Escapism In The Book Of Lost Things

Words: 980
Pages: 4

The Book of Lost Things proposes the argument that the fantasy genre not only is for escapism but to understand the reality of the world. John Connolly stated in an interview that “...I did use books as a means of escape and then, gradually, to help me understand the world…”(Connolly,342). As a child you do not quite understand things like the loss of a loved one or the betrayal of someone close but there is still something that happens. For David the loss of his mother had awaken something inside him he did not understand. David hated the world and resented his father for moving on so quickly to Rose, the woman that had looked after his mother in the hospital. When David’s father and Rose decided to move in together, he thought the world was …show more content…
As time had passed on David was only left to his books to keep him busy. David sought comfort and questioned the world through his books.He wanted to understand the grief he was feeling through the fairy tales he read. The books had spoke to him in the darkness as he took refuge in the myths and fairytales his mother loved so much. David thought “In that world, good was rewarded and evil was punished”(p.4). David did not understand how he had been brave and as did his mother, but in the end it was not enough to save her. David was so grief stricken his father had began to noticed how depressed and isolated he had become so he sent him to a psychiatrist. This experience stems much from John Connolly’s personal life as a child. Much like David the psychiatrist concluded there was nothing wrong with David but that he was a worrier. This was quite accurate with David due to that he was always worried something might happen to his father and he would have no one. The title of the book may also be understood as a metaphor for the relationship between David and the loss of his childhood, his plunge into the adult world. The title is also that of the book David writes as an adult about his adventures in the other