The Lost for Words Bookshop

April 16, 2018
The latest from Butland (The Secrets We Keep) is an appealing novel about love’s many forms and the power of books. Loveday Cardew, who has taken refuge in books since her childhood in the foster care system, has spent the past 10 years selling books at the Lost for Words Bookshop, a ramshackle used bookstore in York. Following a brief but disastrous affair, Loveday has retreated even further into her solitary world of books and work. One day, she finds a lost book at a bus stop and posts a sign letting the owner know she has it, setting off a series of events that gradually change her plans to withdraw from the world around her. Poet Nathan Avebury, who responds to the sign, keeps returning to woo the hesitant Loveday with words and magic tricks, and his efforts are aided by the bookshop’s exuberant owner, Archie. When books from Loveday’s childhood home, including her mother’s well-used Delia Smith cookbook, start to mysteriously show up in boxes left at the store, Loveday must risk trusting those around her if she is to discover who is reaching out to her from long ago. Rich characterizations, a vibrant bookstore setting, and several poignant Wednesday poetry nights will have readers hoping for a sequel.