I am sad to say I did not get to this before it was archived — that’s on me. And possibly also we can blame the march of time, why not.

This is an interesting journey through history looking for the missing great books of history. This was a great read and an interesting love story for book lovers!

This essay is a really interesting take on lost books and how the things we lose are still alive in the way we remember or imagine them. I got this via NetGalley AGES ago but as with pretty much all my NetGalley loot, I uh… don't read them till much later…. Grabby hands, it's a curse.

Before reading this book got me thinking of other lost tomes that I would have loved to go through or libraries even, which NATURALLY had me sad about the Library of Alexandria again. IT'S ALWAYS TOO SOON!!!!!!!!! But also had me thinking of the ungodly amount of historical fanned fictions I have been reading about Aziraphale and Crowley from Good Omens, and how Aziraphale in particular must have had access to countless books in the past and probably even managed to rescue so many of them from various forms of destruction and has them squirreled away in his shop in Soho, away from us useless humans… ANYWAY.

Straten has chosen to write about 8 books in particular that were 'lost' soon after. One destroyed to protect a marriage, the other thrown away to save a reputation, another lost within a suitcase which then caused discord in a marriage, and two becoming one of the millions of casualties at the hands of Nazi's. Giorgio Van Straten writes in a really direct but engaging way that doesn't feel too academic to understand, and you can tell he has done copious amounts of research and is extremely respectful to all the works and people mentioned.

"Could it be the void itself which fascinates us, since it is possible to fill it with the notion that what is missing might be something crucial, perfect, incomparable?... I realised that lost books possess something that others do not: they bequeath to those who have not read them the possibility of imagining them, of telling stories about them, of re-inventing them.

And if on the one hand they continue to elude us, to move further off the more we try to seize hold of them, on the other they come back to life in us - and ultimately, as in Proustian time, we can lay claim to having found them."

https://hercommonplaceblog.wordpress.com/

Really interesting look at 8 books written then lost or destroyed. The Sylvia Plath chapter was excellent.

Anyone who reads books will be interested in those works that got away. Anyone who loves the writing of a dead author has always dreamt of finding that lost manuscript. ‘in search of lost book', Giorgio Van Straten, looks at those manuscripts, that primary sources tell us once existed, but have been either lost or destroyed. It is a highly informative, and enjoyable read.

I originally indicated I was unable to leave feedback for this book....because I had lost it! However, I located it in a forgotten collection on my Kindle and I'm glad I did. It is a brief but thorough exploration of lost books and the author's journey to find them. He talks about the void that lost texts leave behind and how enquiring minds seek to fill them and I found it interesting and illuminating. I have always wondered about Hemingway's lost suitcase....
This book cannot fail to intrigue anyone with an interest in literature.

In Search of Lost Books: The Forgotten Stories of Eight Mythical Volumes (Pushkin Press) by Georgio van Straten is a captivating little book in which the author recounts his search for books and manuscripts that did exist, or may have existed, of which “with one exception, I have not been able to read,” he writes. From a missing manuscript of a novel by Romano Bilenchi to 130 pages of Sylvia Plath’s unfinished novel that “disappeared,” the chapters are both sad and hopeful. Regarding Walter Benjamin’s lost work, he writes: “There might still be some forgotten, yellowing papers in a wardrobe or an old chest in the attic of a house in Portbou...”

https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine_books_blog/2018/10/books-about-books-fall-2018-roundup.phtml

In Search of Lost Books is a highly enjoyable, slim volume of one man's search for lost texts. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that there wasn't much in the way of Indiana Jones-style searching for the mythical texts, but that didn't truly diminish my interest in each story Giorgio van Straten told.
Fire seemed to play a predominant role in the destruction of the texts - either purposeful or accidental. There was also a smidgen of lost or stolen bags to contend with. Regardless of how the texts were lost, van Straten mourned their potential to give us greater insight into the authors.
Perhaps the most interesting question to come from the book was, should all text be held sacred? Or, can we live with the destruction of words - especially when it is done at the author's request?
I will be thinking about these questions for quite some time. I will also revisit this book as I read more of the extant work of the author's he discussed.

A good read and detailed view on eight lost manuscripts from writers both known and unknown to this reader and general audiences. Engaging, yet tightly written with almost no wasted padding or overlong details. A great read if you're like me--a fan of books about books, book history, and writers

What's not to like - a real life mystery about books... Loads of detail and excellent writing kept me engrossed in this short book. I can't comment on whether it is the beauty of the original or the translation but there are moments of pure poetry here as Giorgio van Straten searches the stories of several "lost" books. Some may never have been written - merely a rumour - some have been written and lost and some have been written and destroyed. Truly an unusual and fascinating book.

My heart bled for Hemingway who's wife lost his manuscripts on a train (her suitcase was stolen when she went for a drink) and he then found out she'd packed all the carbon copies as well! He rushed home to check but found nothing... The person who stole the case probably thought what a load of rubbish he'd managed to steal and chucked it away... Hemingway rewrote but...

