Flight 815-ers Unite discussion
Lost Lit List Challenges
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Tamsen's Lost Lit List
Started 1.1 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer on 9/24/10Relation to Lost:
"One of Anthony Cooper's aliases, and the one after which James Ford named himself, was Tom Sawyer. Cooper also jokes that Huck Finn was 'already taken.'"
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Finished 9/28/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This was the first time I've read Tom Sawyer, I had only previously read Twain's Huck Finn. Of course -- we all know who Tom Sawyer is. There have been many references to Sawyer (not only by Lost) and several scenes were known to me before ever reading (the white wash fence con, being lost in the cave).
Although I knew Tom was a mischievous boy before reading, I never realised what a conman he truly is! Here's a direct paragraph from the book:
"[Tom] had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it - namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher... he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. And this would help him to understand why constructing artificial flowers or performing on a treadmill is work, while rolling ten-pins or climbing Mount Blanc is only amusement. There are wealthy gentlemen in England who drive four-horse passenger-coaches twenty or thirty miles on a daily line in the summer, because the privilege costs them considerable money; but if they were offered wages for the service, that would turn it into work and then they would resign."
Tom Sawyer is a conman, without quite realising that is who he is. Our Lost version of Sawyer (I'll call him James Ford for now on) is the conman too. Of course Ford calls himself Sawyer because Anthony Cooper was Sawyer when he conned Ford's parents. But the similarities between Twain's Sawyer and Ford are many. Both mischievous 'boys', both orphans, both longing for a girl (Becky Thatcher/Kate), both braggarts to a point. Both seek adventure - both are truly lovable by all once you get to know their true character. Both of them fancy themselves as outlaws, robbers, pirates (Okay, well the real Tom Sawyer fancies himself a pirate). They want to be the "bad guy" in the story, but neither ends up quite the part.
Started 1.2 After All These Years: A Novel on 9/28/10Relation to Lost:
"This book can be seen in the Swan station by Sawyer's bed as he is recovering from the injuries caused as a result of the raft incident."
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Finished 9/30/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Tough to say really. This is one of those "silly" (to me) mystery novels. I found the book to be entertaining and a quick read, but not a book of any real literary merti.
As it relates to Lost... yikes. I know Sawyer is reading this right after the raft incident -- after the rafters were excited to find their 'saviors' --- who turned out to be their betrayers instead. In After All These Years, the main character Rosie is betrayed by a close friend. I see that betrayal reflected sort of in Lost.
Also, Rosie gets blamed for the murder of her soon-to-be-ex husband Richie, and to clear her name she runs away before getting arrested. She spends some time in disguises, running around New York, visiting with suspects to figure out whodunnit. I see a little bit of Kate in this. Especially when Rose tries hard to elude the cops to visit with close friends (Tom and Cass) to get their aid.... Kate did this with her Iowa friend Tom Brennan. Rosie's Tom matches Kate's Tom as they were friends when they were children, and loved each other in their teens. The difference I guess would be that Kate's Tom dies while Rosie's Tom divorces his wife and starts to date Rosie at the end.
These are really the only relations to Lost that I could tell. I did find it interesting that this book was published in the early 1990s --- because the Hatch was much older than that. I just did a search and it turns out some Losties believe that there were books dropped with the food supplies to give the Hatch members new reading material. Which is interesting in itself -- and feasible. This book was a national bestseller, so it makes sense that it would have been dropped as new reading material.
I also can't really buy Sawyer reading this... but I guess he's like me. I can't help but read whatever is available. I have to be reading to be happy!
Started 1.3 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll on 9/30/10Relation to Lost:
"Two episode titles reference Alice in Wonderland including 'White Rabbit' and 'Through the Looking Glass.'"
and
"Jack is seen reading a portion of Chapter 2, "The Pool of Tears" from this novel to Aaron."
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Finished 10/3/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
There are probably many Lost References to this book... however, these are the (probably most obvious) ones I recognized.
Alice has her adventures in Wonderland -- she wakes up and it was all a dream. Alice (and her elder sister) do BUY that it is a all a dream, but when Alice's older sister closes her own eyes, she can almost imagine the creatures and sounds in Wonderland. Lost was a bit like this the whole time. Losties watching the show wondered, is this all a dream -- or are these adventures and 'creatures' (Smoke monster, the Others) truly real? You wondered, you hoped it wasn't, or maybe like Alice's sister -- you hoped it all could be true. Lost's ending, a purgatory for the 815ers souls, is similar to this ending for Alice. It all meant something -- it was an important part of Alice's childhood, the lives of the souls -- and how real you made her/their adventures was all based on how real you wanted them to be.
Other similarities? Time and space is relative for Alice. Starting with her fall down the rabbit hole... "Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly..." and she wonders "Would the fall never come to an end?" Once she makes it to Wonderland, she grows and shrinks with such regularity, the reader almost seems to lose any surprise at the thought. Later, at the mad tea party, we find that neither the March Hare or Mad Hatter have any real idea of what time or day it is. Time is even a person and one should be on good terms with him.
The idea of time being a bit... foggy?... Well, this is an idea that comes up time and time again in Lost. Time passes differently on the island. And space is also relative -- the Lost doesn't seem to exist in any set parameters of the real world. You need special coordinates to access the island, and even then -- the whole island ups and moves.
I think those are the main ideas Lost gleans from Alice -- and I think they really take a lot from Lewis Carroll's ideas of time and space. Perhaps that's why we see several instances of rabbits in Lost. Also, with Daniel Farraday - his character is sort of a nod to Lewis Carroll himself. A mathematican and a university lecturer turned a bit fanciful.
Started 1.4 Animal Farm on 10/6/10Relation to Lost:
"Leslie Arzt shouts 'The pigs are walking! The pigs are walking!' a line from the book referring to what he sees as Kate and Jack being out of control and power hungry."
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Finished 10/7/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
God, this is a good book. Poor Boxer - I feel for him every time. It's a good read (or re-read in my case) about socialism and what can happen with the greed/corruption of a few.
Here is the exact quote from the episode of Exposé where the cultural reference is made to Animal Farm:
Shannon and Arzt are arguing with Kate as Nikki and Paulo walk up. "What gives you the right?" Shannon says.
"You have to understand," Kate says, "we thought it was best for everybody."
"I'm sorry, are you my mother?" Arzt says to Kate. "Because she knows what's best for me. Other than that, I decide!"
"What's going on?" Nikki asks.
Shannon says, "Kate and her two boyfriends found a case of guns that fell out of the plane, but they decided that they didn't really need to tell the rest of the camp."
"Look," Kate says, "the case is locked. The key is around Jack's neck, alright? I promise you they're safe."
"You're all out of control," Arzt says. "The pigs are walking! Huh? The pigs are walking!"
Compared to a scene from the last chapter of Animal Farm:
"Startled, the animals stopped in their tracks. It was Clover's voice. She neighed again and all the animals broke into a gallop and rushed into the yard. Then they saw what Clover had seen.
It was a pig walking on his hind legs...
There was nothing [on the wall] now except a single Commandment. It ran: ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL. BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.
After that it did not seem strange when next day the pigs who were supervising the work of the farm all carried whips in their trotters. It did not seem strange to learn that the pigs had bought themselves a wireless set, were arranging to install a telephone and had taken out subscriptions..."
Animal Farm is a story about a group of farm animals rising up together to beat off their oppressors, the humans. Even though they strove for "a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity", the pigs corrupted this ideal. They slowly set themselves apart from the "lower" animals, took over the farmhouse, granted themselves rights and even taught themselves to walk on two legs. They were still animals (and pigs of all creatures!) but they put themselves above the rest.
Arzt is making a comment from the "lower" characters' perspectives on Lost. Like the barn animals, they were put in an equal situation, but some characters emerged as leaders. Sure, the survivors of Flight 815 supported Jack's speeches or sided with Locke (much like the barn animals with the pigs Napoleon and Snowball), but in a way, Jack + others put themselves above the other survivors. They emerged as the leaders and they began to decide how much information (or, in this case, guns) the other survivors needed to know about.
I believe that's the main reference to Animal Farm. However, I found it interesting that there was a Benjamin in Animal Farm. Benjamin is a goat who was the "worst-tempered. He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark..." Ben the goat also constantly talks about how goats see many years of life and that "things never had been nor ever could be much better or much worse - hunger, hardship and disappointment being... the unalterable law of life." Ben the goat sort of reminds me of Ben the human - at least of the Ben after his 'daughter' died.
Started 1.5 Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret on 10/7/10 Relation to Lost:
"When Sun is approaching Sawyer, he is seen reading this book. He tells her the book is 'Predictable. Not nearly enough sex.'"
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Finished 10/7/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Ummm... my thoughts are that it doesn't really. My bet is that the writers of Lost wanted to show Sawyer as a prolific reader, and this was a funny way to show it. Sawyer loves to read, and on an island where (well they think...) very few books are... he'll read anything.
And I have to admit, it was pretty funny thinking about Sawyer reading about Margaret wanting her period, the girls doing exercises to increase their busts, getting their first bras and finally getting their periods. I could see Sawyer having a pretty good laugh over it.
Other (very small, probably meaningless) references: There's a character named Miles Benedict, same first name as Miles Straume from the boat. Also, the girls all have secret names during their club meanings, which reminded me of Ford's alias Sawyer, and Kate's many aliases.
One other thing is that Margaret, throughout the book, is learning and growing up. But she also spends some time searching out her religion, since her father comes from a Jewish home and her mother from a Catholic one. Several times she makes points that if people love her, and she loves them, what difference does religion make? Margaret visits a church and a synagogue, and she makes the comment that "The funniest thing was [church] was just like temple." Lost was, in some way, a reflection on religion - and I kind of liked Margaret's comparison that religion was all the same thing - the important thing was love and being true to yourself.
Started 1.6 Bad Twin on 10/7/10Relation to Lost:
"Hurley found the manuscript for Bad Twin."
and
"Sawyer is seen reading the manuscript, before Jack throws it in the fire."
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Finished 10/8/10 (Out of order due to my mistake!)
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Holy crap. Lots of Lost crossover -- because this book was published and written by Lost itself...
I'm going to just have to bullet-point each of these because there are so many.
-The novel is written by a fictional character from Lost. Gary Troup is the man who died the day of the crash - he was sucked into the still active jet engine and the engine blew up. Since the novel he wrote (Bad Twin) has so many Lost connections... thinking about if he had still been alive is pretty cool. He could have seen so many things coming! Maybe that's why the island chose to kill him so quickly. :)
-Gary dedicated the novel to Cindy Chandler, the flight attendant that gave Jack the free booze. He fell in love with her (it is assumed) on a previous flight to/from Sydney. He also mentions a character in the novel named Cindy who is also a flight attendant.
