At long last Lost (is my friend)

Okay, det er helt utidigt, man jeg er nu tre kvart episode inde i 3. sæson officielt fuldstændig fortabt i Lost; jeg opretholdt en vis skepsis hele vejen gennem 1. sæson, men i 2. sæson smeltede al modstand overfor det fint og proft kulørte ø-kuller, og sidst i 2. sæson spillede min yndlinsg(Dickens)roman Our Mutual Friend,, som jeg skrev speciale om for 20 år siden, en vigtig birolle, og det er jo et TEGN som dem, der er så herligt alt for mange af i serien, og endnu mere beytdningsfuldt er der tale om nøjagtig den samme Penguin-udgave, som jeg analyserede i laser dengang i 90'erne:



lostpedia (hvor billedet også stammer fra) skriver: 

Desmond carried with him a hardback "The Penguin English Library" edition of Our Mutual Friend that was held closed with rubber bands, intended only to be opened and read at last before he died. Presumably knowing the significance of the book to him, Penelope placed a letter of her love and undying devotion in the book, intending Desmond to read it in his deepest moments of despair while incarcerated in military prison. However, he never found the letter there, as he had checked the book into prison storage with the rest of his personal inventory, and it was therefore not returned until his release. In the Swan, he finally found and read her letter when he opened the book to read it because he was contemplating suicide after three years of being "trapped" in the hatch. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1")

This occurred at the same time John Locke was also in despair and pounding on the hatch door. The combination of the letter's discovery and Locke's appearance apparently saved Desmond's life as he decided against suicide. ("Deus Ex Machina")
Desmond also hid the key to activate the fail-safe in this book. When the computer was damaged, he inexplicably did not search for the book or the key, and neither were mentioned. He also neglected to take the book with him when he fled although this may be because he believed he had little time left to live and would not be able to read the book. ("Orientation")
Locke was seen alphabetizing the bookshelves (and shaking out each book as he did so) but was not shown discovering the book and key. Thus, the appearance of this rubber-banded hardcover book and its contents in the season two finale could be a continuity error. However, the book was placed in the far back of the bookshelf, and it appeared that John never finished alphabetizing. ("The Long Con")
Desmond named the sailboat that he and Penny lived on following his return from the Island after the novel. ("Dead Is Dead")

Influence on Lost

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse mentioned in a New York Times article [1] that they got the idea of using this book from an interview of writer John Irving. Irving had stated that he wanted Our Mutual Friend to be the last book he reads before dying.

- Me too, John & Desmond!