The Garden of the Lost and Found, Harriet Evans | Book Review

This magical, historical adult contemporary tells the story of two different characters on two different timelines and their families. I felt absolutely captivated and thoroughly enjoyed reading this brilliant book!

The Garden of the Lost and Found, Harriet Evans

Themes: Fiction, Historical, Contemporary

Reading Format: Audiobook

4 STARS // 7.5 CAWPILE

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This was my first Harriet Evans book, recommended to me as an audiobook after my mum loved it, so I thought I’d give it a go. I don’t usually reach for historical fiction, but this crossed into the modern world too, sharing the story between Juliet in present-day and Liddy in the early 1900s. It is all centred around a painting by Liddy’s husband, The Garden of the Lost and Found, that is said to have been destroyed. Liddy is also the great grandmother of our present-day protagonist Juliet. So there’s a family link, and also a love of art as Juliet works for art galleries.

Every five or so chapters the narrative would switch between present-day at the 1900s, which was at times tricky as an audiobook, but also made me feel compelled to keep listening. Harriet Evans writes cliffhangers perfectly and left me right on the edge of my seat to see what happened in each time zone.

At the heart of this book, as well as art, is family and the importance of unity. Both Liddy and Juliet have difficulties in their families and this book shows how they tackle very real issues that happen in life. I felt the characters depicted a true representation of what family life can be like, the ups and downs. However, I did have an issue with some of the characters in the present day. Juliet’s kids were so horrible to her and she let them push her about, which made her seem like a little bit of a damp flannel. Which was a shame as really, every action she does in this book shows she is strong and brave. Her characterisation as a woman and as a mum make her seem like two different people. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading Juliet’s story and I liked seeing her and those around her develop and grow with the narrative.

I liked that this book didn’t shy away from difficulty, it represented things you don’t often see in literature so commonly. I don’t want to go into them because I don’t want to include spoilers, but this certainly covers a wide range of real issues both in modern-day and in the early 1900s.

Throughout reading The Garden of the Lost and Found, I felt swept away by the atmosphere the writing created. The story was all set in London and the English Countryside, which was a lovely, familiar setting. There is a big house at the centre of both timelines, Nightingale House, which both characters live in at some point. I really enjoyed reading about this quaint house and loved discovering more hidden features of it.

Overall, I found this book very enjoyable, lovely and gripping to read. It was exactly what I needed from this audiobook, praise to Harriet Evans.

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