-I found a lot of similarities with descriptions of characters in the book as with characters in Lost. For instance... Paul is described as a "righter of wrongs, a champion of those who needed help." Sound a bit like Jack?
-Paul Artisan (the main character in Bad Twin) works as a detective on a case for a Cliff Widmore. We also get to meet more of Cliff's family - Alexander (Zander) Widmore and Arthur Widmore. While no one is Charles Widmore, both sets of Widmores are rich, Scottish, and both drink fancy Scotch -- Laphroaig for Bad Twin's Widmores, MacCutcheon for Lost's Widmores.
-Manny Weismann is a friend of Paul's, and one that is the major proponent of Lost's theories. I almost want to add the books he discusses to my list. He mentions A River Runs Through It and says that "Loving isn't saving. In the end, no one can save another person." Very true for the story of Lost, and a hard lesson to learn. Most importantly, Manny references Dante's Divine Comedy, specifically Pugatorio. This is our biggest hint on what the island is to our survivors:
"Purgatory, that's where everything is up for grabs. The stakes could not be higher. There's suffering, but online on earth, the suffering isn't senseless and random. It has meaning and a purpose. Destinies balance on a knife edge. The slightest slip dooms you to perdition. Not just for a while. Forever. Purgatory is the second chance. The last chance. The hard road and the only road that can lead on to redemp-"
-The Hanso Foundation is mentioned several times. Alvar Hanso's foundation that started the Dharma Initiative is located in the Widmore Building in the novel, and Alvar is brought up several times during Widmore conversation.
-Friend of Zander Widmore - Moth (aka Keith Baker) in the book has a boat named the Escape Hatch.
-Cliff's now-dead wife is named Shannon!
-The obvious twin connection with Zander and Cliff... versus our twins on the island, Jacob and the Man in Black. Constantly, Paul wonders about Zander and Cliff - which is the bad twin, and which is the good one. Much like Losties did with Jacob and the MiB. He even says:
"...It's the twin thing that makes it really complicated... When I think Cliff is the good guy, I imagine Zander must be really evil - a spiteful psychopath driven to make himself and everyone around him miserable. But then, when it seems like maybe Cliff is actually a bad guy, I imagine that Zander is just a lost soul, harmless basically, looking for a way to feel okay about himself."
-There are several mentions of islands:
"[Paul] lived on the island of Manhattan. Moth had died on the island of Peconquot. Last night he'd drunk martinis in the pouring rain on the island of Key West. Soon, perhaps, he'd be in Cuba."
Later, Paul visits the island continent of Australia (seeking answers much like Sawyer) and he also visits an island off the coast of Australia, Lizard Island.
-There's another scene that reminds me of Lost. Paul randomly meets up with a woman named Prudence. The two basically meet and fall into bed together. After their sweet, sweet love making, Paul discovers a gun in her purse. She's also a detective, working for the same person - Cliff Widmore! Remind you a bit of Sayid Jarrah and Ilana?
-The code to the Widmore mansion is 81516. Also, they make mention of the numbers elsewhere too. They meet at 8:15 to go to a funeral, for instance.
-Near the end, Zander, Prudence and Paul all discuss the idea of purgatory and an afterlife. I hate to make this longer and quote it, but it says a lot about what Lost was trying to accomplish. The idea of purgatory, the concept of an afterlife but still - how utterly important it is that we do good in our lives while we are alive.
"'Like in Dante. People suffer, but there's a point to it, a purpose. It's your last chance to cleanse your sins, clear your conscience, so you can qualify for heaven.'
'Exactly!' Zander said. 'But what if there is no heaven? No hell either. No afterlife at all... If there is no afterlife, no eternal reward to shoot for, then purgatory is now. I don't mean that to sound gloomy. Not at all. I meant that this is our chance to get it right. First chance. Last chance. Only chance. But that's exciting. Beautiful... Our work in this life is to choose good over evil, to be fair, to be kind. And there is a payoff, though it doesn't have to do with harps and wings. The payoff is peace of mind. That's what redemption really is.'"
Started 1.7 Perrault's Fairy Tales on 10/7/10Relation to Lost:
"Sawyer refers to Tom as 'Bluebeard'."
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Finished 10/7/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
I read all of Charles Perrault's fairy tales - and they are wry and just so clever. I will only be discussing Bluebeard in these paragraphs however...
Bluebeard was a very interesting fairy tale, and this was my first reading of it. At the climax of the tale, when Bluebeard's wife discovers the corpses of his former wives hanging on the walls, each with her throat cut, I nearly spit out my wine.
In Lost, Sawyer refers to Tom Friendly, one of the Others, as 'Bluebeard'. The direct line is said when Sawyer and Michael are adrift at sea, after the raft is blown up:
"He's the one they wanted -- why I got a bullet in my shoulder. Hell, Bluebeard blew us up because they wanted your kid."
The reference to the fairytale is about the character Bluebeard. Bluebeard is a very rich man with an actual blue beard and... "this made him so ugly and frightening that women and girls fled at the sight of him."
I think that is the main point that Sawyer makes when he refers to Tom - that he is ugly-looking. I love that Sawyer is so well-read that he can make these literary references. I've mentioned him in nearly every book 'review' so far.
The other thing I want to mention in relation to Lost, is that this is a plot a lot like Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit. Bluebeard gives his wife the keys to the entire house and tells her to "amuse herself during his absence... open everything, go everywhere, but I forbid you to enter that little room." Naturally, his wife's curiousity cannot be contained, so she opens the room to find the dead bodies. Is this reference to Bluebeard made to warn us? The survivors? That in striving to understand the mystery of the island, that the answers they receive may not be to their satisfaction? That they may not be to ours?
Charles Perrault leaves us with his signature moral poem:
"Curiosity has its lure,
But all the same
It's a paltry kind of pleasure
And a risky game.
The thrill of peeping is soon over;
And then the cost is to discover."
Started 1.8 Book of Laws, also known as The Laws of Manu on 10/11/10Relation to Lost:
"One of the objects that Richard Alpert places before young John Locke."
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Finished 10/11/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
I am extremely bored out of my mind after reading this. I tell you - boring. The Laws of Manu are exactly what they are - religious guidelines/laws to live by. Blagh.
There were a lot of funny laws... like... "Let him always sleep alone, let him never waste his manhood..." or "The names of women should be easy to pronounce, not imply anything dreadful, possess a plain meaning, be pleasing and auspicious, end in long vowels, and contain a word of benediction."
But, very few seemed to have direct relation to Lost. I did notice that in the 'creation' part of the lawbook, Manu did mention that there was creation of the gods. And these gods "possessed great brilliancy" and had "measureless power".
This book is directly seen in Lost. Young John Locke meets Richard Alpert who presents several objects in front of him, including a baseball glove, a book entitled "Book of Laws", a small container of granules, a compass, a comic book entitled "Mystery Tales" and a knife. Richard asks, "Which of these things belong to you already?" John takes the container of granuels and the compass... then reaches for this book. Richard looks hopeful... but then John ends up selecting the knife instead. I think that for John, the knife vs. the book of Laws (a book of religion) was a debate about what kind of man he would be. Richard wanted him to be the kind of man who would choose faith instead of war.
1.9 Holy BibleRelation to Lost:
"Mr. Eko gives Locke a book that he found in the Arrow. When Locke opens the book, he realizes that it is the Bible and also finds that part of the center of the book has been removed. Inside this opening is a missing piece of the Swan Orientation Film."
and
"Cassidy pretends to be someone selling Bibles in her first attempt to help Kate talk to her mom."
and
"Scripture references are carved into Mr. Eko's walking stick."
and
"A Bible is also on display on the bookshelf in Jack's office."
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Not actually reading this one front to back, although I've read most of the bible in chunks here and there.
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
There are many biblical references to Lost - the direct viewing of the bible in several places, names of MANY of the characters, the titles of several episodes are biblical in nature, etc. I think it's silly for me to pretend like I have seen many of these references from Lost to the bible. There are way too many to count - and there is a super long Lostpedia entry about it all. You can view it here:
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/Bible
I hope you all understand about me kind of leaving this one to the experts. I really enjoy making my own connections in the books - it's fun to read the book and go OH YEAH! Lost! Right there! But... the Bible is kind of too much to expect one girl to do I think.
Started 1.10 A Brief History of Time on 10/11/10Relation to Lost:
"Eloise Hawking and the author of this book share the same last name. Eloise is aware of time travel and oversees the Lamp Post."
and
"Aldo is seen reading this book, while guarding Karl."
and
"This book can be seen in Ben's bedroom."
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Finished 10/13/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Jesus, I think reading this book pretty much outlines your commitment to this challenge. That was difficult, way beyond my comfort (and intelligence) zone and bored me half to death. I did like portions of it - but that is probably getting beyond my Lost book report here.
I think that there isn't a whole lot to reference Lost's relations to this book. I mean, it's pretty much covered above... Eloise Hawking was named after Stephen Hawking, and her son Daniel Faraday ends up being a physicist who devotes his time to the study of space-time.
I just think this book was thrown in the midst because the island doesn't really obey the whole space, time, universe laws of science.... And also, Eloise is a character who interacted with her time-traveling son, then went to predict future events... and also, remember when she stopped time just to talk to Desmond? Somehow she has power over the world and conflicts with Hawking's (and, for that matter, science's) laws.
Yikes. I don't know. My brain still hurts.
Started 1.11 The Brothers Karamazov on 10/13/10Relation to Lost:
"While Ben (who was then claiming to be Henry Gale) was held captive in The Swan, Locke gave him this book for reading material. Ben responded, by asking 'You don't have any Stephen King?'"
and
"The map to the balloon Ben gives Ana Lucia is written on page from this book."
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Finished 10/31/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Jesus Christ - I had to read A Brief History of Time and then this?? Talk about a stumbling block of Bs in this Lost Lit List.
I had a hard time with this book, so as it relates to Lost, when Ben gets this book to read and he asks for a Stephen King book instead.... well... I definitely will always laugh at that scene in the future. I was wishing for a Stephen King book instead as well! Something a lot less deep would have been wonderful!
This was another tough one to directly relate to Lost... but I think some of the themes are the same. The Brothers Karamazov is about three brothers, each with a different approach to life. Which is the best? Mitya (or Dmitri) - the eldest who is a 'sensualist', who spends his money and attentions on alcohol and women? Ivan - the middle son who is the 'rationalist' - who chooses not to believe in god? He is also rather serious in his approach to life. Finally, the youngest, Alyosha, who is the most likeable and also a former novice (by the end) in a monastery.
