Lost and Found: A Novel
by Carolyn Parkhurst
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Book Summary Information
Author: Carolyn ParkhurstEdition: Paperback
Published: 2007-07-03
ISBN: 0316066397
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Reviews of Lost and Found: A Novel
Book Review: Cameras and money which is what the show is really about.
Summary: 4 Stars
Skewering the world of reality television, author Carolyn Parkhurst in her ingenious new novel Lost and Found conjures up a heady and sophisticated brew and an almost surreal treatise on the human condition. It's hard to combine satire with drama, but Parkhurst does it most effectively as several couples traversing world racing against one another to take home the first prize of one million dollars.
The game is unique and fun, and the clues are complex and multifaceted and although the scavenger hunt theme is rather silly, it's still an adventure show where intelligence is counted as much as physical prowess. There is certainly no room for compromise as Parkhurst anchors her story with several couples as they journey from Egypt to Japan, from Sweden to England and from Ireland on to the United States, carrying with them a parrot, a ski pole, and some sequins and all the assorted other treasures they have procured along the way.
Obviously the shows producers have chosen the contestants for histrionic propensities, after all "cameras and money are what the show is really about." Laura and Cassie, the mother-daughter couple, is this big bomb ticking away with secrets - and it's as though the producers are just waiting for them to explode. Cassie was pregnant and had a baby without her mother knowing; she didn't set out to hide her pregnancy, but by the time she'd hauled herself down to the local clinic, it was too late for a regular abortion.
Laura is wracked with guilt at how she missed it all; on the scale of maternal lapses this one ranks pretty high. Fighting a kind of maniac depression, Cassie traces her unhappiness back to her school-girl crush on Mia - it gives her a little thrill inside to think about the time when she had those feelings, it didn't seem possible and nobody new about it but her.
Whilst the beautiful B-grade television star Juliet ponders seducing Cassie, Justin and Abby fight to rid themselves of homosexuality. Abby met Justin three years ago through Redemption, an ex-gay ministry. Full of shame and hatred at their sexual orientation, they think they've left "the darkness of shame for the light of God's love." Barbara, the host and Oliver, the producer, think they're both terrific fodder for an emotional blow up.
In alternating chapters, Parkhurst beautifully unveils her characters' points of view, exposing the miscommunications, disappointments and expectations of this bunch of mismatched and emotionally fraught contestants. Will Carl and Laura develop a romantic attachment? Will Juliet come onto Cassie? Will Cassie and Laura make peace with each other? And will Abby and Justin overcome their guilt at being gay?
The game steadily progresses, the cameras are always turned on, and as each character gets closer to taking home the million bucks, they steadily reveal their shame and sorrow, and regrets "as ugly as scars." The real meat of the game - and of the novel - lies in how well these people read their clues, keep track of their objects, weather the confusion of travel, navigate foreign cities, and work with their partner.
Of course, the game eventually reaches a climax and certain participants begin to fall apart weighed down by stress and pent-up anger - above all Justin, who reveals that his physical shell is nothing to him, with all of it's tumult and want. The petty grievances, the festering grudges and the closeted attractions begin to assert themselves: Laura and Cassie's relationship is changed by their burdens, Abby is obligated to rethink her whole fraudulent life, particularly her marriage to Justin, and Juliet is forced to come to terms with her celebrity mortality.
Parkhurst imbeds her unique story with all the tawdry drama of a reality series, in the process, exposing her characters hopes, dreams and unsullied expectations. Finally faced with his deep-seated prejudices, Justin embarks on a course of action, which ends up having severe repercussions for the entire show - ironically it provides the stuff of great television and in the process makes the show a potentially huge ratings winner. Mike Leonard August 06.
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