Welcome to the Holmes Afternoon Book Club blog where we talk about books online. Read the monthly selection along with us and add your comments to the discussion posts using the Post Comments box at the end of each post. Put your email address in the Follow by Email box to get an email notification whenever there's a new blog post.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

What we thought: Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen



Afternoon Readers Book Club
June 2016

Lost Lake
Sarah Addison Allen

Readers enjoyed this book. On the surface it was a light fantasy with interesting characters. Further discussion brought out complex layers of family conflict and questions about reality and imagination. Grieving about death and lost chances permeated the lives of all the characters. People were drawn to Lost Lake to deal with their hopes and dreams and to satisfy their need for companionship and understanding. They were looking for different endings to their life stories.

A ghost and a talking alligator made appearances throughout, but seemed almost normal. Most of the relationships eventually worked out although there were a few surprises. Readers appreciated the quirky characters and discussed them as if their circumstances were real. Maybe they were real. Stranger things have happened. There were many characters but all were essential. Readers talked about them as if they knew them and thought about what would have happened if their stories continued beyond the conclusion.

Addison is a popular author and several of her books have been selections for both the evening and afternoon book clubs. Readers commented on how skillfully she crafted the backgrounds of her characters and integrated them into a complete story. Several have also read her books on their own; Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, The Peach Keeper, First Frost, Waking Kate, and Firefly Dance.

“You can’t change where you come from, but you can change where you go from here. Just like a book. If you don’t like the ending, you can make up a new one.”  Sarah Addison Allen.

Have you read Lost Lake?  What did you think? Please share your thoughts in comments.