It's a murder mystery (kind of) that really focuses on ideas of religion and philosophy (and in some places politics). In this way, it does remind one of Lost. There is a bigger picture behind the story.
I also find it interesting that this is the book Locke gave to Ben in prison, as Kate and friends were out deciding if Ben was really Henry Gale. This is a book partially about redemption - and deciding who is guilty in the murder of Fyodor Karamazov. In the end, it almost appears that multiple people are guilty of murder, even if only one hand did the deed. It's sort of a foreshadowing that Henry Gale isn't really who he says he is, that he is not who he seems.
Regardless, I am just extremely thankful that book was over!
Started 1.12 Caravan of Dreams on 11/16/10[Started so late due to Interlibrary Loan. Finally obtained this book from a Methodist College Library on 11/16.]
Relation to Lost:
"Seen on a bookshelf in Benjamin Linus' house."
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Finished 11/21/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
I'm really not surprised that this is a book that Benjamin Linus owns. It's sort of a quirky collection of stories, parables and allegories that make up viewpoints of Sufi prophets and wise men.
I often read this book and laughed, and I could see Ben really appreciating both the humor and the wisdom.
There were also several lines that I found that would be or could be attributed to John Locke. When I think of religion or faith, I think of him.
"The holy warrior is he who struggles with himself."
I love this line in regards to John. It sort of defines his whole life - a struggle to accept faith.
I also found some lines that made me think of the afterlife and Season 6.
"Souls which recognise one another congregate together."
and
"The infinite universe lies beyond this world."
Souls recognize each other, yes. And they congregate with each other in the afterlife... especially if they are Losties who had each other for their more important life experiences!
Started 1.13 Carrie on 12/3/10[Started so late because I believe this must be the most stolen public library book in New Hanover County. Finally got ahold of the only copy which was overdue since November 15th.]
Relation to Lost:
"The book that Juliet and the other members of the book club are reading. Juliet says it is her favorite book."
and
"A different edition of the book is seen in Juliet's flashback, on Rachel's nightstand."
and
"Ben reads Carrie in his library for the forthcoming book club discussion, and complains that he finds it depressing."
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Finished 12/3/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
I honestly got into the book so much, I didn't think much about Lost. I like thinking about how the characters "enjoy" or "dislike" Lost. I can see Ben Linus snubbing his nose at the idea of reading Stephen King, while for Juliette it is an escape from her work.
I thought a bit about the idea of telekinesis and how, in the novel, it is a serious discussion in scholarly books. For some, telekinesis is BS but for most, it appears that this is a subject for serious academic study. This was a theme that really wasn't explored in Lost (due to Walt growing up so quickly), but perhaps this would have been a big story line. Walt was deemed special and there were several occasions where he thought something or grew emotionally distraught and "something" happened for instance. The viewers were shown a scene where Walt was trying to get his stepfather's attention, and when unable, a bird suddenly hit the window. On the island, Walt plays a game of backgammon with Hurley - and he speaks a number outloud, then immediately rolls it. Walt is nothing like Carrie, but they do have similiar special powers.
Good luck getting a copy of Carrie! It's a pretty quick read. How funny that you're going to be reading a Stephen King book so soon after The Brothers Karamazov!
Started 1.14 Catch-22 on 12/1/10Relation to Lost:
"A Portuguese copy of the book is found by Desmond after a helicopter crash near the Island."
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Finished 12/15/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
There are several connections between Catch-22 and Lost, but I think some of my connections may be a bit of a stretch.
Firstly, there is a Nurse Duckett in Catch-22 and a Frank Duckett on Lost. Frank Duckett is a man that Sawyer shot, thinking it was the con-man who had conned his parents - leading to their deaths. Nurse Duckett is a woman that Yossarian meets in the hospital. He can't keep his hands off of her and they sleep together. So, the similarities between the two characters really end there.
The main connection between the novel and the show is when Desmond finds the novel near the helicopter crash. It reminds me of a scene in the book. We find out early in Catch-22 that Orr has crashed his plane and is never seen again, presumed dead. At the end of the book, Yossarian realizes that Orr had crashed his plane to escape to Sweden. His crash was a front for the escape and really wasn't what it seemed to be. When Desmond find the book Catch-22 in the jungle, I think it is meant to be a warning to the survivors and also the viewer. This helicopter crash is much like Orr's crash - not what it seems to be. Naomi and her crew will tell the survivors that they were a search party looking for the survivors of Oceanic 815, but really it is a front for something else.
The sighting of Catch-22 on the show is the same show that is entitled Catch-22. In the episode, Desmond sees visions of finding a crash with Hurley, Jin and Charlie. However, he also sees a vision of Charlie's death on this hunt for the helicopter. Desmond needs Charlie to accompany this foray in order for the vision of the helicopter crash to come true, but if Charlie does accompany the group, he will die. It is a true catch-22.
Another connection between Lost and this novel is the plot. Catch-22 is about a group of soldiers fighting in WWII. They cannot go home until they've completed their allotted amount of missions. However, everytime a soldier completes the amount of missions, the powers-that-be up the amount again. So, instead of ever going home, they slowly go stir-crazy trying to complete the never-ending missions. They go stir-crazy, or they die mid-mission. So, there is never leaving the war - much like many of our survivors who want to go home, but can't leave the island. Also, there is some discussion (or could be) if some of the survivors don't turn out as crazy, or appear to be as crazy, as the soldiers in the book. When I read Catch-22, Yossarian claims everyone is crazy, yet he is sane. I wondered often if everyone was sane, and Yossarian was crazy, and then sometimes I wondered if everyone was just crazy after-all. I think that this argument could be applied to many of the characters on Lost as well. Sort of a wondering about their sanity dilemma.
After reading more about Catch-22's relations to Lost, I also found out that Lost is full of catch-22 type situations. Examples: Sun with her baby's father's identity. If it is Jin's baby, the baby could die, but if the baby has a chance, it's Jae Lee's baby. Another catch-22 situation is all Michael. Michael gets his son back, but he has to free "Henry Gale" and kill Libby and Ana Lucia. Or, Michael doesn't murder anyone or free Ben, but he doesn't get his son back.
It's interesting - I guess it turns out that reading this book and connecting it back to Lost wasn't much of a stretch at all.
Started 1.15 A Christmas Carol on 12/15/10Relation to Lost:
"Sawyer describes himself as 'The Ghost of Christmas Future' while banging on the door of The Swan."
and
"Sawyer also described The Man in Black as 'The Ghost of Christmas Past'."
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Finished 12/16/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
What a great book! So glad Lost made me read this one.
I read this on Lostpedia: "Published in 1843, A Christmas Carol is considered by some to be the first depiction of time travel in a novel." I had no idea, but yeah - the three ghosts of Christmas do take Scrooge forward and back in time. So yeah - big reference to Lost.
Sawyer calls himself the Ghost of Christmas Future in the following scence
"SAWYER: The sky can flash all it wants, but I ain't startin' over, Dilbert. I ain't rubbin' two sticks together and starting a fire, and I ain't huntin' damn boar! There's DHARMA food, beer, and clothing in there. And I'm gettin' Desmond to let me in one way or another.
FARADAY: That's not gonna work, my friend.
SAWYER: Yeah? Why not?
FARADAY: Because Desmond didn't know you when he first came out of there. That means you've never met, which means you can't meet.
SAWYER: That would all be fascinating if I was listening to ya.
FARADAY: So how you do know Desmond is even in there? Think about it. It could be anybody.
[Sawyer stops and turns to Faraday.]
SAWYER: I don't care who's in there.
FARADAY: Wait. Wait.
[Sawyer pounds on the door.]
SAWYER: Open the damn door!
FARADAY: It won't work.
SAWYER: Sure it will. Yo, open up! It's the Ghost of Christmas Future!"
And Sawyer with the Man in Black:
LOCKE: You're taking this extremely well.
SAWYER: Taking what extremely well?
LOCKE: That I'm here.
SAWYER: I don't give a damn if you're dead. Or time travellin' or... the ghost of Christmas past. All I care about is this whiskey. So bottoms up! Get the hell out of my house.
I don't really think there's any more to it than the reference. The Ghost of Christmas Future is a scary, scary dude. The Ghost of Christmas Past is sort of an ambiguous character - especially towards gender. In A Christmas Carol, TGoCP says, to paraphrase - the past is what it is, don't blame me. I don't really know what else there is to add to this - other than that a Christmas Carol references time travel, and Lost definitely cotains the time travel.
Started 1.16 The Chosen on 12/18/10Relation to Lost:
"This 1967 book, is seen as Ben is rummaging through Sawyer's tent at the beach camp."
----
Finished 12/21/10
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
I think this relates a lot to Lost. The Chosen is about a lot of things - WWII, growing up Jewish (Hasidic or otherwise), growing as a boy to a man, our relationships with our friends and most importantly - our relationships with our fathers. For Jack, Kate, Walt and many others - this is a huge theme. There were two boys the book followed into their college years - Daniel and Reuven. Daniel was raised in a Hasidic household with a strict father who raised him in silence. Daniel's father raised him as best he could, using what methods he thought best. Daniel struggled a lot in this strict, silent upbringing whiel Reuven watched, silently hating Daniel's father for his friend's hardships. At the end of the book, Daniel manages to free himself of a future planned for him by his father and is asked if he will raise his own son in silence. Daniel replies "Yes, if I can't find another way." So, it is not only a story of struggling with a parent figure, but of finding peace with with their parenting styles. I think that was a struggle for many of the Lost characters, including Alex with Ben.
Some other passages reminded me of Lost as well. Reuven and Daniel both study relentlessly, first with their religious subjects and the Talmud, but then later with their chosen subjects - mathematics/logic and experimental psychology. This, of course, reminded me of the Dharma initiative. There also was a lot of dicussion in the book about oppression, slaughtering of Jews (not only in Hitler's Germany, but in Poland in the 13th century) and division amongst Jews and Hasidism. There are not direct links but it did make me reflect upon Ben, The Others vs. the Dharma initiative and the needless posion gassing of the Dharmians.
Started 1.17 The Chronicles of Narnia on 12/21/10Relation to Lost:
"Charlotte Staples Lewis is a reference to Clive Staples Lewis."
and
"The DHARMA Initiative station, the Lamp Post, is a reference to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where a lamp post marks the passage between Narnia and the real world."
and
"Narnia is a hidden world where time passes faster than on Earth and where magic is common. The guardian of Narnia is Aslan, a lion who appears after death. Only certain people chosen can enter Narnia. The Island, Jacob, visions of dead people and the Losties are references to the books."
