Welcome to my eight-part blog series about the main themes in A Long Lost Time. You may have read my previous blog series on the themes in the other books in the series so now it’s time for the final one. You can find the links to the previous blogs at the bottom of this blog post. The second theme is persistence, there will be some crossover with previous theme blogs.
Warning: This blog contains spoilers.
It goes without saying that one of Luke’s greatest strengths is his persistence. From barely nineteen years old to reaching the age of twenty-one towards the end of A Long Lost Time, it’s been quite a journey. And through it, there’s been just one aim. To abolish the Atlantic Split.
It’s always been a huge fight, insurmountable at times and Luke’s always known that throughout the books. How can he, just one person, fight against the two biggest nations in the world? It’s a question that he asks himself regularly, but in A Long Lost Time, he starts asking himself another. How can he not fight against it? It feels like his duty, and though at times he doesn’t know how to take it on, he finds a way and that there are many other people like him that want it just as much.
However, there are also a lot of people who don’t want him to carry on, not just people like Marco, but people like his family. They’re the ones who were badly affected by Luke’s actions when he went on the run, and paid the price. For them, it wasn’t about nobility or changing the world, to them, it was dealing with a massive fallout that affected all their lives. Luke has a fantastic showdown with his family in A Long Lost Time when they discuss just that, but at the end, Luke persists with his morals and what’s important to him. Because of course it’s hurting the people he loved and he never intended that to happen, but the fact that it is hurting them means it’s something that needs dealing with.
And it’s that persistence that carries him through his time in jail – the thought that somehow on the other side if he ever got out that he’d still be able to fight against the Atlantic Split. Luke has such strong morals that he knows he can’t give this up. It’s something his friends and Vi especially admire so much in him. They’re in awe of how he’s taken on this fight and carried on with it for all this time, and most of all, they’re part of it too. And they’ll fight until the very end if they have to.
But thankfully for Luke, he does get that chance to make a difference, small steps, but still steps towards reuniting the UK and the USA. His persistence did pay off after all.
I end this blog with a quote from A Long Lost Time about persistence. It’s from that fight I mentioned above and how Luke justifies the reason he left and why it was so important for him to take on this massive task after all.
“Everything that happened was for something much greater than all of us, and none of you deserved that, but if that’s what it takes to change the world and make it better for all of us…? Then I would do it all over again a hundred times over.” Luke Bright – A Long Lost Time
Thank you for reading this blog, and next Thursday I’ll be back to discuss the next theme in the series: hidden truths. See you then!
Atlantic Split Theme Blog Series Links:
At Liberty To Live Theme Blog Series Links:
- New Beginnings
- Inner Strength
- Following Your Passion
- Rushing in too quickly
- Feminism
- Self Discovery
- Making a Difference
- Previous Themes
An Undercover Dream Theme Blog Series Links:
A Long Lost Time Theme Blog Series Links:
All four books in The Luke Bright Series is available to purchase NOW! Please follow me on my blog and social media links below, and use the links on my website to purchase a copy of each if you have not done so. Don’t forget to leave a review! Thank you once again for taking the time to read this blog post
N.A.K
Neil A. King 