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""Once upon a time there was a man who worked very hard and very quickly, and who had left his soul far behind him long ago. In fact his life was all right without his soul--he slept, ate, worked, drove a car and even played tennis. But sometimes he felt as if the world around him were flat, as if he were moving across a smooth page in a math book that was covered in evenly spaced squares... " --from The Lost Soul The Lost Soul is a deeply moving reflection on our capacity to live in peace with ourselves, to remain patient, attentive to the world. It is a story that beautifully weaves together the voice of the Nobel Prize-winning Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk and the finely detailed pen-and-ink drawings of illustrator Joanna Concejo, who together create a parallel narrative universe full of secrets, evocative of another time. Here a man has forgotten what makes his heart feel full. He moves to a house away from all that is familiar to him to wait for his soul to return. The Lost Soul is a sublime album, a rare delicacy that will delight readers young and old. "You must find a place of your own, sit there quietly and wait for your soul.""--… (more)
User reviews
It wasn't until much later that he realized all the hustle and bustle really didn't get him very far. Every thing this man did was fast which led to depression and a sense of disconnect. Awaking feeling he could not breathe he lost track of where he was as all the cities look the same. The story tells us that not only did he lose perspective of where he was, but he lost his identifyer -- his name was gone as well.
A wise doctor told the man that in the hustle and bustle, losing our soul equates to losing our heart. His soul could not catch up with him. Souls move slower than our bodies is what the good doctor told him, the result is overwhelming confusion.
The man, whose name is John, decided to take a break and he found a cottage deep in the woods, at the edge of the city and he sat still and he waited. When waiting in silence, John heard a knock on the door. It was his lost soul.
At this point in the story, the incredible illustrations turn from black and white to color...lush wonderful color that he no longer wanted to leave behind.
Five Stars
A man is told that his feelings of loneliness and alienation are caused by his having moved so fast that he has left his soul
The book is mostly art plates, with two overleafs, setting up the alienation theme and then alternating between the journey of the man's soul (represented as a child) and the man himself. The art is pencil, the palette is generally monotone and drab until the end, when it bursts forth in color and life as man and soul are reunited. Subjects range from landscape to still life to people.to surreal scenes featuring real or toy animals.
This book received the 2018 Nobel Prize for literature.