Reading group guide for THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS
Introduction
High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the loss of his mother. He is angry and he is alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in the myths and fairy tales so beloved of his dead mother, he finds that the real world and his fantasy world have begun to meld. As war rages across Europe, David is violently propelled into a land that is both of a construct of his imagination yet frighteningly real, a strange reflection of his own world, composed of myths and stories, populated by wolves, woodsmen, knights, and castles and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious, legendary book, The Book of Lost Things.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
1. Throughout the time that David lives in the imaginary world, his dreams are influenced by fairy tales, as well as the real-world personal and cultural tragedies that he came from. While David’s dead mother certainly plays a large role, which aspects of his life have a great impact on his dream world? Discuss the interaction of the real world and the imagined. What conflicts arise and how does David’s dream deal with these conflicts?
2. Roland says that life is filled with threats and danger. “We face those that we have to face, and there will be time when we must make the choice to act for a greater good, even at risk to ourselves, but we do not lay down our lives needlessly. Each of us has only one life to live, and one life to give. There is no glory in throwing it away where there is no hope” (page 175). What does Roland mean by “the greater good”? Does the greater good have different meanings in David’s imaginary land and the real world? Do you agree with Roland’s thinking on this subject? Why or why not?
3. David asks Roland what he believes in and the knight replies, “I believe in those whom I love and trust. All else is foolishness. This god is as empty as his church. His followers choose to attribute all of their good fortune to him, but when hi ignores their pleas or leaves them to suffer, they say only that he is beyond their understanding and abandon themselves to his will. What kind of god is that?” (page 177) .Why does Roland have this view? How does this conversation impact David’s thinking and the story? What role does religion play in the book?
4. Who is the most influential fairy-tale character David meets? Why? Which character causes the greatest change in David?
5. Comrade Brother Number One says, “Do we look happy? There’s no happily ever after for us. Miserably ever after, more like” (page 128). Does “happily ever after” exist? In this story? In David’s real life?
6. Roland claims himself to be only a soldier, but David thought that he “seemed more like a leader… a natural captain of men, yet he was riding alone” (page 206). What about Roland made David believe him to be a leader? What traits differentiate a leader from a follower? Can Roland be a leader without any followers?
7. David feels responsible for the beast that attacks the village. Moreover, David thought that “the Beast was familiar to him, that there was a corner of his imagination where the creature had found an echo of herself” (page 218). What does he mean by this? Why does he feel this? Is David responsible? Why or why not?
8. When David finds Roland’s body the book describes an important transformation. His “anger overcame fear, and his rage overcame any thoughts of flight. In that moment, he became more man than boy, and his passage into adulthood began in earnest” (page 251). Is this the moment truly when David’s growth began or was it earlier, or later? If it was not, then when? What does this part of David’s transformation say about the differences between adults and children?
9. There is much evil in this story, the crooked man perhaps the most evil of all. What is most evil about the crooked man? What does he represent in the real world? Is the crooked man the most evil character in the book? Why or why not?
10. David finds that the crooked man has been keeping the “essence of children” (page 315) in jars. What is the essence of children?
11. The crooked man offers David pointed advice, “truth about the world to which he so desperately wants to return.” He says that the world is a horrible place and that the life David left behind “is no life at all” (page 318). Is David’s fantasy world truly a better place than the real world? Does David have a life in either world? Why or why not?
12. Throughout the book many well-known children’s fairy tales were altered. Which story did you find the most changed for the better or for the worse? How did these changes impact the moral or the essence of that particular story? Many of the stories are significantly more violent; how does this change their reading? What does violence add to the fairy tales?
13. “Those whom you care about--lovers, children--will fall by the wayside, and your love will not be enough to save them” (page 335). Death is a theme that runs throughout The Book of Lost Things. Is the quote of the crooked man the book’s central message about death? If not, what is? Is the crooked man right?
14. What is the book of lost things? In this context, what does it mean to be lost? Is David lost?
Novel Ideas Discussions - The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly - Questions courtesy of the publisher
1. The Book of Lost Things by John ConnellyMany of the original fairy tales written down by the brothers Grimm are dark and very violent, which Connolly seemed to draw upon in his novel. However, we’ve grown up with much more sanitized versions of these tales. How did you react to the darker aspects of familiar fairy tales in The Book of Lost Things? Did these darker elements surprise you?
2. Which of your favorite childhood fairy tales did Connolly not
include in his book?
3. Who or what do you think is the real villain in the novel and why? Who is the hero?
4. What do you think is the significance of the title “The Book of Lost Things”? What has Jonathan “lost”? What has David lost?
5. In your opinion, what is the story’s central conflict?
6. How did you react to the ending? Did you find it sad/uplifting/hopeful?
7. If you could rewrite the ending, would you? What would be your ending?
8. If they were going to make a movie inspired by “The Book of Lost Things” who would you cast as the characters?
9. How does the author blur the lines between fantasy and reality? Were you able to distinguish what was real and what was fantasy? Why or why not?
10. How did you react to the dark and twisted versions of many familiar fairy tales?
11. What major difference do you see between David at the beginning of the book and David after he wakes up in the hospital?
Who or what is the true villain in this story and why? Who or what is the true hero and why?
12. How do you interpret the ending? Is the ending happy, tragic, something else?
13. What message did you think the title The Book of Lost Things delivered about the book before you read it? Did this change by the time you had finished the story?
14. There are variations of many different fairy tales in the Book of Lost Things, how did you feel about the changes the author made to the tales we’ve grown up with? Which of the variations did you like the best? Were there stories referenced that you didn’t know?
15. What do you think the audience is for this book? A story about fairy tales would seem to be directed towards a younger audience, but the darker nature of the story seems to change that.
16. There are many themes touched upon in the book. (Grief, loss, coming of age, family, fears, dreams, death) Which do you feel was the main theme? What message did you take away from the book?
17. Which of the re-told fairy tales was the most effective in illuminating David's story? Which was the most effective in terms of the fairy tale itself? Which was the least?
18. Were you familiar with all the fairy tales and creatures incorporated into the book?
19. What was the purpose of the tank?
20. What are your thoughts on the end/epilogue?
Analysis of the book on Prezi. Click here.
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