The Lost Soul

The art is amazing. The book author won a Nobel prize in literature 2018, the book was awarded the Fiction Bologna Ragazzi Prize the same year.

I guess I struggle with Tokarczuk's portrayal of souls; I don't like the idea that ‘they were born at the dawn of time', that they're seemingly easily separated from bodies, and that the soul that is reunited looks like a(n arbitrary?) child.

But I like that it made me slow down, enjoy fantastic art, and have a think.

If you like philosophical picture books like The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, then this one's for you.

‘'If someone could look down on us from above, they'd see that the world is full of people running about in a hurry, sweating and very tired and their lost souls always left behind, unable to keep up with their owners. The result is great confusion as the souls lose their heads and the people cease to have hearts. The souls know they've lost their owners, but most of the people don't realise that they've lost their own souls.''

Αlways, always in a hurry. Wake up, get ready, eat, walk. Drive, catch the train. Shop, socialise whether you like it or not. You have to. Talk. Don't talk. Don't be inactive. Don't spend time alone. You will be branded a ‘'loner'' and a ‘'weirdo''. Listen to the fashionable mottos dictated by social media. Don't. Do. Do. Don't.

And then we forget to listen to the voice of our soul. We pay so much attention to what the others tell us and we forget to think. We concern ourselves with the opinions of others and we don't care what our own self thinks of us and our actions.

Olga Tokarczuk creates a beautiful fable about a young man who realises he has lost the only thing that really matters. His soul. So, he decides to withdraw from a society of empty words and loud demands. He decides to wait. He decides to spend the time to understand himself. Until the day a little girl appears outside his window and his garden starts growing again.

But where can we find our soul? Joanna Consejo's moving illustrations are rather telling. In a snowy field, echoing with the laughter of children, in a cafe with a hot cup of coffee and a book, in a village funfair, in a train, gazing over the fields, dreaming. Far away from those who exploit everyone and everything.

Many thanks to Triangle Square and Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/