Lots of angst and heartache here but it is a beautiful read and recommended to anyone who loves books and stories abut books.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

A delightful short volume, beautifully written, about lost books, books that once existed but have been either deliberately destroyed or just maybe are in hiding somewhere waiting to be rediscovered. Informative, intriguing and a must for any book lover.

8 lost books. 8 very interesting stories surrounding the circumstances of the disappearances of these books. From Lord Byron to Hemingway, from destruction by fire to stolen suitcases containing mysterious manuscripts.

I enjoyed reading this book, this journey in search of lost jewels. Although at the end, I was left with a sense of loss. Through the research of the author we came to know some specific periods in the lives of these author, the specific moments leading to this loss and we came to know the stories or supposed stories of these books, so that in the end it was hard to realize we won’t be able to read them after all.

When I requested this book, I thought it was going to be about forbidden books, censored masterpieces. But no. They were books surrounded by tragic circumstances and sometimes a simple fact like a stolen suitcase and that the books even more interesting.

to my mind, the concept is hugely appealing - the execution is less than dazzling - perhaps it's down to the translation - but i was intrigued to hear gossip about favorites - disappeared books and the reasons why and how. first of all it is intriguing to learn whether it was censorship (as in case of Byron + his sexual swinging all ways) or jealousy - as in a prominent Italian writer whose novel in bottom drawer clearly depicted an affair that his widow wanted thrown out ...etc) and that's all fun. there is some contemplation of the dilemma in each case of what should have been thrown out or not - but in some cases, our curious author has heard of something, and yet does not find it .. so more profound than you might think but told be a true book lover . lighter than I expected, but solid reading to while away hours even on a beach!

Bibliophiles love to read books about books. Whether they are novels or non-fiction books, these volumes do strike a chord to bookworms.

And what best of a book about lost and mythical books, written by celebrated authors, among them, Walter Benjamin, Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, L.S. Lowry, Byron and Nikolay Gogol.

Giorgio van Straten’s slim manuscript, In Search of Lost Books: The Forgotten Stories of Eight Mythical Volumes, is a delightful literary object, crammed with puzzling stories about eight lost and burned manuscripts. Like a detective, van Straten explores all the possible scenarios, the rumors and the gossip that surround these elusive manuscripts. He is convinced that these volumes exist, and that, someday, at least one of them, will be discovered

These books include an unfinished manuscript by Roberto Bilenchi, which was found after his death in a drawer in his desk, and which has actually been read by the author; the elusive second part of Gogol’s Dead Souls, which the author apparently burned. Ten days later, on the edge of madness, he died. There is also Walter Benjamin’s unfinished Arcades Project, a manuscript that mysteriously disappeared when its author committed suicide while fleeing the Nazis in 1940, and Ernest’s Hemingway’s first novel, A Movable Feast, which was stolen on a train. Byron’s scandalous Memoirs has been savagely burnt, and Sylvia’s Plath’s unpublished novel, Double Exposure, which according to van Straten, has been deposited by her husband Ted Hughes at the Emory University in Georgia with instructions ‘that may not be consulted until 2022.’ Perhaps one day, we may be able to read one of these lost manuscripts, after all.

An elegant little book about the "lost" works of literature: texts that went missing, were stolen, or deliberately destroyed. Bilenchi, Byron, Hemingway, Schulz, Gogol, Lowry, Benjamin, and Plath are the writers discussed. The author wears his learning and research lightly. He writes in an accessible, intimate voice. As readers and book lovers, it is something difficult to contemplate—mourning the art that can never be—and the book is elegiac in tone.

Talking about why the prospect of a lost work excites us or moves us, he writes, "By the end of the voyage I had realized that lost books possess something that others do not: they bequeath to those who have not read them the possibility of imagining them, of telling stories about them, of re-inventing them."

I wasn't convinced by the first couple of pages but later on something changed. This essay collection is incredibly well-written and clever. Also, it's for book lovers. I happen to fit into this category so I was home. Really enjoyed it.

I don't know how many books are published each year. For me, In Search of Lost Books is in top 10 of at least the last year - it's readable, entertaining (at least if you love to read about stories that surround books), and it made me look up the author's other books. I would recommend this small book to anyone that loves books.. mystery, and everything in between. Thumbs up to Simon Carnell as well! He did a great job.
another plus: the cover reminds me of a Chekhov

I thought this was a short but detailed and interesting overview of some of literature’s lost works. I would recommend for anyone who likes learning about the history of books.

Devoured this intriguing book in a single sitting! There is, of course, some doubt over the existence over some of these “lost books,” but perhaps there is hope... I especially found this book riveting because I’m interested in a number of the authors discussed: Walter Benjamin, Bruno Schulz, Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemingway. A must read for anyone remotely interested in book history.

I love this subject and the in-depth stories were thoroughly satisfying. History, detective work, nothing is as exciting as real life crimes.