I usually enjoy Lebbon's books but this one is on my not-so-much list. As a book, it wasn't long; as a story, it went on for too much. I didn't feel much for the characters. I'm not sure if shorter and tighter would have helped more or if longer with more "stuff" would have helped.

Ray is dealing with the death of his son and the separation from his wife. He's grieving big time. While trying to accept it a little bit, he ends up bringing out a broken toy left behind by his son. A toy Ray was supposed to fix and never did. A mysterious man fixes the toy and alleviates some of the grief, allowing Ray to move on just a little. But what price is Ray going to feel for this relief?

As I mentioned, I had a hard time feeling for Ray. I think it's in part because his grief defines him so much that he is more a sad character than relatable. We the readers want him to find comfort but more so that we don't have to suffer his depression. At that point where things could get better, that's when the quiet horror occurs and the story ends. The story about grief twisted suddenly to a horror story. It didn't quite work for me. Maybe the story was about loss though. It would be the persistent theme. The loss was still expressed as grief which overpowered things. Big picture, I'm still going to read more Lebbon but I didn't find this to be his best. ( )

This was a short, interesting story. It was sad and hopeful at the same time with an unexpected ending. I still have some questions as to what exactly happened toward the end.

In the book, which takes place in an English village by the sea, Ray has a difficult time coping with his son's death. He meets an old man who appears to help him cope as Ray gathers up his son's broken toys that he had always intended to mend, but never did. But how is the old man helping him, exactly? And is he actually helping him? ( )

A father grieving his son and estranged from his wife, a mysterious stranger who helps him keep promises to his son and heal the psychological hurts, all heading for an ending that should be creepy and unexpected when really there's no other direction it could have gone. ( )

This was really an odd little book, and one I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The tale centers around Ray, who lives in a fishing village in Cornwall and has been grieving for his young son who died a year before. Ray and his wife are estranged (she's sleeping with his former best friend to combat her own grief; Ray reminds her too much of their dead child) and he is the one who remained in their house, with all of their son's toys and clothes and the ghosts that memories can bring. He meets an old man (on a cliff top, in the middle of the night, with a storm raging) who asks if he's brought him a broken toy to mend. And from there the novel takes a turn into the twilight zone, as it examines the role of memory in grieving, living and healing.

An excellent novel, though strange. 4 stars. ( )

The Thief of Broken Toys is far more of a mood piece than a horror story, and where there is horror, it is of the more cerebral variety. This is the horror of loss and memory, and the horror of recovery. As Lebbon's fable wends it's way to a close and the importance of grief is made apparent, it is clear that he's a writer of vast talents and sublime emotional wisdom.

Read the rest of the review here. ( )