Third Policeman and Lost (TTP thread)

[protagonist]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on these forums, although I've watched Lost religiously since the first season and have even come here a few times. But anyways.
I was looking through the Lost articles on wikipedia the other day and i came across this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thematic_motifs_of_Lost

specifically, The Third Policeman is seen when Desmond is packing before fleeing the underground bunker in "Orientation." Craig Wright, who co-wrote the episode, told the Chicago Tribune that, "Whoever goes out and buys the book will have a lot more ammunition in their back pocket as they theorize about the show. They will have a lot more to speculate about — and, no small thing, they will have read a really great book."

Tomorrow I plan on going to Borders to buy this book, but I want to know if anyone has read it, and if so, what can they tell us about it and any connections to Lost? If no one has, then I'm going to say a few people should get this book and read it besides me so we can all take it from different angles. Because it seems to me that it would provide a lot of insight into the theories of the show.

[shred]

I think it's time we examine this book in detail (rather than refer to it once in awhile as we have been doing.) Because TPTB told us to read the thing, it is important somehow (and it's not just a literature parallel...)

Several things in recent episodes have hinted at a connection: the cylic nature of experience (and I don't mean bicycles:) ), a metaphorical machine/"box" that can grant wishes (and needs constant upkeep and attention), and more. While the narrator of the book is dead, I really don't think we have moved into Purgatory territory yet (:p ), but those things the book does have in common with Lost seem worth examining to me. There is so much overlap that I think the book deserves to be discusssed in the Grand Theories forum.

I don't know how many of you have read the book, but it's pretty short, and it's really funny. You might want to do that...

[protagonist]

OK, I bought the book today, and so far it's pretty interesting. Even though I'm only on chapter 3, I see several parallels, but not a lot yet about theorizing-

1. In the most recent Lost episode "Left Behind", Kate and Juliet are handcuffed together at first in the jungle; they get separated when confronted by smokey-at the beginning of the novel (not the immediate beginning, but soon into it), the narrator atatches himself and John Divney so that Divney won't cheat him out of the black box worth a fortune; they get separated when the narrator confronts the man he killed

2. There are three policemen that give Phillip his yellow wind-shirts (although one dissappears)-there are three groups on the island besides those that crashed there on fligh 815; the others, Roseanne, and most importantly desmond. Specifically, Desmond, although he is now part of the survivors, he is the leftovers of a leftover from the Dharma Initiative-the missing policeman.

3. The narrator dedicated his life (at least so far) to writing a revolutionary piece on de Selby-just as the dharma initiative, and later Desmond and the survivors, dedicated their time to pushing the button in the hatch.

[shred]

You'll have a better idea about the box after you finish the book. There are some parallels, but Lost isn't just a clone of TTP. That whole deSelby thing sounds a little Jacoby to me, but I may not remember the book as well as I should. The biggest connection so far, to me, is the contraption that gives you anything you want. You aren't there in the book, yet.:D

[BrandX]

I think a lot of the connection comes from the De Selby stuff. He had his own set of rules and theories that the narrator follows and obeys so much so that they become more and more intertwined with the story as the book goes on. I believe that they set up the island to have a bunch of rules, like it's own logic system. The more and more this show goes on more rules are added until it's going to be more about the islands rules than the island itself. Just kind of putting the theory I developed in my head into words here.

Plus the book works great for getting you into the anything-can-happen mindset that rules the show. It's looking more and more to me like Dharma is the missing policeman.

[LastRick]

I think it's time we examine this book in detail (rather than refer to it once in awhile as we have been doing.) Because TPTB told us to read the thing, it is important somehow (and it's not just a literature parallel...)

Alright, I've read the book once now. I'll read it again as we talk through this. But you (shred) can start us off if there are things in detail that you would like to bring up first.

[spad-]

I remember that the protagonist (sorry, it's been a while...Phillip?) can't leave the basement with the gold he's taken from the magic oven.

Metaphorically I think this speaks volumes about the islands "secret" (especially looking at Locke's legs), that it can give you everything you ever wanted, but you can't take it away with you.