This is going to be a rather weird entry into my Lost Lit List. Chronicles of Narnia is listed, but it is in fact made up of seven novels. I'm going to read them all in chronological order, not publishing order, and list them within this same comment.
----
Finished The Magician's Nephew 12/22/10
Finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 12/22/10
Finished The Horse and His Boy 12/23/10
Finished Prince Caspian 12/25/10
Finished The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 12/26/10
Finished The Silver Chair 1/1/11
Finished The Last Battle 1/1/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
I had a hard time focusing on Lost while reading about Narnia. I had only read a few of the books as a child (#1, #2, #4) so it was neat to read them all, in order, as an adult. Also, I probably wouldn't have gotten all the references to society, politics and religion as a child.
The main references are listed above - Charlotte's name is a nod to CS Lewis. So I read a bit about CS Lewis and also discovered he was called Jack. Another name relation. Charlotte was from England... and CS Lewis was Irish, and apparently had quite a dislike for the English. Sort of a tongue in cheek reference to him!
The Lamp Post station is one located in the basement of a church in LA, CA. "The station's purpose is to determine the Island's most probable location in space and time and identify windows of opportunity to travel there." In all of the Narnia books, the children travel from their own world to the world of Narnia. They also don't know how to get there on their own (only exception being the first book, with Digory's magic rings that will also get you to Narnia, and of course, the wardrobe in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). In the books, Aslan creates the windows of opportunity to travel the children to Narnia. The Lamp Post is a physical lamp post in the world of Narnia. It is near the entrance to the wardrobe.
Lost's island and Narnia are two similiar types of worlds. They are both hidden away from our world and hard to find, and get to. Both could be called imaginary by those who have not been there - because how could you prove it exists? They are places where some unusual, magical things seem to happen. There is also a time difference in both places from the real world's happenings. In Narnia vs. Earth, it is a huge time difference. From the first book to the last, 1000 years pass in Narnia, while only 70 years or so pass on Earth. In an article on Lostpedia, they say that "for every second that passes on the outside world, over a minute-and-a-half would pass on the island."
The last book, The Last Battle, ends with a scene where the children find out they have died due to a railway accident. Only by believing in Aslan do the characters move on to a beautiful, "real" version of Narnia. This is similiar to Season 6's limbo where they needed to find themselves and let go to move on to heaven.
Started The Coalwood Way on 1/1/11Relation to Lost:
"The book is shown on the bookshelf in the DHARMA classroom when the Hostiles attack."
----
Finished 1/2/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This is a fantastic book - so great. This is actually the second part of a memoir of Homer Hickam, about a teenager growing up in a mining town (Coalwood) in West Virginia.
I don't this majorly relates to Lost, especially in the way I was assuming it would. Since it is shown in a school room at the Dharma town while hostiles are attacking, I thought there would be more violence or ... something in this book.
However, it does relate in other ways. Homer (or Sonny as he is known in the book) deals with a lot of sadness and guilt about things going on in his life. He feels responsible for these regrets/guilts/stressful situations, but he doesn't do a whole lot to resolve them himself. In this way, he is much like our Losties. They too have issues they feel guilt/pain/sadness about and haven't taken responsibility for.
Also, in this book, a major theme was parenting issues, especially between Sonny and his father. He struggles to find a good balance in communication and also in understanding his father. Since many of our Losties have parenting issues as well (Jack/Christian, Walt/Michael, Sun/Chinese dude, Hurley/his father who disappeared, Kate/stepfather, etc), I thought this related well.
Started Dark Horse on 1/4/11Relation to Lost:
"This book is found in Jack's book shelf in his office while he is speaking with his father."
----
Finished 1/8/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This is a book on Jack's bookshelf, and the book relates to Jack more than the concept of the show.
This is a mystery, and a book I never ever in a million years would have picked for myself to read. The actual book has little to do with Jack, but I could see how Jack could identify with the main character (former cop turned private investigator), Elena Estes. Elena struggles on a personal level in this book. She has come off a case where she made a decision that got another cop killed. As a result, she's sort of drifting through life and considering suicide. This reminded me a lot of Jack's struggles when they leave the island. Jack even considers jumping off a bridge, but a car accident happens, and Jack rushes to be a hero.
A similar incident happens to Elena. Since this cop's death, she goes to bed every night counting pills, that if she took them, would kill her. Then, during this rough patch, a girl approaches her about a case (missing sister) and Elena has to make a choice: be a hero, or not. Elena, like Jack, rushes to the rescue of others in order to save herself.
Elena and Jack seem to have similar personalities as well. Elena is stubborn, she needs to be in control of all aspects of her case, and she does what she thinks needs to be done, even if it puts herself in danger.
Elena also has issues with her father, which of course, direct relates to the scene where we see this book (Jack and father). There is never a scene in the book where Elena and her father interact, but the author keeps bringing up these daddy issues as a dimension of who Elena is. Elena's father is a lawyer and Elena goes into the police force as a reaction to rebelling against her father, and choosing not to follow in his footsteps. This is an option that Jack could have taken, but instead he chooses to please his father and to become a surgeon.
I like that this book was on Jack's bookshelf, because I did put myself in his shoes as I read the book. I saw how he could relate to the main character and I also saw this thriller as something he could easily pick up and read a few pages in his free time. A much different book than one on Ben's bookshelf! And our bookshelves do reflect who we are.
Started The Gunslinger on 1/9/11Relation to Lost:
"The first book of The Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger, is on Ben's bedside desk while he is recovering from spinal surgery in his house."
----
Finished 1/9/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Wow, I think my least favorite read on this list so far. I've actually read this book before and disliked it, not sure I've even finished it before. I think it's one of those book series that has been recommended to me several times too, so it's kind of funny that I dislike this book so.
I have heard, thankfully, that this series does get better after the first one, because it would be really hard to read three more of these for my Lost Lit List.
I really don't see too much of Lost in this book. Besides, obviously, that a character is called The Man in Black. Also, I suppose I could make a stretch and say that there is a similarity between Roland the Gunslinger losing Jake, a child he loved that wasn't his, and Ben losing Alex, a child he loved that also wasn't his.
I think there's more Dark Tower involved with Lost in future books, according to the Lostpedia book list.
Yikes, just thought of one major way this book relates to Lost. It turns out every time I say there's no connection, there always is. In The Gunslinger, King uses flashbacks to further the story and to explain Roland's life and choices. Obviously, flashbacks are essential to Lost for both those reasons.
Tamsen wrote: "Started 1.3 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll on 9/30/10Relation to Lost:
"Two episode titles reference Alice in Wonderland including 'White Rabbit' and 'Through t..."
I didn't even think of Faraday and Lewis Carroll! Interesting!
Tamsen wrote: "I have heard, thankfully, that this series does get better after the first one, because it would be really hard to read three more of these for my Lost Lit List. "It definitely does get better! MUCH better! The Gunslinger was my least favorite book in the series. But it does serve as a good introduction to all the other books.
Alicia wrote: "I didn't even think of Faraday and Lewis Carroll! Interesting!The As seem so far away on my LLL, I had to go back reread what I wrote! ha! Yes - I actually read a few articles about Lewis Carroll and then remembered Daniel. I love how much thought the writers put into the show.
Luann wrote: "It definitely does get better! MUCH better!"
Thank god. I'm about 30 pages into The Drawing of the Three (Vol II) and I sort of skimmed the first 15 pages. Then I got into the whole concept of Roland looking through Eddie's eyes as windows - and wow, I'm into that. Really love that concept.
Started The Drawing of the Three on 1/11/11Relation to Lost:
"Charlie has strong similarities to character Eddie Dean. Both are addicted to heroin when introduced and are nearly caught while attempting to smuggle the drug on board an airplane."
and
"Charlie and Eddie both have complicated and detrimental relationships with their respective older brothers. These relationships are direct influences to the development of their addictions."
and
"Both characters are forced to endure withdrawals in very similar beach settings and emerge as improved individuals who ultimately perish and reemerge in somewhat altered form."
----
Finished 1/14/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Charlie does not just have strong similarities to Eddie Dean... he IS Eddie Dean. Everything listed by the Lostpedia above is accurate. Charlie, like Eddie, do drugs on a plane in the bathroom. There is a chase scene by stewardesses to the bathroom when Eddie escapes there to get rid of his drugs. Charlie and Eddie both have older brothers who they look up to and idolize, to the point of following them in their drug addictions (which for both are heroin). Both of their older brothers call them "little brother". In both lives, when their older brothers start using, both Charlie and Eddie first get mad about it, but then start using themselves.
When Eddie comes through his world into the Gunslinger's world, he comes in on a beach. A dangerous beach full of monsters, some they know about and others they don't. This obviously bears strong similarities to Lost's beach - with the smoke monster and the boars. Both Eddie and Charlie stop using with the help of a mentor. For Eddie, it's Roland the gunslinger. For Charlie, it's John Locke and Jack.
Charlie and Eddie and have similar personalities too. They both need to be needed, which was probably brought on by the dependence of their older brothers. Once they both get to their respective beaches, Charlie finds pregnant Claire and finds his need to be needed satisfied by her, and later Aaron. Eddie is needed on his beach by Odetta/Detta and finally when she becomes Susannah.
There is a connection between Claire and this book. The tarot cards read a reading that Roland would draw three - the Demon, the Lady of the Shadows and the Pusher. They led him further of his journey of ka. Claire's tarot reading led her on her journey to the island as well.
Finally, there is some space/time relation as well. Roland pulls the three out of their worlds - a different? world than his, and all out of different times. Later in the show, our Losties would find themselves jumping from time to time too, making connections.
Tamsen wrote: "Alicia wrote: "I didn't even think of Faraday and Lewis Carroll! Interesting!The As seem so far away on my LLL, I had to go back reread what I wrote! ha! Yes - I actually read a few articles ab..."
My version of the book had a bio of Carrol in the Intro. that I read but I didn't make that connection. It's been too long since I have seen Lost :( I agree, the writers are awesome.
Started The Waste Lands on 1/15/11Relation to Lost:
"The key used in this book is very similar to The Constant - an anchor existing in both realities that can cure madness caused by time travel."
----
Finished 1/23/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
The person who wrote that in Lostpedia's website was missing out on a good portion of this book... or I just see Lost references everywhere. It could easily be the latter. I did bend quite a few pages in this book... so bear with me.
So, in chronological order...
