Bought and read a book about Lost and what it’s all about. Here’s a copy of the review I posted on Amazon.Com.
He basically thinks that the island in Lost is The Matrix. Everything on the island is a computer simulation and that everyone who has gone to the island has paid a pile of money to go there to “fix” their problems.
—
I can’t even remember where I heard about this book but once I did a little digging, it seemed that the reviews all seemed pretty good. Being a huge fan of Lost, I thought I’d fork out the money to see what the fuss was all about. After having purchased, and subsequently reading the book, I can say that although it is well written, there are major holes in the book’s main theory.
I had two very large problems with this book. After finishing only two chapters, I was a little disconcerted by the fact that the author found it necessary to insult the writers of Lost on more than one occasion. Although he gives them praise in various points throughout the book as well, I found it a little un-nerving to see the author place his own thoughts and views of the show above what the writers have obviously been trying to say through the show’s narrative. The book is littered with constant references about how his “theory” is perfect and if the show doesn’t turn out like he thinks it should, people should go along with his ideas anyway. I personally feel that the end of Lost will not be tied up in a nice bow with all the answers so obvious. I felt the author was trying too hard to solve every little mystery and conveniently ignores facts that are contrary to his theory.
The biggest issue I have with this book had to do with the author’s “theory” about what the island is. Without divulging the details, the author basically believes that the author’s of Lost were not imaginative enough to come up with their own idea, so they took the idea from a recent movie franchise and turned it into an island. The biggest problem with his theory is that it is all based on events that transpired before season 4. When you take into account the events of the Oceanic 6, and what transpired when they “left” the island, it does not leave much room for the author’s theory to be anywhere near what really is going on in the world of Lost. As I got further into his theory, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was reading some long post on a Lost theory message board. Some neat ideas, but not anywhere near original enough for a show like Lost. He claims that the simplicity of his theory is it’s biggest strength. Although I agree with the author’s presumption that the answer to Lost’s mysteries are simplistic in nature, I don’t believe that they are rooted in what the author believes to be the perfect solution.
I was however very impressed by the detail of this book. The author covers a lot of territory and covers it well. I was mostly impressed by the comparison of archetypes in story-telling to what we see in Lost. It really gave me a new perspective on what some of the characters roles are as far as the mythology is concerned. The author also manages to crack a few good jokes, and poke fun at some of the choices the writers have made due to this being a television program.
In summary, the concepts of what the characters are, what their place is, and how they reflect things in our own lives is extremely well written. However, the author’s theory just doesn’t hold any ground in a post-season 4 world of Lost and is far too derivative of other more recent movies for me to believe that this is what Lost island is all about.
