Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst (Review)

REreleased December 2008 (Little Brown & Company) * 384 pages * ISBN 13: 9780316033497

Note to readers: An incomplete version of this review was mistakenly posted for a few hours on December 22. I apologize for any confusion that may have caused.

Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst was a fun read. Lost and Found is the name of a fictional reality show in which contestants race around the world collecting objects they must carry until the end of the game where the final team gets one million dollars (sound like any reality shows you might know?). The book follows a number of teams including a mother and daughter (with “issues” to say the least, including a surprise teenage birth), a pair of grown up child stars, a married couple saved from the sins of homosexuality by the Lord Jesus^TM, a couple of millionaire inventors with nothing better to do, and the obligatory team of siblings. The story is not about the reality show itself, but about the motley crew of contestants foolish enough to sign up for the experience. Lost and Found takes you behind the scenes of a reality show and shows you what it looks like from the other side of the screen.

Each chapter is told in first person by a contestant. I kept forgetting who was who at the beginning, but Parkhurst did a reasonable job of orienting readers when a different character took over (I tend to have problems keeping characters straight in this format no matter how much help the author gives me). It got easier to follow as teams were eliminated (for me that’s the same experience as watching an actual reality show).

I haven’t read Carolyn Parkhurst before and I was happy to find that the book is deceptively well-written. I say deceptively because the subject matter is considerably lower brow than the writing. Every once in a while I came across a particularly well worded phrase (one that I had to stop and appreciate–and I skim so I rarely linger), which I have to admit I wasn’t expecting in a novel centered around a reality show.

I’m not sure how Lost and Found will read to anyone who doesn’t enjoy the occasional reality show because a lot of my enjoyment came from seeing reality shows that I have watched reflected in the book. I recognized bits and pieces of various reality shows that I’ve watched so Parkhurst has definitely done her homework. Without that background I’m not sure I would have found it quite as entertaining.

I am a particular kind of reality TV show watcher. My interest in reality TV shows is in people watching. I am one of those despicable reality TV show watchers who only likes the audition episodes of American Idol because the judges crush the dreams of the delusional. When I watch The Amazing Race (similar to the fictional Lost and Found) I watch to see the dynamics of the teams. I like seeing people forget that the camera is there no matter how hard they try not to. I like to see people try to spin themselves when they have no hope of redeeming their actions and I don’t really care who wins.

In short, I think the people who go on reality shows are several crumbs short of a loaf and for some odd reason that fascinates me (I’m perfectly fine with watching crazy people as long as it’s from a distance). I tell you this because it affects my view of the book and you should know where I am coming from. I always wonder what is going on in these people’s heads (both before they get on the show and during). Lost and Found explores this aspect of reality shows.

I found it a fun and fast read, but that is in part because of my view on reality shows. What it comes down to is that Lost and Found is about lies: The lie of reality TV shows, the lies we tell ourselves, and the lies we tell each other.

You can read the first chapter on the publisher’s site.

Other reviews:
Old Musty Books
Un-Mainstream Mom Reads (Won Lost & Found here)

You can find Carolyn Parkhurst’s books at bookcloseouts.com, amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

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