Getting Lost: Survival, Baggage and Starting Over in J. J. Abrams' Lost - edited by Orson Scott Card
This is a collection of uneven essays on different aspects of the popular television series, Lost. Like a previous book I read on Lost - Unlocking the Meaning of Lost - this book devotes almost half of its pages to an alphabetical list of everything related to the show. In spite of its flaws, there are some interesting essays. My favorite piece was "Staying Lost" by Charlie W. Starr. He argues that the "secret to Lost is surrender... the ability to surrender our demand for answers and revel in the beauty of the experience, to even playfully enjoy when things stop making sense... That is how I've decided to approach the show. I'm not giving up; I'm giving in - going along for the ride" (34). Starr notes that surrender is the key to true discovery - to true knowledge. Doubt has its limitations. Giving oneself in trust to another is the way to true knowledge. Other insights: (1) The characters are their stories. Through flashbacks we learn the meaning of their actions on the island. Thus, the stories give meaning to who they are. (2) No matter what the island's mystery turns out to be the fact that there is a plan is comforting "in a world that often seems random, senseless, and unnecessarily cruel" (90). Ultimately, we are all lost in a vast cosmos that leaves us perplexed with unanswered questions and surrounded by impenetrable mysteries. I believe that in a very weird way, Lost helps us wrestle with the reality we are all utimately faced with. In short, I'm prepping for Season 3 of Lost!