Introduction

From London to Corsica to Paris--as a young woman pursues the truth about her late mother, two captivating love stories unfurl.

Kate Darling's enigmatic mother--a once-famous ballerina--has passed away, leaving Kate bereft. When her grandmother falls ill and bequeaths to Kate a small portrait of a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Kate's mother, Kate uncovers a mystery that may upend everything she thought she knew.

Kate's journey to find the true identity of the woman in the portrait takes her to some of the world's most iconic and indulgent locales, revealing a love story that began in the wild 1920s and was disrupted by war and could now spark new love for Kate. Alternating between Kate's present-day hunt and voices from the past, THE BOOK OF LOST AND FOUND casts light on family secrets and love-both lost and found.

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Excerpt

A woman approaches. “Have you a light, darling?” Her accent is regally, glassily precise, the very apotheosis of Englishness, though her outfit of ballooning silk pantaloons and tight fuchsia jerkin is pure Scheherazade. An imp’s face — not pretty, too pinched about the eyes, the front teeth too long — but interesting, all the same. An androgynous sparrow’s body and hair, shingled below the ears, of an unfeasibly lurid apricot hue. Then suddenly he recognizes her. He doesn’t read the ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1) The Book of Lost and Found takes place in several appealing locations — Corsica, Paris, New York, and London — and during iconic moments in world history, like the Roaring Twenties. Was there a particular moment or place you loved reading about and looking forward to circling back to?

2) How do the decisions made by both Kate and Alice reflect their respective eras? Did you empathize with one woman more than the other?

3) At one point while living in France, Alice says to Sophie: “The problem is, Sophie, I’m so far now from the person I was before that none of it seems real. It would be like telling a fairy tale,” to which Sophie responds: “I disagree. I think we carry all of our past selves with us, in tight layers. Somewhere within you is that girl, however many other, new selves you may have grown in the years since. She’s what holds you together, at the very center” (page 351). Do you agree or disagree with Sophie?

4) At one point, Tom says, “I have a theory . . . that the most precious memories can be damaged with too much handling” (page 146). Do you have any memories like that — ones that are almost too precious to share with others? Discuss the ways that sharing a memory can change or affect that memory, and the ways that time can distort our memory of people and events.

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