Also the Third Policeman was very confusing, like Lost :p

[LastRick]

I remember that the protagonist can't leave the basement with the gold he's taken from the magic oven.

Metaphorically I think this speaks volumes about the islands "secret" (especially looking at Locke's legs), that it can give you everything you ever wanted, but you can't take it away with you.

I think, we find out later that the oven was an extension of the third policeman's doing -- it was the box that the narrator and John Divney had been looking for. It was filled with omnium (was that the right word?) and would give you what you asked of it. So, the parallel to LOST might be Locke's legs, Rose's cancer, Sun's barrenness (am I forgetting a nicer word for 'inability to concieve'?), plus Kate's horse, Jack's dad, a polar bear, Charlie's drugs, etc. . . all of these things were fixed or appeared on the Island but we infer you can't take them from the Island -- the narrator could only go back up the elevator with the weight he came down <--> the Losties can only leave the Island with what they came with.


Also the Third Policeman was very confusing, like Lost :p
Tell me about it. That book is so out there, it makes Ulysses seem like The Sun Also Rises.

[shred]

Yes, "ominum." There does seem to be a connection to our island. I also agree that the deSelby stuff is related to the island in that the narrator (and I don't think we ever learn his name) becomes so enamored of the theories that they begin to take over his life (and the book.) This does seem a bit like Locke in the way his "faith in the island" is taking over his life.

What I find especially interesting, though, is the processes and procedures that go into maintaining the machinery in the place where dreams come true (the exact name, I forget.) Anyway, it's almost like punching in numbers and hitting a button for no obvious reason.

We need to get a few more people to read the book.:D

[LastRick]

What I find especially interesting, though, is the processes and procedures that go into maintaining the machinery in the place where dreams come true (the exact name, I forget.) Anyway, it's almost like punching in numbers and hitting a button for no obvious reason.

First off, you're correct, we never learn the narrator's name. Which (I believe) is purposefully done by O'Brien so that the reader becomes the main character. You're not allowed to detach yourself while reading and think, this is happening to some guy named Edward.

Great catch on the mindless machinery. The underground section is called 'Eternity' and the two policeman spend their days mindlessly writing down numbers, taking readings, which we later find out was merely busy work put in place by the third policeman. In 'Lost', season two finds Locke mindless typing in numbers until he changes his mind: In a sense, a parellel can be made between Locke going to the other hatch (can't remember which one) and seeing a video that purports the activities in the Swan are simply an experiment <--> the narrator (of TTP) talking to the third policeman who tells him he was the one behind the bogus numbers. Both Locke and the narrator of TTP realize what they were doing/seeing wasn't real/useful/the truth/[insert something here].

In my mind, I am linking de Selby to Jacob. First off, neither character is even seen -- in Lost, Jacob is the omnipotent/omnipresent entity that fixes everyone, maybe controls everyone. In TTP, there are parts of the book where the notes on de Selby's begin to take over the main book; chapters start with discussion on de Selby, footnotes become pages and pages long. And yet we never see de Selby, still he's omnipresent/omnipotent. And like Jacob, maybe a hoax?

Here's the deal though. All of these ideas come post-reading. It was my understanding that reading TTP would provide "ammo" for understanding Lost --> meaning, I should be able to predict Lost a little having read TTP. I'm not sure I can at this point.

We need to get a few more people to read the book.:D

I love Lost as much as the next guy (although sometimes, other users probably think I don't if they read my episode ratings :rolleyes: ) and maybe my favorite thing about watching and discussing Lost is how it practically forces one to educate oneself -- typically through reading. Watership Down, TTP, Lord of the Flies, etc. Any show that promotes reading is top of my list.

[elleesa]

First off, you're correct, we never learn the narrator's name. Which (I believe) is purposefully done by O'Brien so that the reader becomes the main character. You're not allowed to detach yourself while reading and think, this is happening to some guy named Edward.