Roland draws a circle in the sand to describe the location of the Dark Tower. Around the circle's inner rim are xs, and each x has a line through it, connecting across the circle. Hard to describe, but imagine cutting a pizza. Where all the lines intersect, there is the dark tower (the center). With this actual illustration in the book, I immediately thought of the station The Lamp Post with the pendulum chamber. It had a similiar feel to it, with the pendulum's intersections determining the location of the island. (Also an elusive force and location to its' protagonists in the show, much like the Dark Tower to Roland and his band in the books.)
Roland also describes the idea of ka-tet a lot in this book...
"Ka - the word you think of as 'destiny,' Eddie, although the actual meaning is much more complex and hard to define... and tet, which means a group of people with the same interests and goals. We three are a tet, for instance. Ka-tet is a place where many lives are joined by fate... a ka-tet can be seen, known and understood.... The exact reason - the agent of ka-tet doesn't matter."
A ka-tet is exactly what our Losties had. I was going to write that is it especially like when they were in limbo, searching for their awakenings. And, yes, that was a ka-tet of the same people with new similar goals. But they also were a ka-tet on the island, whether they were seeking to leave the island or seeking truth. They were a group of people bound by fate (the crash) and with similar goals. Their ka-tet only became stronger as it transcended to limbo and the afterlife. Because they were a ka-tet IN life, they were a necessary ka-tet in that life-limbo-death.
Later, Roland further delves in ka-tet:
"'We are ka-tet,' Roland began, 'which means a group of people bound together by fate. The philosophers of my land said a ka-tet could only be broken by death or treachery. My great teacher, Cort, said that since death and treachery are also spokes on the wheel of ka, such a binding could never be broken... Each member of a ka-tet is like a piece of the puzzle. Taken by itslef, each piece is a mystery, but when they are put together, they make a picture... or part of a picture. It may take a great many ka-tets to finish one picture. You mustn't be surprised if you discover your lives have been touching in ways you haven't seen until now.'"
That paragraph pretty much sums up the idea of Lost, doesn't it? I've read that one of the writers was a huge huge huge fan of the dark tower series, and now I am not surprised to find that these books are one of the most direct links to the show. In the last paragraph quote by Roland, he says that these bonds are unbreakable, which again, we saw in even the after-life with our Losties. He also says that many ka-tets make up a picture. We've seen several different groups on the island, over decades (centuries!) make up the island's history and the entire puzzle of who they were. Finally, members of ka-tet were even touching each other's lives before they actually "met and formed the ka-tet". I put that in parenthesis, because it seems that ka-tets are simply fate-derived groups. If their lives were touching always, it's ka/destiny/fate that bound them from the first. We've seen this over and over and over on the show. From the beginning, we've seen our Losties (members of their ka-tets) in the backgrounds of each others lives. In this book as well, we see members of the ka-tet "time-traveling" to touch each other's lives across time. Again that happens in Lost - with the time traveling and the incident.
Additionally, in the book, they mention a Shardik, and also the name of the book this character is in (Watership Down). I haven't actually read this book yet, but I do know it's on my lost lit list, and to see it mentioned in this book gave me a shock. Can't wait to keep reading my list and see how Watership Down mingles with not only Lost but the Dark Tower series.
Finally, the last Lost relation I found, was the - oh no, I have a few more! Yikes! Sorry. Anyways, in the book, Charlie (a character in a book) is mentioned:
"In the old tongue, which had once been his word's lingua franca, most words, like khef and ka, had many meanings. The word char, however - char as in Charlie the Choo-Choo - had only one. Char meant death."
Again, this gave me another shock. Eddie (as I've mentioned in the other Dark Tower relations) is just like Charlie in Lost. Same character. To see Charlie referenced in a book they found within the book was odd. But, not odd enough to mention it here. And then, seeing Char in Charlie meaning death - and having Charlie on the show go through the period before his own death not able to avoid it... well.. I found it interesting that it was just a nice continuation.
Finally, and this really is the last Lost one I found, was an airplance crash is ALSO referenced in this book.
They came upon the downed airplane... they stood silently at the edge of the road looking at the ancient wreck. Three plump crows stood on the tattered skin of fuselage, staring insolently at the newcomers... One wing had broken off in the crash and lay thirty yards away, a shadow like a diving board in the tall grass. The rest of the plane was pretty much intact.
The fallen plane really doesn't have too much to do with Lost and even in this book. But to imagine it there, in the sand, brought up such vivid images of Lost that I couldn't not inclue it.
Now, that is all the relations I found to Lost within this book. The single relation mentioned by Lostpedia said that constants were brought up in this book. After giving it a lot of thought, they're right. But I didn't see that subtle connection while reading it. Jake, a character in the book, is slowly going crazy because his life had been altered by Roland's changing the past. Jake basically would have died if Roland hadn't changed it. But Jake continued to live, but lived as a broken boy - with two pasts/futures going on in his head. He went crazy, because he should be dead, but he was living. He meets up with a member of his ka-tet, Eddie, who he hadn't actually met in real life yet, to fix it all and cure his insanity and the voices. I'm sorry this description is so convoulted - the time and time travel are confusing. Basically, Eddie in his own past with Jake, fixed Jake, and then Jake met him in Eddie's present time. Eddie thus became Jake's constant, and perhaps vice versa. This, of course is similiar to Daniel Farraday and Desmond being each other's constants in Lost. I'm glad Lostpedia found that one!
Started Wizard and Glass on 1/24/11Started Wolves of the Calla on 1/27/11
Relation to Lost:
Not officially on Lostpedia's list.
This, like the Chronicles of Narnia, is going to be another weird entry into my Lost Lit List. I just realized when I finished the Dark Tower III: the Waste Lands, and picked up The Song of Susannah, that Lost wanted me to skip over Dark Towers IV and V (Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla respectively) to read Dark Tower VI: The Song of the Susannah. First of all, as a reader, I think that is bullshit. Secondly, as a Lost fanatic, I think that is bullshit. Whe I related The Waste Lands to Lost, I wrote about eight million pages. So I refuse to believe there is no connection between Dark Towers IV and V and Lost. I don't think that there would be zero connection until Dark Tower VI again.
So, I've added the entire Dark Tower series to my Lost Lit List. I'll update these two in this comment of the thread, and then I will continue VI with VII (also not included on the official Lost Lit List) in their own comment.
----
Finished 1/27/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This one is tough. I kind of see why this wasn't included in the Lost Lit List now (although I'm still counting it, because who jumps around while reading a series!?). This mostly expounds the theory of ka-tet in many, many different forms. It talks about the former ka-tet of Roland, Cuthbert, Alain, Susan and Sheemie. It talks about the current ka-tet of Roland, Jake, Oy, Eddie and Susannah. It talks about ka-tets of evil - Jonas and his buddies. It talks about ka-tets in other literature and movies like in The Wizard of Oz - Dorothy, Toto, the Tinman, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow. Ka-tet and ka, ka-tet and ka.
The only other two things I noticed (which are a stretch) are that this book is a large flashback of Roland's life. Like Lost, this flashback is "necessary" (sorry, I didn't like this book!) to explain who Roland is and why he is the way he is. It also shows us what he needs to overcome to reach happiness (or, for him, the tower).
The other thing was that within the book, they used a book to illustrate what was going on. King used the Wizard of Oz; much like the creators of Lost used the 100+ books on this list to add richness and meaning to the show.
----
Finished 2/5/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This book had nearly as many references to Lost as The Waste Lands (I believe... Dark Tower III). Bare with me... this is going to be a long one.
I recently read Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens... and maybe that's why this quote appeals to me so much. But I also thought of Lost as I read it:
"[Dickens] was maybe the best who ever lived. In his stories, folks in this big city called London kept meeting people they knew from other places or long ago. I had a teacher in college who hated the way that always happened. He said Dickens's stories were full of easy coincidences."
In the Dark Tower series, the members of the ka-tet keep meeting people they know over and over again in their pasts. Names are similiar - the many Susans/Susannahs, or there will be a last name that is significant - like two Delgados that two of the ka-tets have loved. In Lost, it is much the same. Similarities are not coincidences either.
Another major relation to Lost is the number thing in this book. For most of the book, the characters keep seeing 19 everywhere. EVERYWHERE. It is the number in the address of a place they are, or the numbers of a hotel room will add up to 19, or the number of characters in an important person's name will add up to 19. 19 will always be the number, or add up to the number, and they see it everywhere, over and over again. Does that remind of 4 8 15 16 23 42? Or 108? Like it Lost? Just a bit, hear me do ya beg? Say thankee. (Yes, I think that is now part of my language now that I've read it/heard it in my head eight million times during this book.)
A major Lost reference jumped out to me in this book:
"1987. And I came here in 1983, counting as we did then. So tell me something, young man, something very important. Had the Red Sox won the World Series yet when you left?"
Holy crap. These Dark Tower series are the key to Lost, hear me do ya beg. As anyone who has watched the show knows, for Jack and Christian - the Red Sox never winning the World Series is an indication of fate. I could not believe I read that line in this book.
The major plot in this book involved the Wolves invading the town of the Calla every generation to steal children. The town of the Calla doesn't like it, but have stood to fight them rarely and have resigned themselves that when they are warned that the Wolves will come, one of each set of twins will be stolen. This reminded me (more subtly) of the children subplot in Lost. For Russo, the black smoke indicated that they would steal a child. For Russo, it was Alex - and she warned the Losties that they would come to steal Aaron. The Others actually ended up stealing Walt, as well as the two children on the other side of the island. The reasons were as mysterious to the Losties as it was to the inhabitants of the Calla.
In this book, they not only referenced Watership Down and the Wizard of Oz (both of which were referenced in Lost), they also referenced Alice of Wonderland and Harry Potter. The book reading list would be very similiar!
Not only did the name of Charlie from Lost come from the Dark Tower series, but in this book there is also a baby Aaron. Aaron faces the possibility at one point of being raised by someone other than his natural parents. In this book, it would also be bad for Aaron to be raised by others - in this case, wolves. Much, of course, like our baby Aaron being raised than someone other than his natural mother Claire.
At one point, two of the characters (Jake and Oy) find an outpost that was made long before they had ever entered this world. They entered the outpost and it ended up being a room full of tv monitors - there were cameras posted all over the town of the Calla, even inside some of the buildings, that watched the every mood of the town's inhabitants. This brought up the station in Lost named The Flame. The Flame was another secret outpost, like the one Jake found, with tv monitors receiving feeds from all over the island. A secret place where the Others could monitor anyone and everyone.
