This reading group guide for The Land of Lost Things includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author John Connolly . The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book . Introduction The redemptive power of stories and family is revealed in New York Times bestselling author John Connolly''s atmospheric tale set in the same magical universe as the "enchanting, engrossing, and enlightening" ( South Florida Sun Sentinel ) The Book of Lost Things . "Twice upon a time--for that is how some stories should continue ." Phoebe, an eight-year-old girl, lies comatose following a car accident--a body without a spirit. Ceres, her mother, can only sit by her bedside and read aloud the fairy stories Phoebe loves in the hope they might summon her back to this world. But an old house on the hospital grounds, a property connected to a book written by a vanished author, is calling to Ceres.

Something wants her to enter, to journey to a land colored by the memories of childhood and the folklore beloved by her father--a land of witches and dryads, giants and mandrakes; a land where old enemies are watching and waiting. The Land of Lost Things. Topics and Questions for Discussion 1. Whether it is Ceres''s hope in the face of death or the complex moral compasses of the characters, ambivalence is a strong theme in The Land of Lost Things . Where do you find ambivalence in the novel? 2. Within the story, the novel tells a few fables, such as "The Tale of the Two Dancers" and "The Woodsman''s First Tale." What purposes do you think these fables serve for the main storyline? 3. What parallels do you see between the fables and the events in the main story? 4.

Each chapter title is a word written in an archaic language, such as Old English, Old Norse, and others, with the modern English translation underneath. What do you think is the reason for this? 5. Before the ultimate death of the Huntress, Ceres tells the bear-man and badger-woman, "as long as you prolong her agony, you remain her captives . but by inflicting this torture, you compound your own." Given the pain the Huntress had caused, do you think that the Huntress should have died or do you think she should have stayed alive in order to suffer? 6. How did you feel about the author''s subversive take on the traditional story of Rapunzel? 7. Elsewhere is a land of various settings, from the witches'' house to the fortress village Salaama to Balwain''s territory. Whether in terms of story or the descriptions, which setting was your favorite to read about? 8.

The novel creates sweeping new lore, from the village of Salaama to the Fae''s terror on mankind to the politics of Balwain''s land. Which part of the novel''s lore did you want to learn more about? 9. In the chapter titled "Swicere," the author gives context to all the nobles in the council, but the Fae swiftly kills them soon thereafter. Why do you think the author takes the time to introduce in depth these characters who will be shortly slaughtered? 10. Throughout the novel, the characters describe the Crooked Man as a terrible, insidious, conniving being. Toward the end, the Crooked Man appears to Ceres in a horrible body made up of various insects. What did you expect the Crooked Man''s appearance to be? 11. As the story develops, you learn that Calio is more than they seem, in appearance and in character.

As their life concludes, what are your thoughts on the last dryad and their final act of saving Ceres, rather than taking her life? 12. Do you think that Ceres should have taken the Woodsman''s offer of having Ceres and Phoebe live in Elsewhere? 13. In the last chapter, "Wyrd-Writere" or "One Who Writes an Account of Events," Ceres writes, "Twice upon a time--for that is how some stories should continue--there was a mother whose daughter was stolen from her--". What do you think of the novel''s loop structure? 14. The last sentence of the novel (". as the pen caresses the page, a finger moved") implies that while the future is uncertain, Phoebe may survive her coma. In terms of story, do you think Phoebe should survive the coma or not survive the coma? 15. In the chapter "Leawfinger," the book introduces the idea that "in stories, as in life, there are no secondary characters.

Each of us is the center of our own universe ." After finishing this novel, which character''s story would you want further explored after the events of The Land of Lost Things ? Enhance Your Book Club 1. In The Book of Lost Things , the main character is a boy, and in this novel, the main character is a woman. Discuss how the novel would be different if the genders were reversed in The Land of Lost Things. 2. With the fantasy settings, vivid characters, and adventurous scenes, The Land of Lost Things would make a great film or television adaptation. What parts of the novel would you love to see in live action? Who would be in the cast? Do you think this would be better as a film or a television series? 3. The novel features familiar creatures: the Fae, the harpies, the dryads, and more.

Whether it be other fantasy novels or resources on mythology, look into them and discuss the differences between the author''s depictions of these fantasy creatures and your observations of them in other media. 4. Phoebe''s fate remains uncertain at the end of the novel. Does she live or die? Discuss: In either case, what might the future hold for both Ceres and Phoebe? 5. Read (or re-read) The Book of Lost Things with your book club and compare it to The Land of Lost Things in terms of the writing and the roles and characteristics of the recurring characters. A Conversation with John Connolly Q: What inspired you to create the character of Ceres? A: When I wrote The Book of Lost Things , I had only recently become a parent (to two boys, my now-wife''s children). That first book is very much about childhood and the transition to adulthood, perhaps in part because I was watching these younger people dealing with the same, but also because it may have reminded me of my own childhood, on which I drew for the character of David. But now, seventeen years have gone by, and I''m a very different person.

One of my sons is married, and both he and his brother are living abroad. I worry about them, and I worry about my mother, who is in her nineties. I suppose these are the issues that confront us at a particular stage of adulthood: worrying about our children and our parents. The next stage, I think, is just having people worry about us. In the book, Ceres is dealing with similar issues, but in the case of her daughter, Ceres''s worries are much more painful than the norm. There''s a part of her that would like to escape, to relieve herself of the burden of care and worry. When she enters Elsewhere in The Land of Lost Things , she''s forced to confront some of these emotions, and the implications of them. Q: After all these years since the publication of The Book of Lost Things , how did you feel about revisiting the character David, who is now an adult, in this fresh story line? A: Actually, when I sat down to write the novel I didn''t know that David would return.

I don''t tend to plan books in that way. Usually, I''ll just start with an idea, or an image, and see where that takes me. When I began The Land of Lost Things , I knew only that it would involve a mother with a very sick daughter, and she would travel to a land similar to the one in The Book of Lost Things , but that land would be altered by her experiences and by the stories and myths she recalls from her childhood. Gradually, the story found its way to David--or David found his way to the story. Q: Which character in The Land of Lost Things do you relate to the most? A: Perhaps Ceres, because of what I said earlier. Sometimes, when we''re young, or when we''re angry with our parents, we don''t realize just how much of their time is spent being concerned about us and how much they miss us when we''re not around. Because Ceres''s daughter is unresponsive, Ceres is in a situation where she can see and touch her daughter, but can''t communicate with her. Phoebe is both present and absent, and the strain takes a terrible toll on her mother.

But I also feel that Calio may be one of the most interesting characters in the book. They''re so embittered, so alone, but as we come to realize, they''re a kind of storehouse of memories and identities, the last of their kind. I can understand why Calio is the way they are. Q: How was your experience writing from the perspective of a woman in her thirties, as opposed to the young David in The Book of Lost Things ? A: First of all, I''m very resistant to the argument that writers shouldn''t explore the thoughts and lives of those different from them, because that exploration is the first step toward empathy and understanding. As for writing from a female perspective, I''ve spent much of my adult life with the same woman, watching how she has dealt with motherhood, and listening to her speak of it. My expe.