Great catch on the mindless machinery. The underground section is called 'Eternity' and the two policeman spend their days mindlessly writing down numbers, taking readings, which we later find out was merely busy work put in place by the third policeman. In 'Lost', season two finds Locke mindless typing in numbers until he changes his mind: In a sense, a parellel can be made between Locke going to the other hatch (can't remember which one) and seeing a video that purports the activities in the Swan are simply an experiment <--> the narrator (of TTP) talking to the third policeman who tells him he was the one behind the bogus numbers. Both Locke and the narrator of TTP realize what they were doing/seeing wasn't real/useful/the truth/[insert something here].

In my mind, I am linking de Selby to Jacob. First off, neither character is even seen -- in Lost, Jacob is the omnipotent/omnipresent entity that fixes everyone, maybe controls everyone. In TTP, there are parts of the book where the notes on de Selby's begin to take over the main book; chapters start with discussion on de Selby, footnotes become pages and pages long. And yet we never see de Selby, still he's omnipresent/omnipotent. And like Jacob, maybe a hoax?

Here's the deal though. All of these ideas come post-reading. It was my understanding that reading TTP would provide "ammo" for understanding Lost --> meaning, I should be able to predict Lost a little having read TTP. I'm not sure I can at this point.

I love Lost as much as the next guy (although sometimes, other users probably think I don't if they read my episode ratings :rolleyes: ) and maybe my favorite thing about watching and discussing Lost is how it practically forces one to educate oneself -- typically through reading. Watership Down, TTP, Lord of the Flies, etc. Any show that promotes reading is top of my list.

There is a lot of "mindlessness" connected to Lost, especially the hatches. In the Swan, a team of men must push the button every 108 minutes or there will be a catastrophe, and for years they do, ending with Locke, etc. But, they're being watched like some social-psychological experiment by other Dharma people in the Pearl Hatch who must write everything they see happening in the Swan in notebooks. The Pearl teams are told to send the full notebooks through pneumatic tubes- which go absolutely nowhere except to a big dump site!

The person behind the numbers is Alvar Hanso who, according to Lost history, was convinced that the end of the world was connected to the numbers- 4 8 15 16 23 42, the Valenzetti Equation. These numbers needed to be manipulated so one of them changed or mankind was doomed. Hanso set up the Dharma Initiative to change the numbers, but all the hatches seem to do is spy on each other and conduct maze-and-rat experiments.

[LastRick]

... but all the hatches seem to do is [...] conduct maze-and-rat experiments.

I don't necessarily agree with this: maze-and-rate experiments have a point :p . IMHO the more apt point you made was earlier, the idea about the pneumatic tubes. We find out that the Swan button-pushing seemed pointless when viewed from the other hatch (the Pearl?) but their experiment is pointless as well (the tubes go into a field). Clearly, the analogy is the number readings the two policemen take from the oven; pointless time-wasting the third policeman was putting them through.

Is this the extent of TTP's meaning? Or can we extend the 'pointlessness' further? Just my ramblings for the night. . .

[shred]

I
Is this the extent of TTP's meaning? Or can we extend the 'pointlessness' further? Just my ramblings for the night. . .
Well, there are the bicycles...I haven't given that one enough thought, though.

[bookworm]

i think it might be prudent at this juncture to ask LastRick and shred how often they ride a bicycle.....it might solve this pancake...

[shred]

i think it might be prudent at this juncture to ask LastRick and shred how often they ride a bicycle.....it might solve this pancake...
I can't figure out how the bicycle thing fits in. You guys have an idea? I mean, it's a big part of TTP, but I can't fit it into a Lost theory.

[bookworm]

no....i can't figure the bicycle having anything to do with it....but i haven't really thought about it that much....i thought, as you did, that the main thing was the wish-box or thought granting box...and the cycle of the events.....which makes me a little worried to tell you the truth.....

[mobeyone]

I cannot help but think of dejavu with regards to the cycle?

So.. is Jacob the hero? who is actually dead? and what we see has actually already happened but everything is caught in a loop waiting to "get out"? so like groundhog day they restart but this time they try to fix what goes wrong but inevitbly like a bike riding over a road will find a new obstacle thus restarting the chain of events?? trying to stop the death of Jacob? or someone else??

In one of the episodes coming up.. theres something about Jacob being very unhappy about Lockes meeting with sawyer? is this why? that again they have failed?

