The Lion Tamer Who Lost by Louise Beech – Book Review

Synopsis

Long ago Andrew made a childhood wish. One he has always kept in a silver box with a too-big lid that falls off. When it finally comes true, he wishes it hadn’t…

Long ago Ben dreamed of going to Africa to volunteer at a lion reserve. When he finally goes there, it isn’t for the reasons he imagined…

Ben and Andrew keep meeting where they least expect. Some collisions are by design, but are they for a reason? Ben’s father would disown him for his relationship with Andrew, so they must hide their love. Andrew is determined to make it work, but secrets from his past threaten to ruin everything.

Ben escapes to Zimbabwe to finally fulfil his lifelong ambition. But will he ever return to England? To Andrew? To the truth?

A dark and poignant drama, The Lion Tamer Who Lost is also a mesmerisingly beautiful love story, with a tragic heart.

My Thoughts

I’m rarely speechless but Louise Beech’s books leave me unable to speak or create coherent thoughts for quite some time after finishing.  The Lion Tamer Who Lost is no exception.

I lived and breathed this book as I was reading.  It completely stole my heart and took my breath away and I couldn’t get enough of it.

In the beginning, we meet Ben who is at a turning point in his life and has ran away to fulfill and ambition in Africa, volunteering in a lion sanctuary.  Ben is lost and unsure what to do with his life.  Initially, he’s quite a closed off character and often immature, prickly or unsocial but the more I learned about Ben, the more I liked him.  His life at home was complicated but real and reflected in reality!  As his relationship with his father unravels, Ben’s decisions become clearer and more understandable and I became a part of his world – like a silent observer wanting to affect things and give him love and hugs but not being able to interact.

The story is narrated mainly from the perspective of mostly Ben but also Andrew at different points in the time-line and this really enabled me to get to know both characters well.  I loved how they were such different in their outlooks and traits but fitted together so perfectly.  I was fascinated by Ben.  Often immature and cranky but they way he gave his heart away was so pure and innocent.  Andrew seemed more guarded but softened as time passed.  I adored the realness of each man.  The raw honesty with which they were written as imperfect humans who make mistakes, grieve, regret and loose is just intoxicating and addictive. 

I found Ben’s father a really interesting character and loved his story arc. 

Safe to say – by the end of the book I was a blubbering mess (which is to be expected with Louise Beech’s novels) and my heart had been mashed together and then stretched apart several times. 

The Lion Tamer is a beautiful novel about love, life and relationships and how in reality – things don’t always resemble a fairytale but can be as equally beautiful in their madness.

Author Bio – Louise Beech

Also publishes under Louise Swanson.

Louise’s debut novel, How to be Brave, was a Guardian Readers’ pick in 2015 and a top ten bestseller on Amazon. The Mountain in my Shoe longlisted for the Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2016. The Sunday Mirror called Maria in the Moon ‘quirky, darkly comic, original and heartfelt’. It was also a Must Read in the Sunday Express and a Book of the Year at LoveReadingUK. The Lion Tamer Who Lost was described as ‘engrossing and captivating’ by the Daily Express. It also shortlisted for the RNA’s Romantic Novel of the Year and longlisted for the Polari Prize 2019. Call Me Star Girl hit number one on Kobo. It also longlisted for the Not The Booker Prize and won the Best magazine Big Book Award 2019. I Am Dust was a Top Six pick in Crime Monthly and a LoveReadingUK Monthly Pick. This Is How We Are Human was a Clare Mackintosh August Book of the Month 2021. Memoir Daffodils came out in audiobook 2022, as well as novel, Nothing Else. Memoir will come out in paperback as Eighteen Seconds 27th April 2023.

Louise also writes as Louise Swanson.