For our first buddy read of 2021, Stephen and I read The Lost Ones by Anita Frank. I am excited to share about this book with you for a couple of reasons. Firstly, this is the first kind of ghost story which I have read that took place in late 1910s England – imagine a haunted Downton Abbey – sounds pretty cool right? Secondly, I connected with the author on Instagram and I am looking forward to sharing our interview with her tomorrow. Lastly, Stephen and I had a lengthy discussion about this book and this was an opportunity to discuss a book that we experienced a bit differently. More on that soon but first, check out the synopsis.
Some houses are never at peace.
England, 1917
Reeling from the death of her fiancé, Stella Marcham welcomes the opportunity to stay with her pregnant sister, Madeleine, at her imposing country mansion, Greyswick – but she arrives to discover a house of unease and her sister gripped by fear and suspicion.
Before long, strange incidents begin to trouble Stella – sobbing in the night, little footsteps on the stairs – and as events escalate, she finds herself drawn to the tragic history of the house.
Aided by a wounded war veteran, Stella sets about uncovering Greyswick’s dark and terrible secrets – secrets the dead whisper from the other side…
Content Notes: Depictions of murder, mental health, death of a child, aftereffects of war, loss of loved ones.
Thoughts on The Lost Ones
You would probably know that I usually have a number of books on the go. Sometimes it happens that I am immersed in such amazing storytelling that coming to another book can be hard to adjust to. After the world of The Count of Monte Cristo and the haunted and terrifying-that-I-can’t-sleep house of House of Leaves, reading The Lost Ones took some adjusting. However, every book deserves a fair chance and that means to continue to read and find the great parts in it. Sometimes it is a scene that pulls you into a book and then you can’t let go…
On The Setting and Characters
The protagonists of The Lost Ones were chosen well and had roles that only they could have played. Stella’s search for answers and doing something to support her sister, Annie’s unique abilities and Mr Sheers’ skepticism provided a holistic, multidimensional picture of what was happening in the house. I liked how these characters interacted with other characters as well as how they came to count on one another towards the end.
The scene where Stella hears the cry of a child for the first time and is paralyzed in her bed reminded me of my own fears from when I was living alone. It would take a lot of courage to investigate sounds in the house. I could not lock the door because of my cat and though I never suspected a ghost, always an intruder, I finally took to sleeping in a different room where I could see more of my place. I related to Stella’s fear and emotional and physical reaction.
I want to share more about Annie – she was the maid that Stella brought with her to Greyswick. Annie is a strange girl and even though she is not the narrator, she is helpful and caring. I felt really bad for her a couple of times and I am glad that she reached an understanding with Stella, who started to even become friends with her. Annie had a beautiful gift related to ghosts and the perspective of how Stella evolved in relation to it was well done.
On Women’s Mental Health
The Lost Ones touches on a number of important issues, the most prominent that resonated with both Stepehen and I was women’s mental health. It was so disheartening to read about how little the family doctor supported Stella through her grief in the early 1900s. It was surprising to me that a mother’s grief of losing a child was perfectly acceptable but a woman’s grief of losing someone she was planning to spend the rest of her life with was not. The frustrations of the times that people lived in!
The Lost Ones had a number of characters who were introduced over the course of the story. I found Stella to be quite harsh towards some of them but that is understandable because she has so much trauma to process. I felt that I had a pretty good idea whether to hate or like a character. The only one who grew on me was Stella because she evolved as she spent more time in Greyswick.
On Beliefs and Ghosts
Dealing with loss is a tough journey and in Stella’s case, it felt like a ball of anger. She has given up on God, probably mad at the misfortune that has happened to her. In spite of all this, I still really liked her – she was fearless and always there for her sister.
There are instances of cognitive dissonance in the book which I really enjoyed. At one point in the book, a vicar is called to do a ritual to banish the ghost. The exorcism itself only caused more unrest. The following is a complicated thought that I phrased to Stephen and I hope you will understand too – the family are devoted Christians. They do not believe in ghosts. Calling the vicar (a figure in the religion) to perform exorcism (which involves reading from the Bible to banish the spirit) suggests that the Bible does acknowledge ghosts via the existence of a procedure to banish them (even if it doesn’t work).
This comes up all the time in popular media and I am sure I have seen TV shows and read books with the same flaws in the characters, but this was the first time when it actually dawned on me to notice this dissonance. And that made this book even better because I was relating to it in new, unexpected ways!
Snippet of the Discussion with Stephen
What are your overall thoughts on the book, Stephen? Did you enjoy it from start to finish?
Yes! I really enjoyed it. There are so many different elements to this book and they all helped to make it a captivating read for me. I loved the atmosphere of the setting, the writing style, and the fact the characters were all so complex and interesting. The themes it explored were fascinating and done well, such as mental health and historical contexts. It was dark at times and there was perhaps one twist too many towards the end, but I found so much to love about it from a technical point of view. Anita Frank is clearly a very good writer.
What are your overall thoughts, Kriti? I think your thoughts might not be quite as positive as mine, but I hope you still enjoyed it!
I grew to like this book and it was definitely above average. I got comfortable with the setting eventually and it has been a lot of fun discussing this book in depth with you – reading along with a friend always makes books better. 🙂
Ah I’ve enjoyed discussing this book with you too, Kriti! It’s certainly given us lots to talk about!
The Lost Ones is a unique ghost story and I highly recommend this mystery-thriller if you are looking for something set in an old regal mansion. The story has a lot to offer touching on the effects of war on families, relationships and mental health. Anita Frank succeeds in putting together a haunted house that, if you have lived alone, might mess with your mind a little bit, like it did for me. I felt that the timing of certain events were too convenient but overall, I enjoyed this book.
** The Lost Ones is available in stores. I got my copy from the local library so be sure to check yours and support them. When libraries buy a book for us, they become available to so many more people! **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Are you going to read this book with a buddy too? We discussed every 10 chapters and then talked about the book as a whole.
Also, check out other book discussions and reviews by visiting the Book Review Index (discussions have a * in front of the book title). And be sure to check back tomorrow for the interview with Anita Frank! Stephen will be posting his experience with the book in March and I will link it here.
Cover Photo by Mark Timberlake on Unsplash
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