Is the box a metaphor? some kind of higher level of ?

Leads me to Desmond.. he does not see the future but remembers as if he has already been here before?

Need to read some more.. or I am talking rubbish!

[LastRick]

i think it might be prudent at this juncture to ask LastRick and shred how often they ride a bicycle.....it might solve this pancake...


You figured me out, I'm like 35% bicycle at this point.

Interesting to think how TTP relates to last night's episode. Clearly, if the parachutist is correct, that all of Flight 815 died, then she is like John Divney upon seeing the narrator "three days later". He dies from shock, how could the narrator still be alive, he watch the house blow up, right? So he's dead, joins the narrator, we keep going. On the Island, the parallel would be the parachutist "dies from shock" upon hearing they are alive, we keep going -- she can interact with them, help them out, but "in real life", the parachutist is dead. Also, this explains why no one can leave the island. It would be like the TTP, only 80+ days later, the Losties come back to LA or NY or Iowa and their loved ones look on in shock, You died fifteen years ago! This does beg some questions about Juliet being "recruited" (maybe 'recruited' means 'killed') that I don't want to think about right now.

The other point of the episode is the pregnancy issue. So, Sun vs Claire -- conception on the Island vs before the crash. The parallel to TTP being conception before death or after. With Claire, she came to the Island pregnant, so the crash killed her baby. On the island, then, she's free to deliver, why not, her and the baby are dead already. Versus Sun, who conceived on the Island? How will that work out?

Two issues come to mind: 1. I thought the rumor was, TPTB told us circa Season One, the Losties aren't dead, this is "really" happening. Which leads to 2. The parachutist could be right and still be wrong -- the crash debris that society found was staged, bodies meant to look like Jack or Kate, and Flight 815 survived.

[bookworm]

LastRick, I'll start worring about you when I see you propped up on your elbow against a wall...until then, I agree that the two scenarios are death or staged death with losties put elsewhere to mess with them....The Third Policeman would indicate the death, but I can't imagine we are dealing with that....i hope not anyway....

what about "the box", any ideas?

[LastRick]

what about "the box", any ideas?

This post assumes that the Losties are dead.

In TTP, the narrator dies going for the box. Eventually, we know that. He spends the rest of the novel looking for it, to find it under a field, popping out anything he could imagine, the caveat: can't take the stuff with you back up the elevator.

The parallel to Lost might be that The Island IS the black box. Kate's horse, Jack's dad, Locke's horrible father, Eko's brother, Charlie's drugs, Hurley's van (it does solve the whole daddy-abandonment issues), etc. The point is, the thing the Losties wanted and couldn't get at in real life, they found on the Island. Catch is, can't take it off the Island. Why? Maybe you can never leave because the island is lost, you're dead, the horse is too darn heavy for a boat (:rolleyes: ), or something else

Just my thoughts. If they aren't dead, and the crash was stashed. Well, then, the Others are some powerful people then.

[bookworm]

i really think the others ARE powerful...or maybe the people who control them....a big part of me thinks this is a staged game....ideas?

from the very beginning....my children and i thought that this was a game staged by a very powerful group of people....

i do think that the entering of the numbers in the hatch is very synomonous with the entering of meaningless measurements in ttp...

they are not dead, this cannot be happening, they are not dead, this cannot be happening....etc.
well, i'm off to a left-handed bend in the forest....

[mobeyone]

Seems I was right ;) the box is a metaphor....

What I find suspicious is the fact that Richard claims to know where he is etc.. yet his account of what happened and his meeting with Locke questions the whole thing as when was he told about the island?? if the island is truly hell?

If the box is a metaphor or say a closet with hidden skeltons of the survivors than is everyone on a quest to ultimatly decide thier destiny?

I still dont understand the peneolpe factor... if this is purgatory and the island is hell than how does p know? unless she is the narrator?? and she is dictating the show? going back and tracing steps etc to find answers??

[bookworm]

a big problem with the whole "after death" thing is that juliett chose to go to the island...

the box being a metaphor still doesn't take away from the power of the results....thoughts altering matter and reality....

do you think desmond relives things because of his indecision?

