A common problem of people who have born in the age of consumption: possessions and the burden of them. Our luggage, bags, wardrobes, drawers… They are all full of our possessions.

A common problem of people who have born in the age of consumption: possessions and the burden of them. Our luggage, bags, wardrobes, drawers… They are all full of our possessions. Moreover, possessions do occupy not only the places but also the minds. Eva Furnari’s book, Lolo Barnabe, tells us the burden of possessions which is not realized by people without reflecting deeply about it. We, as the people of this age, were born into an establishment of ownership that was confirmed and settled before us. So, if we were faced with this phenomenon before we were born into it, then what would it be? Here Lolo Barnabe is opening the door to this possible world.

Lolo, his wife Breeze and their son Finfo were a lovely nuclear family who lived in a cave. Everything was all right and they were very happy. However, one day, they noticed that “they were happy but not that much”. They believed that the reason for this was the coldness and humidity of the cave; then, Lolo, who is quite talented, begun to build a house with a roof. Since Breeze liked the yellow colour, Lolo invented that colour and painted the house with yellow. Here, Lolo’s story about inventions, which will continue throughout the whole book, begins. One day, Lolo needed to invent new and various clothes due to the fact that their furs were so harsh. Next day, they could not find an available place to put their clothes: the wardrobe was invented. Later on, they were not happy with sleeping on the ground and invented the bed… In the end, while Lolo and Breeze were busy with inventing new “necessary” things, Finfo started to miss his family when watching the television, which was again invented by his father. Each new invention entailed a certain time and efforts, maintenance, to be repaired and to be used. Tired Lolo and Breeze did not have adequate time to spend with their children. Once a day, they were about to fall asleep while watching the television, the power was cut, and they spent their time without the Lolo’s innovations. They started telling stories and talking to each other by sitting around the fire as in the old days. They “were not happy” because of the power cut “but not too much”.

The story of Lolo is striking and ideal at the first glance: he is a skillful inventor, who can produce new things easily and fulfill the needs his family has. However, as the story continues, it becomes clear through Finfo that Lolo’s and Breeze’s solutions to the problems and productions to facilitate their lives created new problems. Every new article causes another problem. For example, as the new and diverse clothes, which Lolo and Zizu replace the furs with, an increase in number, a new need to collect them emerge and as a result, the wardrobe is invented. Every effort to be completed is a mark of a new one. In the end, the things the family possesses have reached to such a point that they cannot easily do what they once did: it should be "connected to a machine".

Their possessions take their time and space first. Finally, the reader realizes that their minds are already occupied. The inventions they think will make their lives easier become a growing problem. At this point, we should remember the relationship Jean-Jacques Rousseau has established between "liberty and ownership": civilization has taken the liberty of man after the emergence of property.

Bibliography

Furnari, Eva. Bay Mucittaş ve Ailesi. Damla Kellecioğlu (Çev.). İzmir: Tudem, 2017.