This first chapter also reads (on a personal basis and as an American) as an analogy to the fall of the World Trade Center Towers and the changing attitudes and lives of those citizens left to deal with the problem of terrorism. There is a cruel war raging overseas and Johnny indeed has to fight. The attacks by terrorists have stripped us of our collective ignorance/innocence. And Europe has not been left untouched (as Londoners and Parisian folk can well ascribe). And so… the Book of Lost Things can also maybe be viewed in a more contemporary allegorical light. Our innocence has been stripped away and the shadows of evil are indeed on the march. And our own obsessive/compulsive rituals do nothing but add to the confusion of the whole thing.
Sorry if I’m totally off base and rambling… but that’s what I do.
I read The Book of Lost Things while my mother was dying, so it was a very personal and sometimes a painful read. I knew what I was doing; I had read the reviews and the excerpts (the incredible first few paragraphs). I knew where I was going, in that sense. I did not know where David was going, and so the book managed to take me outside my own pain to navigate David's journey.
I did not know where it would go or how it would end, and I liked that. It was unpredictable. Just because it was Once upon a time, I did not feel guaranteed a happy ending. Not in this book.
But like all good stories, I guess, this one spoke to me, Mr. Connolly. I hope your other works speak to me like this. I like your writing. Thank you.
I have realised so many 'lost things' but I have also taken strength from the journey which David makes and indeed which we must all face in this life.
I have been so inspired and moved by this book that I have introduced it to the senior curriculum at Marlborough Boys' College in Blenheim NZ this year.
I promise that I will not 'teach' this book, but allow my students to learn from it.
Thanks for a wonderful modern book which explores the time-honoured truths and challenges of life in such a magical and enthralling manner.
I was sorry to miss your visit to NZ but you have been very generous with your personal comments and insights at the back of the novel. These will no doubt encourage a great deal of discussion and comment in class over the coming weeks.
6 comments:
Poignant and passionate best describes… and the rest can only hold true.
I was just thinking… but that’s what I do.
This first chapter also reads (on a personal basis and as an American) as an analogy to the fall of the World Trade Center Towers and the changing attitudes and lives of those citizens left to deal with the problem of terrorism. There is a cruel war raging overseas and Johnny indeed has to fight. The attacks by terrorists have stripped us of our collective ignorance/innocence. And Europe has not been left untouched (as Londoners and Parisian folk can well ascribe). And so… the Book of Lost Things can also maybe be viewed in a more contemporary allegorical light. Our innocence has been stripped away and the shadows of evil are indeed on the march. And our own obsessive/compulsive rituals do nothing but add to the confusion of the whole thing.
Sorry if I’m totally off base and rambling… but that’s what I do.
I will look forward to the rest of the story as well.
~cheers
Okay, I'm ready for Chapter 2. :)
I read The Book of Lost Things while my mother was dying, so it was a very personal and sometimes a painful read. I knew what I was doing; I had read the reviews and the excerpts (the incredible first few paragraphs). I knew where I was going, in that sense. I did not know where David was going, and so the book managed to take me outside my own pain to navigate David's journey.
I did not know where it would go or how it would end, and I liked that. It was unpredictable. Just because it was Once upon a time, I did not feel guaranteed a happy ending. Not in this book.
But like all good stories, I guess, this one spoke to me, Mr. Connolly. I hope your other works speak to me like this. I like your writing. Thank you.
I have realised so many 'lost things' but I have also taken strength from the journey which David makes and indeed which we must all face in this life.
I have been so inspired and moved by this book that I have introduced it to the senior curriculum at Marlborough Boys' College in Blenheim NZ this year.
I promise that I will not 'teach' this book, but allow my students to learn from it.
Thanks for a wonderful modern book which explores the time-honoured truths and challenges of life in such a magical and enthralling manner.
I was sorry to miss your visit to NZ but you have been very generous with your personal comments and insights at the back of the novel. These will no doubt encourage a great deal of discussion and comment in class over the coming weeks.
Post a Comment