[caderoux]

At the beginning of season 2, wasn't Desmond riding a stationary bicycle in the hatch as they blew the door open?

I just finished TTP and am not finding anything useful related to Lost. Lots of little references and relationships but given that the purgatory/hell theory is supposedly not possible, I see this series going the way of Alias - i.e. complete fantasy.

I think we'll get to the end and then have to decide whether to spend any more time picking apart all the inconsistencies with whatever the producers have chosen as their "rationale".

[bookworm]

i'd like to hear if you have changed your mind after finishing the book:)

i don't think desmond is riding the bike when the hatch blows, but good point.....he is probably majorly bicycle....

do i hear 78%?

[frazbox]

whats the name of the book that is being talked about in this forum??

[bookworm]

whats the name of the book that is being talked about in this forum??


the book is The Third Policeman.....Desmond had it in the hatch with him....i do believe he was reading it.....wonder if he got to the end....:shifty:

[mobeyone]

Desmond altering future events reminds me of what has already been said in that he has seen the future and is trying to amend what has already happened...

Like dejavu, he rides until he gets it right.. then he remebers and starts again until he does get it right? and he is the narrator?

[kibret]

Hello ppl, i'm a bit new to the forums but i've been reading a lot of theories here and i came across this thread about Lost vs TTP so i decided to read it as it was supposed to have a lot to do with Lost.

Most of the things i'll bring up might have been mentioned already, and some might be spoilers of the book :P hehe ..
Anyway, the first thing that came to mind when i finished it is that Lost has got to have something to do with Purgatory but as we all know this is wrong. It would be really fitting tho as the narrator in TTP goes through the same events again and again in what turns out to be Hell. This is what could possibly explain Desmonds FBs to the old psychic lady and why Jacks dad is alive..
Another thing is how the writers connect religious and philosophical people to the show, but also music (an example would be a song that Charlie listens to in Desmonds hatch that had something to do about the Devil)
but that we know is not true so screw that :P

I've always had 2 different theories which would be 1. Purgatory and 2. Time & Space travelling.. the 1 theory would fit perfectly to the events in TTP but so would the 2nd theory and this is why..
As we all know the narrator killed someone to get a hold of the black box which contains a fortune, this box however is held by a third policeman which creates an illusion that he calls Eternity where mysterious and unexplicable things happen, also this is where the 2 other policemen have to note useless data like in Lost anyway..
the narrator keeps coming back to this whole Dimension concept which was created by the policeman, down here you can have anything.. you don't age, food supply is always full like on the island and you can't bring whatever you wish for to go back with you when you're done (like the rule of the Island).
The only thing that confuses me here is the age part.. for example, Ben grew up there and so did Alex, but Richard hasn't changed a bit and this is where the Lost writers have the control.

There's so much that relates to Lost but at the same time the writers have their own way of doing it. Sorry for the rambling but 8 months is to much to handle so i had to read the book :P

[bookworm]

do you ride a bicycle kibret?

[shred]

In the new spoilery video from Comic-Con 2007 (and don't watch it if you don't want to be spoiled) there is a short clip of someone riding a bicycle sort of upside down.):confused:

The aformentioned vid can be accessed at abc.com's Lost page.

[bookworm]

Any connection between the bizarre, possibly imaginary, super small little ity bitty workshop and Lost?

Ideas?

This bicycle wheel has a lot of spokes.....

[craisin]

Hi there! I think this is my first post in this forum!

I read TTP a while ago and something that really struck me was the relationship between people and their bikes. Maybe this is already common sense and obvious (so sorry if it is!) but I just thought about how the more the Losties are on the island, they more they become the island, and how the island will become more like its inhabitants. I think that's really interesting!

Nevertheless, I agree with previous posts about the connections between the TTP mindless work, the magical box and Lost!

Great read! :D

[bookworm]

that's a really great theory....i don't think it has been discussed...but then again this thread isn't the most active:giggle:

[Devulus]

That's a really interesting take on the connection between book and Lost.

