novel, The Dogs of Babel, about a grieving linguist who becomes obsessed with teaching his dog to talk because she is the only witness to his wife's death. I haven't decided whether I want to read this one; the premise doesn't really grab me. But, judging by all the surprises and great characters in Lost and Found, I'm thinking I might like The Dogs of Babel, too. I would love to hear from anyone who has read either of these books.