Thursday, November 13, 2014

The Bone Clocks

This week I have been lucky enough to step away from my everyday responsibilities and sit on a sandy beach. When traveling I always take a few mini figures and a good book.

I am currently reading the new novel by David Mitchell, author of The Cloud Atlas. About half way through the book I come across this:
Nothing attunes you to the beauty of the quotidian like a man who decides not to kill you after all. Scoop up the detritus I knocked to the floor: my pen holder, a plastic spoon, a memory stick, my Lego Man collection. Juno, Anais, and I send one another packets as jokey presents. I'm up to five: spaceman, surgeon, Santa, Minataur--bugger. Who am I missing? I'm on my knees hunting for the fifth among the power cords when my laptop trills.  ~ excerpt from The Bone Clocks: A Novel by David Mitchell
Wow! I kept reading and soon find out that the missing figure from his collection is actually a significant plot point.

Has the Lego collectable mini figure just moved out of interesting sub culture and hit main stream? Or was it just a matter of time before this popular toy would get name checked by a hugely popular contemporary author? Whatever is going on here I feel that something important just happened.

I just so happened to have packed the figure mentioned in the book that went missing from the desk. As my husband is always quick to remind me, there is no such thing as a coincidence.

~ xxsjc

Have you ever come across the Lego mini figure mentioned in literature before?
Do you think this is a significant event or am I just too close to the subject?



2 comments:

  1. I added Lego bricks to a scene in my novel that's coming out next year. Not a major presence, but the protagonist gets props for keeping her younger cousins amused with a box of bricks that once belonged to her and her brother.

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    1. That is wonderful Lyn!. Nothing like flying your true colors in print. Way to go!.

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