I've read the book too. I liked it a great deal, but didn't really see the great connection to the plot of Lost. I hope it's not the revelation in the ending.

I hope it is indeed the mixing of molecules between human's and other objects or things. But that hasn't been shown to us yet, apart maybe from Locke's, Rose's and Jin's sudden physical improvement.

[drifter]

i made two direct connections to the plot the hatch door map and the map in the barracks leading to the underground lair, and a parallel between henry gale/ben and mathers/fox.

the de selby stuff is interesting. and i wonder if there is a connection between the s3 finale and the end of the book where he returns home and walks willingly back into the cycle again.

[October Sky]

Hi there! I think this is my first post in this forum!

I read TTP a while ago and something that really struck me was the relationship between people and their bikes. Maybe this is already common sense and obvious (so sorry if it is!) but I just thought about how the more the Losties are on the island, they more they become the island, and how the island will become more like its inhabitants. I think that's really interesting!

Nevertheless, I agree with previous posts about the connections between the TTP mindless work, the magical box and Lost!

Great read! :D

That's a great theory! Locke is definitely an example of that.

[bookworm]

i made two direct connections to the plot the hatch door map and the map in the barracks leading to the underground lair, and a parallel between henry gale/ben and mathers/fox.

the de selby stuff is interesting. and i wonder if there is a connection between the s3 finale and the end of the book where he returns home and walks willingly back into the cycle again.


walks willingly back into the cycle again wow
that gives me the creeps....:eh:

[t1nus]

That's a great theory! Locke is definitely an example of that.

Agree :o

[Flight-815]

This thread needed to be brought back to life. A painting of a guy on his bike.. in Aaron's room:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8550/lost44as7.jpg

:O!

[bookworm]

This thread needed to be brought back to life. A painting of a guy on his bike.. in Aaron's room:

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/8550/lost44as7.jpg

:O!

hee hee

[Flight-815]

In the new spoilery video from Comic-Con 2007 (and don't watch it if you don't want to be spoiled) there is a short clip of someone riding a bicycle sort of upside down.):confused:

The aformentioned vid can be accessed at abc.com's Lost page.

Mmm.. I saw that too. Looks like a scene from the series, 'Dead Like Me.' O.o

[chriskent3]

I just read TTP and it was a great read! One of the things that I found fascinating about the book was that one’s atoms can become mixed up with objects such as bicycles and over a period of time a person can become a percentage of that object. What if this concept applies on the island but instead of people becoming mixed up with objects, people become mixed up with other people? The reason I thought of this is because in the past Jack has stolen other characters’ catchphrases and for a brief moment I thought, “Hmm…is Jack turning into other people on the island?” For example, in the episodes, “Man of Science, Man of Faith” and “Do No Harm” Jack uses Locke’s famous “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” line. In recent episodes, he has used Sawyer’s “S.O.B.!” line. There might be a connection there. I guess if Jack starts saying “Dude” and “WAAAAALLLTTT!,” we’ll know for sure. :D

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The elevator in the orchid is straight out of the book. "It's a long way down."

-----Mod Edit: Please use edit button instead of double posting. Thanks

[DeSelby]

I agree about the elevator. It totally reminded me to the one in the book, even being covered in plant life etc.

I guess the main link to the show and the the book is the BOX. THE MAGIC BOX. The one in the book at the bottom of the elevator that can take anything you want out of it. In the book the character takes out gold when in the show Locke gets his dad.

[bookworm]

I just read TTP and it was a great read! One of the things that I found fascinating about the book was that one’s atoms can become mixed up with objects such as bicycles and over a period of time a person can become a percentage of that object. What if this concept applies on the island but instead of people becoming mixed up with objects, people become mixed up with other people? The reason I thought of this is because in the past Jack has stolen other characters’ catchphrases and for a brief moment I thought, “Hmm…is Jack turning into other people on the island?” For example, in the episodes, “Man of Science, Man of Faith” and “Do No Harm” Jack uses Locke’s famous “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” line. In recent episodes, he has used Sawyer’s “S.O.B.!” line. There might be a connection there. I guess if Jack starts saying “Dude” and “WAAAAALLLTTT!,” we’ll know for sure. :D

-----------
The elevator in the orchid is straight out of the book. "It's a long way down."



