The Ideal Order: a LEGO novel
Posted by Huw,
Christoph Bartneck is best known in LEGO circles for producing minifig collector guides. He's now turned his hand to writing a novel, The Ideal Order
"Dr. Rob Parker’s life is out of order. His estranged Japanese wife is leaving him, the relationship to his daughters is strained and his academic career is at a dead end. He escapes into the cult of LEGO and the study of classification systems. By sorting his collection of LEGO bricks he reconnects to his daughters and he maintains his sobriety while maneuvering in the bizarre world of academia. Prof. Dr. Smith and his newly found Adult Fans Of LEGO help him to find a new structure for himself, his brick collection and his family."
Christoph sent me a ePub version to read a few weeks ago and I've just finished it. There are parts in it that every AFOL, particularly those with young families, will relate to. The discussions between the protagonist and his colleague quite enlightening and you may well learn a lot about different approaches to nomenclature and taxonomies and how they relate to sorting and naming LEGO parts.
It's not going to be troubling the Pulitzer or Booker prize boards any time soon but it's largely an enjoyable read. It would be ideal for reading on your tablet over Christmas while relatives are watching drivel on the TV...
You can buy it at Amazon: a few $/£ for a Kindle version, slightly more for a paperback:
Amazon.com
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11 comments on this article
The Amazon preview looks good...although there's a typo on the first page. :P
Seems like an interesting book. I might give it a shot.
Looks fun . . .
That sounds terrible
as much as I like Lego, reading about a fictional character sorting Lego would really test my patience
sounds... interesting.
I'm writing a historical opera about Lego's decision to go from grey to bley.
"Dr. Rob Parker’s life is out of order. His estranged Japanese wife is leaving him..."
I strongly suspect that his wife's ethnicity is mentioned here for some other reason than being important to the plot.
This synopsis is confusing....I'm not sure if this book is a comedy or an actual fiction about Lego. I didn't think Lego could be related to anything serious.....
"You may well learn a lot about different approaches to nomenclature and taxonomies and how they relate to sorting and naming LEGO parts."
Now there's a cover quote for the reprint if I ever saw one...
If anything, an obsession with sorting LEGO is what would cause the problems with his wife and family in the first place.