One last similiarity and I'll wrap up - near the end of this book, a married couple has a ring that reminds me of Lost's Rose and Bernard. In the book, Susannah wears a ring around her neck. She discards it for reasons I won't get into, and her husband Eddie picks it up and wears it around his own neck. He is on a mission to find her, and he will give it to her when he finds Susannah again. This is similiar to Rose wearing Bernard's ring for safekeeping until they are reunited.
I have two more Dark Tower books that I will continue in the next post, and even though these aren't my favorite reads of all time, I am enjoying finding all the Lost references. When I'm finished with the series, I'm going to have to find out more about this Lost writer who loves the Dark Tower series. Lost was definitely built upon the foundation of this series.
Started Song of Susannah on 2/5/11Relation to Lost:
"In this book, some of the characters are randomly sent to 1977 to meet Stephen King, the writer that created their quest in the first place and started them on their journey. This is similar to how the survivors find themselves in 1977 to witness and play a role in The Incident that brought them to the island originally."
and
"The characters in 1977 consider investing in Microsoft in order to amass a large fortune, just like Sawyer did when he was about to leave the island."
----
Finished 2/5/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
I was in bed sick today and on top of not feeling good, a pinched nerve! Ah well, I did manage to get like 800 pages done today.
This book seemed less like Lost than most the others, but of course, a few references were there. Mostly, this book expounded upon the same themes we've seen before, and especially upon the Red Sox connection. Roland and Eddie meet a character who loves the Red Sox and has many signed base balls. When this character finds out that they are travelers of both time and worlds, he asks immediately if they've won the Series yet.
The Microsoft connection comes up, like Lostpedia mentions. Henry and Eddie discuss in the late 80s, if they could go back... Henry says, "Yeah, but I wish I'd gotten into that fuckin Microsoft of '82." and then, to pay a person in the future what Eddie bought "today" in 1977, Eddie suggests to him that he buy Microsoft stocks when they become available. This is similiar to when Sawyer and the other Losties travel back in time to 1977. In the episode:
SAWYER: We'll buy Microsoft.
JULIET: Excuse me?
SAWYER: Then we'll bet the Cowboys in the '78 Super Bowl. We're gonna be rich. Look, I'm sorry. I should've listened to you when you wanted to get on this sub three years ago.
Finally, when Eddie and Roland are in 1977, they discuss the possibilities of changing the future and ending the bad stuff that will happen. They talk about buying out bad corporations that will eventually chase them and ruin the world. I don't know if they actually attempt this plan (I think that might have bearing in the next book), but it sounds like it's a plan they are committing to. Regardless, this is exactly what our Losties try to do in the past. They try to avoid The Incident, and they end up causing the incident. This probably doesn't bear well for Roland and Eddie's plan of taking down the corporations before they even truly begin.
Started The Dark Tower 2/9/11
----
Finished 2/13/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This book continues many of the other references Lost makes - but a few new things cropped up, or were more eloquently stated that I thought of Lost.
The ka-tet finds it necessary to save Stephen King (the author of their tale) because he hasn't written the rest of their books yet, and they've found out about his impending death. I know, it's tough, stay with me. Essentially - they are worrying about what will happen in the future if they don't save someone in the past. They talk about how things won't be there when they are needed, and how death would befall them all:
This idea led him to antoher: that if Stephen King did not remain alive long enough to write those things into his tale, the key and the turtle would not be there when they were needed. Jake wuold have been eaten by the Doorkeeper int he house on Dutch Hill... always assuming he got that far.
It reminded me of the Losties traveling through time, and John needing to tell Richard to bring a medical kit when he would see him in the future again, or vice versa, Richard needing to tell John that he needed to bring him something to convince him to do that in the past. Confusing as all get out.
This book again references books on my Lost List - Chronicles of Narnia I believe is a new one. Another is Alice in Wonderland.
In this last book, King displays a ruthlessness much like the writers of Lost. They were not afraid to kill off central characters -- they were a necessary means to an end. King also kills off Eddie, Jake and Oy, two main characters readers probably thought safe. Also like Lost, the characters all meet up again in the end even through death in "another world." One could say it was a true world, or the afterlife.
Started Dirty Work on 2/13/11Relation to Lost:
"The book can be seen in the Swan station by Sawyer's bed as he is recovering from the injuries caused as a result of the raft incident."
and
"A copy of this book is displayed on Jack's office bookshelf, along with Two Dollar Bill, also by Stuart Woods."
----
Finished 2/13/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
You'd think a book that was shown on the show twice would have significance, wouldn't you?
The answer is not really, no. I read on the Lostpedia website that a lot of readers think, since this book was published in 2003, and it was seen in the hatch (built before 1980), that books were restocked with food drops. I guess that's probably the case, because otherwise it would be a mistake.
Then, on Jack's bookshelf - well, I think that since Jack's shelves are full of mostly encyclopedias, medical books, mystery and horror novels, I think we can pretty much count out a lot of Jack's books as having a lot of significance.
I did find three things that were just coincidences to my other Lost readings so far. There is a character named Elena in this book - just like there is an Elena in Dark Horse. In Bad Twin, there is a lot of plot carried out in the Virgin Islands, and some of this book is also there. Finally, the main character lives in a neighborhood called Turtle Bay. Turtle Bay was the name of an apartment building in one of the Dark Tower series. Like I said - nothing but coincidences, but it was eerie when all three of those jumped out at me in the first five pages of this book.
Started The Epic of Gilgamesh on 2/13/11Relation to Lost:
"The crossword puzzle that Locke is solving contains a clue referencing "The Epic of Gilgamesh"."
----
Finished 2/13/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
John fills out the crossword in an episode - the clue is 'Who is Enkidu's friend?' The answer he writes is 'Gilgamesh'.
This was in my introduction to the book and I found it fascinating:
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest recorded story in the world. It was originally carved on twelve stone tablets which, over thousands of years, were smashed into thousands of shards. Even now, for all the painstaking work of restoration, different scholars place the events of the story in different orders, and some episodes are still lost.
Gilgamesh is thought to have been a real king reigning some time between 3200 BC and 2700 BC over the Sumerian city of Uruk in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). He led expeditions into neighboring territories, to fetch back timber for his grand building projects... The work of archaeology is incomplete; some of the tile fragments still baffle interpreters.
Fascinating. (I did have a chuckle at the line about some episodes still being... lost.)
In this book, dreams are very important omens. In fact, Enkidu thinks that "Dreams were not just rotting vegetation of the past, the leaves blown down from the day before. Dreams were omens. Dreams were messages." In Lost, visions are also very important and could lead to important revelations.
In Gilgamesh's early years, Ben resembles him (of sorts). Some of the Uruk's residents think of their king as a heartless man. He spends their men like money - using them to build buildings and fight wars. I kind of think Ben can be seen in this light in some episodes. He doesn't think of what it costs to keep the Island secret, or to continue with his plans. Like Gilgamesh, Ben has another side too - a side that is full of heart. But only after great change did we see it in Lost, and with Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh's epic is full of gods. Gods affected the world greatly. On Lost's island, there were two gods who also held their lives in check. Jacob affected the lives of our Losties long before they ever even came to the island.
There is a character in the epic named Utnapishtim. He was granted immortality by the gods. Richard Alpert was also granted immortality by the gods. Utnapishtim received it for being able to survive the Flood on his boat with the animals. He was rewarded. Richard received it after many trials as well, but for Richard it ended up not being a reward in the long run.
Much of the story is about a friendship between Gilgamesh and Endiku - and because it is the clue in the crossword, I wonderd if there was a connection to Lost there. The two men's friendship was very important and Gilgamesh was in denial for a long time after Endiku's death. It was upsetting to Gilgamesh and led to trials that eventually changed him for the better. I can't think of who might this be - but I could ventured a guess. Hurley and Charlie were good friends until Charlie's death on the show. Then towards the end of Lost, Hurley and Ben were thrown together to rule the Island as gods. Ben changed for the better because of his own trials. There may be some resemblance here to the Epic of Gilgamesh, but no lies - could definitely be a stretch.
Started Everything That Rises Must Converge on 2/14/11Relation to Lost:
"The book Jacob was reading moments before John Locke falls out an 8-story window."
----
Finished 2/18/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This was a hard one for me, because I just truly enjoyed this book and did not focus on Lost.
I know there were a lot of similar themes in Lost and in this book. Parental issues is a big one on Lost, and this was largely reflected in all the short stories. Another theme was ethics and morality. Lost touched on this again and again - where is the line between good and bad? Can there be exceptions? Can you make up for when you've crossed over the line into bad? Flannery O'Connor also examined spirituality and morality, and made her own conclusions on the line. And, like Lost, she also leaves the reader/viewer to determine if those conclusions on morality are right - or if we feel differently.
This book appears visually on the show when Jacob is reading it right before Locke's fall. My cover did not look like the one that Jacob is reading - but I think that cover art did have a lot to do with why they picked this book. It's a beautiful cover of an innocent dove being shot with an arrow. I think it represents that Locke is about to be shoved out of the window (violence - arrow through the heart) by his father (specifically why the heart is chosen) because he was trying to do the right thing (innocence/dove) by stopping the conman.
Started Evil Under the Sun on 2/18/11Relation to Lost:
"This is one of the novels that Sawyer reads on the Island. He is seen reading it when he is approached by Nikki."
and
"Also a member of the mercenary team, Redfern shares a name with a central character from the novel Patrick Redfern."
----
Finished 2/20/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This was my very first Agatha Christie novel. I have to say it's not really what I expected. It was a lot less old-fashioned than I thought it would be.
I don't think there really was a whole lot of connection here. But I think that this book was meant to be foreshadowing in the episode Exposé - that was an episode of intrigue and mystery. Killing for money, that type of thing. This book was a novel that ended up (Spoiler if you care) with a husband/wife team of murderers - and Nikki/Paulo were also murderers.
As Lostpedia said, Patrick Redfern is named after Patrick Redfern in the novel. He is one of the mercenaries that comes from the boat to the island. Relation: they're both murderers! Shocking, right?
Started Fahrenheit 451 on 2/20/11Relation to Lost:
"Seen on a bookshelf in Benjamin Linus' house."
----
Finished 2/20/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Yikes. This was a hard one for me. I really don't see any direct connection with Lost. I didn't know prior to reading this book what the connection was (usually I write that little blurb at the top first). I guess this is just one of those books that intellectuals or classic book readers would have on their shelves. Ben fits that stereotype, so it was there.
I was trying hard this morning to think of anything that connects Ben with Montag the Fireman - and I could stretch some bullshit to make it work, but I won't. I really just think this book was on the shelf to build up our perception of Ben as a reader.