Yeah, the catch phrase thing is odd.

I agree about the elevator. It totally reminded me to the one in the book, even being covered in plant life etc.

I guess the main link to the show and the the book is the BOX. THE MAGIC BOX. The one in the book at the bottom of the elevator that can take anything you want out of it. In the book the character takes out gold when in the show Locke gets his dad.

The box is really very interesting to me. Other things I thought came out of the box....For Jack, his dad....For Sawyer, Locke's dad also.....For Hurley, the van....For Eko, Yemmi and the plane.....For Charlie, his guitar....etc.

To carry it further, for Ben, Jack fell from the sky....

Now what I really wonder about is the nature of the box....Is it all a "smoke-screen" (forgive the pun) and the box is actually just a person organizing these happennings...Of is it some kind of phenomenon...Physical, spiritual or other?

I think I may need to reread ...

[thelittlethings]

ooo this is interesting. i think i'm gonna have to pick this up at the library now. this thread got me thinking. :)

[Selah]

okay, so i bought the book, b/c i adore a show that promotes literature. haven't started it yet, but when i do, i plan to stop by here and throw in my two cents so to speak. from what i've read from previous posts, there is a some concern about bicycles? i'll be on the lookout! until then...happy reading!

ETA-

so i've started the book and i have been wondering about the whole "bicycle thing"...i haven't gotten far, but i frequent another theory board, Bryden's theory on everything mental :giggle: and something clicked.

Erowid Albert Hoffman Vault pretty much synthesized LSD for the first time. over a repeated number of "trips" and tests on himself, he Three days later, on April 19, 1943, he decided to verify his results by intentionally ingesting 250 ug of LSD. This day has become known as "Bicycle Day" as Hofmann experienced an incredible bicycle ride on his way home from the lab.

perhaps the protagonist in the story is not only "dead" per say, but experiencing a bad "trip"...

just a thought...

okay, so the protagonist is dead...
this was supposed to be a funny read, so says the excerpt on the back, but i found it sort of depressing and albeit confusing at times.

the black box...reminded me of divney/locke blowing things up...the black box was nothing more than a mine to send the protagonist to an untimely death...

the numbers appear in the story...esp. 23

"In MacCruiskeen's room there is a little box on the mantelpiece. The story is that when MacCruiskeen was away one day that happened to fall on the 23rd of June inquiring about a bicycle, Fox went in and opened the box and looked into it from the strain of his unbearable curiosity. From that day to this..."

perhaps the 23rd of june coincides w/something from Lost?

does anyone else get the eerie feeling that Mather's house/TTP's barracks are quite similar to the Cabin? from the dark ambience, to the lantern, to the man sitting in a chair....

and seriously, what's with the one wooden leg?

[bookworm]

I certainly didn't find it a "funny" read. I thought it was very dark and creepy. Did you finish it?

[shred]

I did laugh a lot while reading it, myself. That whole checking the machine thing was so absurd (like punching a button every 108 minutes?) that I couldn't help but giggle.

[Selah]

I certainly didn't find it a "funny" read. I thought it was very dark and creepy. Did you finish it?

yes, i finished it. but perhaps i rushed through it? i dunno. what were your thoughts on it and how it may or may not relate to LOST?

[bookworm]

I read it awhile ago, but some of the things I remember are....

the wish making box
the plants and underground thing
the cycle that is getting repeated
the whole criminal thing
becoming part of the objects/environment they were around
De Selbey - the D'Groots
deceased Mathers showing up in the deserted house/cabin
time passing more quickly for others than him....him a couple of days, while others have aged decades

probably more...

[shred]

Yes. The DeGroots are DeSelby! Idealists with wacky plans.

[bookworm]

did anyone other than myself chuckle at the red bicycle in sawyer's way when he was making his way to juliett under the rubble?

[magdalene]

did anyone other than myself chuckle at the red bicycle in sawyer's way when he was making his way to juliett under the rubble?

nice. :shifty:

[bookworm]

becoming the bicycle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol