Lost Children

Dark Fairy Tales

By: Francesca Lia Block

Narrated by: Lauren Singerman

After the loss of her mother, a woman returns to the San Fernando Valley only to uncover a haunting secret about her childhood friend.

A visiting professor at a charming but strange California liberal arts college must face her past in order to protect her son.

A sister, lost in the woods, confronts the dangerous truth about her brother, her stepmother, and herself.

Rose's dog Wolfie has died, and three seductive women offer to help return him to her. But only if she will pay the price.

Mira, distraught and ill after the death of her husband, Richard, wanders out into a weird new world to battle the monsters of her grief.

And Mim must disguise herself in order to infiltrate an LA sex trafficking ring and rescue her daughter.

Francesca Lia Block, known for her own brand of Southern California magical realism, brings the darkest of traditional fairy tales to life in a contemporary way that speaks to universal themes and the very specific challenges of our times, as her heroines fight ogres, witches, and demons in order to save their loved ones and, ultimately, themselves.

©2021 Francesca Lia Block (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Memorable

Francesca Lia Block’s brilliant collection of dark fairy tales, The Lost Children, is a feast for the senses. Water nixies with perfectly symmetrical features reflect on their own deliciousness, were they to be eaten; a woman compares the grief she feels at the death of her beloved dog to walking with a painful limp; crows cackle like monkeys in the trees next to the abandoned home of a childhood friend whose exotic, unconventional life later reveals the grim reality of incest, and an undulating college campus lawn reminds the protagonist of her son’s eyes; a detail that will payoff later when we uncover the connection between the college’s most well-loved professor and the protagonist herself. In The Lost Children, life and death intermingle. Animals are saviors. Nature and the supernatural are as much characters in this collection as are Mira, Rose and Veronica.

The gorgeous writing and sensuous descriptions are only one small part of what makes The Lost Children such an exceptional collection. This is storytelling at its best, where each tale is packed with suspense as we listen intently to determine exactly what happened to Tamara when she was young? What’s the deal with Warren Barber? And then there’s the beauty and cruelty cooked into the Hansel and Gretel-like title story, The Lost Children, where a starving young brother and sister struggle to survive their twisted stepmother. (At one point, step-by-step instructions on how to kill a rabbit with a broom are provided.)

Lauren Singerman’s narration is full of emotion, flawless accents and inflections of voice that bring every character—real or supernatural—to life. The placid indifference of the water nixie’s voice couldn’t be more different than the Eastern European accent narrator of The Lost Children.

“Chicken bone wrists,” “turtle dove eyes,” “purpling sidewalks of Jacaranda wine,” and “the fur of smog over Burbank Airport.” These are just a few of the gems that await you in The Lost Children. Although I was sad when I’d finished it, these stories will stay with me for a long time. In fact, if I had to describe this collection in one word, it would be memorable.

A brillant blend of the modern & the ancient.

I so enjoyed this world and I want to spend so much more time swimming through it's magical waters!

Thoroughly enjoyed the stories,perfect for quick, interesting listening

the book was wonderfully dark and scary and the reader added to that with rich tones. Fantastic accents and character delineation.

Imaginative, haunting

This would have been one of the most delightful set of stories I have listened to in a while, but it left me wanting more!

I didn't really care for it

kinda boring. just didn't care for it. each story is pretty short so that was good but ended awkwardly.

Just wish there was more!

Great writing, great narration and cool and gothic application of traditional dark fairy tales to modern settings. This is so good. I’m a long time Neil Gaiman fan and I can imagine him selecting these stories for inclusion in a compilation of horror and dark fantasy. Honestly one of the best books I’ve come upon on Audible. I only wish it was longer!

interesting

very interesting and i liked it more than I would have guessed. the stories seemed to cut off early but I believe that's because they want it to end how you want it to end.

Second time is better. . .

I was new to Audible and it was hard to follow with the same voice for each story. This time, 380 listens later, I was able to pick up the slight changes in her voice and enjoy the stories.

What did I just stumble into?!

The short stories are awesome. I wish they were longer, especially the first one. I have had some crazy dreams listening to these before bed.

Perfect connection with the characters

Lost Children was very well written by Francesca Lia Block and extraordinarily well narrated by Lauren Singerman. The combination made me listen to every dramatic word. Each story was thought provoking.