Started Fear and Trembling on 2/21/11Relation to Lost:
"Hurley discovers this book with Montand inside the Temple Wall."
----
Finished 3/17/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Lord, this was a hard book. I originally found it fascinating. The many scenarios that Kierkegaard brings up that could have been playing in Abraham's head were interesting. I'm surprised I hadn't heard a sermon reflecting the much suffering of Abraham. Instead, in churches, you hear of Abraham's loyalty to god that he would sacrifice is best-loved, only son - and you hear the comparison of Abraham to god giving up Jesus.
I did find that interesting. And... then, when Kierkegaard just keeps going on and on about faith, I got bored. Philosophy really isn't my thing I guess - not unless it's presented through really good fiction writing like the next book on the list (that I already read whoops).
When I was reading of Kierkegaard's conception of suffering in Abraham, I did want to compare Jacob to Abraham. We only know of what we are shown of Jacob. Jacob pushed the Man in Black to a fate worse than death due to his emotional attachment to his mother. (Abraham sacrificing Isaac due to his faith in god.) When the Man in Black turned into an even greater monster, Jacob suffered. When the MiB and Jacob turned out to be rivals forevermore, they almost were friendly to each other. Did Jacob suffer picking out candidates who could kill MiB? Did he wish it could have all turned out different, if his "mother" had never adopted them?
I don't know - but this book did put a better perspective on Jacob for me. Like Abraham, we could limit our perspective on how Jacob feels based on how we see him react and handle the MiB. But there is probably a great deal of suffering going on underneath that cool, collected, obeying surface.
The Lostpedia wiki goes on to talk a lot about the leap of faith (which apparently was brought up in this book) and people of faith. I skimmed a good deal of this book after the Abraham-section. So, I missed that. But I like knowing where that line of "a leap of faith" comes from - and perhaps, if I ever have the patience to reread this book, I can gather more from that section of it.
Started Flowers for Algernon on 3/5/11Relation to Lost:
"Ones of the books in Ben's bookcase in front of the secret room."
----
Finished 3/6/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
I am half-way done with Fear and Trembling (see last entry), but I just couldn't read that one all the way through. I needed a break, so I moved on to this book. Funny story about this book: I mixed it up with Watership Down and kept waiting for bunnies to show up. Yeah.
I need to buckle down and read Fear and Trembling, but I have to admit it bores me. I do like the concept of suffering in the Abraham and Isaac story, but... well, I suppose to should save that for that entry.
I only saw two sort of superficial things that I related to Lost. Firstly, Charlie is again a character name used in book and show. Our Lost Charlie is less like this Charlie and more like Stephen King's Charlie, so just a coincidence, really. Secondly, the experimentation is the book reminded me of the work of the Dharma Initiative on the island.
Started The Fountainhead on 3/11/11Relation to Lost:
"Sawyer is seen reading this 1943 novel while noticeably missing Kate. The title is a reference to Rand's statement that 'man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress'."
and
"A character in the book is a con-man who is in love with a woman called 'Katie'."
and
"As mentioned by Damon Lindelof in the Season 3 DVD, Special Feature Lost Book Club, Sawyer is very similar to the novel's main character, Howard Roark. Both are rebels against the general culture of their society and prefer to be by themselves."
----
Finished 3/17/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Hmmm - this is not an easy relation to me. This is one of my favorite books, and one I've reread many times (esp for the size of the novel). I know what Lostpedia says about this book and its relation to Lost (see above), but I just don't buy it.
Okay, yeah, there is a character named Katie in it. She bears absolutely no relation to our Kate. Katie is very weak-willed. She is ruled by her Uncle Toohey in the end. He victimizes her in the sense that he influences her to ignore her dreams and he influences her one love - Peter Keating - to betray her and marry another. Our Lost Kate would never be so weak-willed. So, strike that relation except for the coincidence (? kind of, Kate isn't really an uncommon name) of the names.
Sawyer and the "con-man". I would never call Peter Keating a con-man. He does pass off Roark's building drawings as his own - but only because Roark wants to build in whatever way possible - not because Peter manipulates Roark into it. I'm not going to discuss it further, because there is no similarity between Sawyer and Peter Keating.
Sawyer and Howard Roark... I dismissed this immediately, but then rethought my stance a bit. Yes, Sawyer and Roark are not the norms of society. Sawyer, due to his traumatic past, becomes a con-man who rejects society. Roark is a man, and individual. He is naturally different from society because society believes in collectivism - in living for other people. Roark rejects this (and thus society). He says often in the book that he lives for himself, and he could not and would not live for other people. He dismisses society - but not obviously like Sawyer. It's like he lives in his own world, not caring what others think - He is Howard Roark and that is all he requires - besides his buildings. Damon is right in a way - they do each rebel against society in their own ways - but, neither is truly similar to the other. Ayn Rand would roll over in her grave by the very thought I think. Sawyer would not be the ideal man in her eyes. Besides, Sawyer goes on to NOT reject society. He loves Kate, helps other people, he needs other people - and his time on the island confirms this.
Great book, but not really inspired-for-Lost.
Started The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales on 3/18/11Relation to Lost:
"Sawyer is seen reading this book while talking to Elliott on the beach."
----
Finished 3/20/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
After reading the Grimm Fairy Tales, I kind of wondered what the relation was to Lost. So I reviewed the Lostpedia entry on it - and guess what? It's a non-canon book. Meaning, "it has no canonical merit to the overall Lost mythos." The scene where this was "shown" was between Sawyer and Elliott (I don't know who that is either) during the VIDEO GAME.
Why is this even on the official Lost Lit List?
[Note: only the first book of HP is on the official Lost Lit List, but the third book is actually shown on the show as well. Since I've read all the HP books before, I don't mind just reading the first and third (skipping the second) to put both of these on the Lost Lit List where they belong.]Started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on 3/18/11
Relation to Lost:
"Hurley comments on how Sawyer looks wearing his new glasses: 'Dude, looks like someone steamrolled Harry Potter.'"
----
Finished 3/22/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
Well, first, since a major character was referenced in Lost - that is the first and major relation. Harry Potter, well - he's not just famous in the wizarding world. He's famous in our world too. Everyone knows who Harry Potter is, and what he looks like. Kid with a scar, messy black hair and round black glasses.
So, Hurley's comment is effective in referencing pop culture - and big time, because everyone knows who HP is.
Here is Sawyer with his steam-rolled HP glasses:
And, I found this online and it made me laugh:
Besides the obvious reference by Hurley, there are some similar themes... Parent issues (Harry has none, his guardians suck), a benevolent "god" of the story who takes care of his "minions" (Prof. Dumbledore not only sees and knows all, but he has directly influenced lives (ex: HP) from childhood on), good vs. bad (Dumbledore and friends vs. Voldemort and friends), and I think a final prevalent theme is that community/friendship (Harry needs his friends to succeed).
A simple pop culture reference that I read far, far too much into. This is the theme of my postings in my Lost Lit List!
Started Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on 3/27/11
Relation to Lost:
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is one of the books on Jack's shelf."
----
Finished 3/27/11
I did end up reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in between these two. I'm debating on including the series on my list. I do think it's bullshit that you jump from book 1 to book 3 - much like this list did with the Dark Tower series. It's not right for the reader. But I digress -
This book contains the same themes as the first book as pertains to Lost. I also saw an additional theme that is prevalent in Lost - and it is major in this book. Dreams and visions really is a theme that is introduced in this HP book - and only continues to grow as the series progresses. Harry takes Divination - and visions is something that his professor prevails to see. Professor Trelawney also has a serious prediction that she makes and tells Harry. Harry sees his own visions of the Grim - which turn out to be not visions or the Grim, but equally important all the same.
I think that this book was on Jack's shelf for a couple small reasons and one big reason. The HP series is very well-known, and as beloved as Lost. It seems fitting to go with all of Jack's other well-known authors and mystery books on his shelves. This book and shelf was also shown on Jack's shelf during the sidweway-time plotline. So, this book could easily be one of his son's favorites.
Started Haroun and the Sea of Stories on 3/18/11Relation to Lost:
"This book is being read by Desmond on Flight 815 in the flash-sideways timeline."
----
Finished 4/18/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This is 100% a cop out, but I had such a hard time with this book. I think that the imagination required to read this book was so exacting, that I concentrated so hard on following along instead of relating it to Lost. I think also, it's been some time since I've seen the exact season this relates to... as it happens, Season 6 of Lost, that I had a hard time pulling parallels for my entry here.
I should have seen lots of parallels, because apparently there was enough to write a four page article about it for EW. See article here.
There you can read the parallels I never caught.
Started Heart of Darkness on 4/19/11Relation to Lost:
"Jack asks Kate "Tell me something, how come every time there's a hike into the heart of darkness you sign up?" when Kate volunteers to go on the boar hunt with Locke."
and
"Charlie tells Hurley, 'One minute you're happy-go-lucky, good-time Hurley, and the next you're Colonel bloody Kurtz!'"
and
"Sawyer also, refers to John as 'Colonel Kurtz.'"
----
Finished 4/25/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
The sentences written above are just quick little cultural references to Heart of Darkness. Colonel Kurtz, in the novel, is a man that you spend 75% of the novel waiting to meet. For our protagonist, Marlow, he spends the novel waiting as well, and in the meantime, hearing second-hand about what kind of man Colonel Kurtz is. When he finally meets the Colonel, you find out what kind of man he really is. A blood-thirsty, racist, brutal man - yet one who seeks fortune and holds a sort of oratory power over his adorers.
Twice in Lost, people refer to others as Colonel Kurtz. Hurley and Locke are compared to Kurtz. Hurley is really a laughable comparison, but when Charlie made this reference, he was referring to that dual nature of Kurtz. He could be grand and intelligent to one person, and brutal to another. For Sawyer, I'd love to know when this comparison was made of Locke. If it was when the MIB was inhabiting Locke, then that would make absolute perfect sense. But, Locke could also be of two natures when seeking what he (and the Island) desired. I laughed when we got a full description of Kurtz in the novel - his bald head might have been reference enough for Sawyer!
For the Heart of Darkness reference, well - that is the most obvious reference of all. For our Losties, the jungle served as a place of mystery, darkness, 'natives' - much like the Congo jungle to Marlow and his crewmen.
I also thought of Claire in this novel. Many of our white men in the novel turned to madness. The jungle and its darkness - the brutality in men's natures - the cannibalism - etc - all of this contributed to the madness of men sent to the Congo. Claire went a little mad too, remember? as she was left to the forces of nature on the Island, and as she was forced to brutal separation from her son (and the life she once knew).
