Episode 208 - Secret Clue

Since mid-first season, Sawyer has become the island's resident bookworm, reading so much that he developed hyperopia, or short-sightedness. It's fair to say that, when Lost first started, few would suspect that Sawyer would be the survivor with a thirst for books, but as we've grown to know him, it is evident he is far smarter than others give him credit for. But it is the books themselves that are the important clue - each book shown or mentioned on Lost is referenced very intentionally. In fact, so many literature references have begun popping up that we've decided to start Sawyer's Book Club.

The first book Sawyer was seen reading was Richard Adams' Watership Down, the story of a group of lost, homeless rabbits attempting to find a new warren. Some of you may have come across the threads about "Rebellious Rabbits;" if you haven't, jump on Yahoo! Search, look up that term in relation to Dharma and strap yourself in for some mind-blowing radio transmissions and transcripts, that may or may not be emanating from a mysterious island...

Later, Sawyer was seen reading Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time. Written in the early 60's, it follows the tale of a teenage girl who journeys alongside three elderly female spirits and some of her fellow teens to rescue her imprisoned scientific genius father. While that may not grab your interest, the fact that the group travel through space and time, in a pseudo-scientifically explained fashion, should interest you enough to check the book out. It provides a lot of fuel for the theories that involve the survivors being somewhere other than where they believe they are - the lead character remarks "Like and equal are not the same" when looking upon a place she thought she knew...

For those of you intrigued by the hallucinations or visions that many of our Losties have witnessed, reading Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland would be a great idea. Locke references the book in "White Rabbit," an early first season episode where Jack was continually confronted by visions of his dead father. Some of you have suggested that the events on the island may have something to do with a form of group telepathy; that they are subtly affecting one another's thoughts. The fact that Hurley is speaking Korean with Jin in his dreams is a great example, and this text definitely adds fuel to the fire. In a similar vein, you should also read William Golding's Lord of the Flies. The book is mentioned several times, and will give you a chilling idea of one way things on the island may pan out...

Desmond obviously enjoyed a good book too, as the bookshelf in the hatch is heavily stacked and well organised. As he packs his backpack to rush off into the jungle in "Orientation," we see him pick up a book - Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman. The book is rather difficult to surmise; a young scientist/philosopher attempts to find a black box owned by a man he just killed. While the main character attempts to track it down, the book slips further and further into insanity as he meets two of three policeman who speak only in confusing patterns, and we are forced to realise that everything is far from what we've been led to believe, including the fact that 'Eternity' is a giant chamber under the earth's surface… While not an easy read by any means, producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse specifically pointed us towards the book in a later interview, saying that those who read it "will have a lot more ammunition when dissecting plotlines..."

The big literary clue in "Collision," though, was so blink-and-you'll-miss-it that you probably did. When Eko carries Sawyer into the hatch, Locke is completing a crossword - question 42 down, to be exact. The question - who is Enkidu's friend? The answer is Gilgamesh, a character from The Epic Of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian legend that just so happens to be the oldest recorded text known to man. Enkidu was a mythical human raised by animals and eventually tamed by humans. Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, and believed himself to have been divinely conceived by a goddess. The two team up and quest into the forest, determined to take down the giant monster that has been terrorizing the land… Could Locke perhaps see himself as Gilgamesh?

Have you read any of these books? Would you like to know more about them? Why not head over to the message boards now and share with us your views and theories!