67 pages • 2 hours read
Meg ShafferThe Lost Story: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Books as Magical Portals
The Lost Story is a portal fantasy, a subgenre in which characters are transported from the real world into a magical realm, typically through a doorway or a portal. While Rafe, Emilie, and Jeremy access Shanandoah through the physical portal of the tree hollow, the subtext is that there is another, imaginative doorway into alternate worlds: books.
To illustrate this thematic element, books and literary allusions form an important motif in the novel. For instance, Emilie notes that the teenage Skya loved books, with her reading comprising fantasy titles like Barbara Hambly’s Dragonsbane (1985) and The Hobbit (1937) by J. R. R. Tolkien. During the 15 days of celebration in Shanandoah, Skya and the others read aloud The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Silver Chair. Thus, books offer a sanctuary and an escape.
Other literary references include stories and authors. When Winter tells Jeremy and Rafe that she misses their stories about the man who is a bat and fights crime, Rafe is incredulous that they told the court Batman stories. However, Jeremy insists, “[Y]ou can’t do better than Batman Begins for a campfire story” (272). As an homage to C. S. Lewis, who created the ultimate portal fantasy universe in The Chronicles of Narnia, Jeremy visits The Eagle and Child, the pub in which Lewis and Tolkien “used to fight about their imaginary worlds” (224). Jeremy is drawn to the places that Lewis frequented because he feels a kinship with the author who created Narnia, a world that prefigures Shanandoah. The references to books and storytelling also emphasize the power of art and imagination. As Skya notes, “[A]ll books are magic…maybe even the strongest magic there is” (469).
Rafe’s Book of Memories
Rafe’s sketchbook symbolizes truth, knowledge, and memory, becoming a key symbol of The Challenges of Self-Discovery. In opening the book, Rafe accepts his past in all its good and bad aspects and thus recovers his lost self, completing his quest. The book has a black cover with a silver lock. The fact that Rafe chooses the number of Jeremy’s house as the combination to open the lock shows that Rafe’s truest self lies with Jeremy. Skya asks Rafe to draw or write his memories in the book; once the book is locked, the memories will also be locked away in Rafe’s mind, “as if [they are] behind a door you can’t open” (421).
Rafe fears that opening the book will unlock both knowledge and pain, which is why he holds off for so long. However, without opening the book, he can never be his truest self. Rafe’s dilemma symbolizes the difficult journey to find and accept the truth. Though blocking one’s memories and awareness can temporarily make things better, it ultimately leads to ignorance and stasis.
The Forest
Forests are not only one of the novel’s main settings but also function as an important symbol. Whether Red Crow, Shanandoah, or Kentucky’s Bernheim Forest where Emilie tracks down Jeremy, forests symbolize magic, beauty, and a sanctuary.
At Bernheim, Emilie is awed by Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s recycled-wood sculptures of three forest giants, with the giants representing the grandeur of nature itself. The text often depicts trees, forests, and associated objects as lush and towering. Rafe compares Red Crow to an ocean of green, while Shanandoah’s trees are so huge that they are endless. This shows the primacy of forests in the emotional landscape of these characters. It is a forest that helps Rafe escape his father and Emilie escape her kidnapper. It is also a forest where Rafe feels brave and free to act on his love for Jeremy. Thus, away from the horrors and biases of human society, forests act as a space for renewal. Furthermore, like books, forests are a source of beauty and magic in the real world, transporting people into an alternate world.
Bright Boys
The Bright Boys are antagonistic creatures of Shanandoah, acting as both a symbol and motif in the novel. The Bright Boys illustrate The Challenges of Self-Discovery since they act as obstacles the heroes must conquer again and again to prove their worth. The Bright Boys are creatures made of smoke who take on the form of teenage boys, often dressed in rags. Bright Boys have sharp teeth and can smell fear; drawn to a person’s fear, they aggravate it by taunting them with visions.
The name “Bright Boys” is antithetical since they are neither children nor associated with light. In Ghost Town, Rafe realizes why the Bright Boys—especially Ripper, Snake Teeth, and Gray Ghost—flock to Bill’s ghost. They are attracted to his fear, as Bill’s terror provides them with an “all-you-can-eat buffet” (354). This shows that the Bright Boys symbolize one’s innermost, deepest fears. The fact that slain Bright Boys keep resurrecting shows the nature of fear, as fighting one’s fears is a constant battle.