A major theme in Lost that are brought up in Heart of Darkness: light vs. dark (good vs. evil within the souls of men).
Started High Hand on 4/25/11Relation to Lost:
"Seen on a bookshelf in The Swan station."
----
Finished 5/1/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
It doesn't. End of story. (And a crappy one at that.)
The Holy Qur'an / القرآن الكريمRelation to Lost:
"A copy of the Holy Qur'an is on the bookshelf in front of Ben's hidden room."
----
Discussed 5/30/11
I didn't read this one either (like the Bible) but I thought I might discuss it - but it turns out that religion isn't really something I feel like chatting about now. I'm sorry I didn't read this one... I know it has a lot to do with who Sayid is and I mean to at some point. I've been a little frustrated with my Lost Lit List, and it's not the Qu'ran's fault - I feel like I've had some bad reads lately due to Lost. I just want to get through to something I looking forward to - and honestly, I'm not really looking forward to anything at this point. Let's hope there'll be some good reads ahead of me.
Started Hotel on 5/30/11Relation to Lost:
"A copy of Hotel is found on Ben's bookshelf."
and
"This story depicts a group of people who's lives are intertwined with a hotel. Each of these characters has a shady past and each person is currently dealing with these pasts and trying to redeem themselves in the present."
----
Finished 6/2/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
This was a very entertaining book. I'm actually surprised how much I liked it. I was anticipating this book to be a mystery - and while there were "mysterious" elements to the characters in the books - the reader never was left thinking who-dunnit. As I'm not really a mystery girl, I appreciated it. I was also surprised I liked this book since it was written in 1965 and set in 1964. Usually these suspense? thriller? type books are quite dated.
But no- this was entertaining, well-researched, dated in a charming way (the lines that many characters said that put women in their place just made me laugh), and all around a good read. So thank god for that.
Some ways it reminded me of Lost: a character named Dr. Aarons appears. It's just a small similarity/coincidence, but there's that. Also, immediately in the beginning of the book, a doctor was needed for a crisis. It made me think of Jack and how our first episode truly opened with a need for a doctor and fast!
There was another character who reminded me of the series. Albert Wells was a guy who appeared, in the beginning, to be a poor, small town older gentleman who visited New Orleans once in awhile. Then (in the end - spoiler I guess) he ends up buying the hotel St. George. It turns out he's not poor! He's really rich! In fact, one of the richest men in the world due to his gold mines! Not as subtly done as Lost, but still - people weren't always who you thought they were.
Other themes that popped up: morality issues, romantic triangles, a wide cast of characters with personal issues - some of which did require redemption and a second chance to prove themselves, a single major location in which most events occurred.
Tamsen wrote: "Started High Hand on 4/25/11Relation to Lost:
"Seen on a bookshelf in The Swan station."
----
Finished 5/1/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
It doesn't. End of story. (And a ..."
Hahaha! I liked your "thoughts"...made me laugh :)
Ha - thanks Alicia. I was so frustrated with that one. The whole time I kept asking myself - why am I reading this!? I've gotten super frustrated with my Lost Lit List anyways... had some bad reads lately. How have you been doing? Are you frustrated also?
I took a bit of a break to read a couple books I have lying around. After the book I'm on I plan to get back to the Lost List. Hope you come across a good one soon! Bad reads are no fun!
Started I Ching 6/13/11Relation to Lost:
"Ideograms from the I Ching appear in the DHARMA logos."
----
Finished 6/14/11
My thoughts as it relates to Lost:
I never would have caught this relation between ba gua and the logo. It is so interesting. Take a look at the Dharma Logo, specifically the outer edge with the lines:
These lines are part of the 8 varied combinations of ba gua or ying and yang (broken and unbroken). Each combination is a tiagram and has different meanings, as follows for the Dharma logo:
And this chart:
Trigram Figure Name Nature Direction
||| (☰) Force (乾 qián) heaven (天) northwest
||¦ (☱) Open (兌 duì) swamp (澤) west
|¦| (☲) Radiance (離 lí) fire (火) south
|¦¦ (☳) Shake (震 zhèn) thunder (雷) east
¦|| (☴) Ground (巽 xùn) wind (風) southeast
¦|¦ (☵) Gorge (坎 kǎn) water (水) north
¦¦| (☶) Bound (艮 gèn) mountain (山) northeast
¦¦¦ (☷) Field (坤 kūn) earth (地) southwest
I found this extremely fascinating... and I think just alluding to these ancient symbols is interesting enough on it's own. In my I Ching copy, it goes into each symbol as a degree of transition. You are in this "x" type situation, and you can change you fate by degrees of change. Slow moving solutions are offered for each unique symbol/situation. I liked the idea of slowly removing yourself into another.
Flight 815-ers Unite
Books mentioned in this topic
Laughter in the Dark (other topics)Lancelot (other topics)
Julius Caesar (other topics)
Kings of Love: The Poetry and History of the Ni'matullāhī Sufi Order (other topics)
Jurassic Park (other topics)
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My Lit Challenge: To read all of the books ft. on Lost in the following order:
*
1.1 The Adventures of Tom SawyerFinished 9/28/10*
1.2 After All These YearsFinished 9/30/10*
1.3 Alice's Adventures in WonderlandFinished 10/3/10*
1.4 Animal Farm xFinished 10/7/10*
1.5 Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret xFinished 10/7/10*
1.6 Bad TwinFinished 10/8/10*
1.7 BluebeardFinished 10/7/10*
1.8 Book of LawsFinished 10/11/10*
1.9 Holy Bible, TheDiscussed 10/11/10*
1.10 A Brief History of TimeFinished 10/13/10*
1.11 The Brothers KaramazovFinished 10/31/10*
1.12 Caravan of DreamsFinished 11/21/10*
1.13 CarrieFinished 12/3/10*
1.14 Catch-22Finished 12/15/10*
1.15 A Christmas CarolFinished 12/16/10*
1.16 The ChosenFinished 12/21/10*
1.17 The Chronicles of NarniaFinished 1/1/11*
1.17a The Magician's Nephew xFinished 12/22/10*
1.17b The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe xFinished 12/22/10*
1.17c The Horse and His BoyFinished 12/23/10*
1.17d Prince Caspian xFinished 12/25/10*
1.17e The Voyage of the Dawn TreaderFinished 12/26/10*
1.17f The Silver ChairFinished 1/1/11*
1.17g The Last BattleFinished 1/1/11*
1.18 The Coalwood WayFinished 1/2/11*
1.19 Dark HorseFinished 1/8/11*
1.20 The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger xFinished 1/9/11*
1.21 The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the ThreeFinished 1/14/11*
1.22 The Dark Tower III: The Waste LandsFinished 1/23/11*
1.22a The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and GlassFinished 1/27/11*
1.22b The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the CallaFinished 2/5/11*
1.23 The Dark Tower VI: Song of SusannahFinished 2/5/11*
1.23a The Dark Tower VII: The Dark TowerFinished 2/13/11*
1.24 Dirty WorkFinished 2/13/11*
1.25 The Epic of GilgameshFinished 2/13/11*
1.26 Everything That Rises Must ConvergeFinished 2/18/11*
1.27 Evil Under the SunFinished 2/20/11*
1.28 Fahrenheit 451 xFinished 2/20/11*
1.29 Fear and TremblingFinished 3/17/11*
1.30 Flowers For AlgernonFinished 3/6/11*
1.31 The Fountainhead xFinished 3/17/11*
1.32 Grimm's Fairy TalesFinished 3/20/11*
1.33 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone xFinished 3/22/11*
1.33a Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban xFinished 3/27/11*
1.34 Haroun and the Sea of StoriesFinished 4/18/11*
1.35 Heart of Darkness xFinished 4/25/11*
1.36 High HandFinished 5/1/11*
1.37 Holy Qur'an, TheDiscussed 5/30/11*
1.38 HotelFinished 6/2/11*
1.39 I ChingFinished 6/14/11*
1.40 The Invention of MorelFinished 6/26/11*
1.41 IshmaelFinished 7/6/11*
1.42 IslandFinished 7/24/11*
1.43 Julius CaesarFinished 9/19/11*
1.44 Jurassic ParkFinished 8/12/11*
1.45 Kings of LoveFinished 8/16/11*
1.46 LancelotFinished 11/3/11* Added after my list was created: 1.46a Langoliers
*
1.47 Laughter in the DarkFinished 1/28/12*
1.48 Left BehindFinished 11/13/13* 1.49 The Little Prince x
* 1.50 Lord of the Flies
* 1.51 Memoirs of a Geisha x
* 1.52 Moby Dick
* 1.53 The Moon Pool
* 1.54 Mysteries of the Ancient Americas: The New World before Columbus
* 1.55 The Mysterious Island
* 1.56 Notes from Underground
* 1.57 Oath, The
* 1.58 Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
* 1.59 The Odyssey x
* 1.60 Of Mice and Men x
* 1.61 On the Road x
* 1.62 On Writing
* 1.63 Our Mutual Friend
* 1.64 O Pioneers!
* 1.65 The Outsiders
* 1.66 Pearl, The x
* 1.67 Rainbow Six
* 1.68 Rick Romer's Vision Of Astrology
* 1.69 Roots
* 1.70 A Separate Reality
* 1.71 The Shape of Things to Come
* 1.72 The Sheltering Sky
* 1.73 The Shining x
* 1.74 Slaughterhouse-Five x
* 1.75 Stand, The
* 1.76 Stone Leopard, The
* 1.77 Stranger in a Strange Land
* 1.78 The Survivors of the Chancellor
* 1.79 A Tale of Two Cities x
* 1.80 The Third Policeman
* 1.81 Through the Looking-Glass
* 1.82 To Kill a Mockingbird x
* 1.83 The Turn of the Screw
* 1.84 Ulysses x
* 1.85 Uncle Tom's Cabin
* 1.86 Valhalla Rising
* 1.87 VALIS
* 1.88 Watership Down
* 1.89 What Katy Did
* 1.90 The Wizard of Oz
* 1.91 A Wrinkle in Time x
(Taken from Lostpedia)
I will be updating after each read with my thoughts! Look forward to completing this challenge!
*Please note... I've read several books on the list. I'll mark them with a x if they've previously been read. I want to reread everything however! Once I've completed the rereading of everything, I'll strike each line.
**Note that anything with a letter listed after the number (ex: 1.22a) is something I added to the list. This Lost Lit List is not completely correct. Some books were listed under the series title, and not individually. Other books were part of a series that jumped around, skipping books in order, so I added those to the list as well. Other books were shown on the show and simply not featured on the list. I've added them as I've found them.