Gray Matters [Mass Market Paperback]

William Hjortsberg (Author), Gene Szafran (Illustrator)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 159 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; 1st Thus edition (1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671782428
• ISBN-13: 978-0671782429
• ASIN: B0006WMBTK
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,202,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Utopian/Distopian vision is unique, August 22, 2001

By 

Rae Schwarz "post-modern Renaissance woman" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gray Matters (Hardcover)

This is one of those books that gets better once you finish it. That's when the arguements start: was the ending happy or not? Here Hjortsberg depicts a future where man has abandoned the flesh. Every being is a bodiless brain, trying for enlightenment so that they may be placed in a body and allowed to roam the earth. The main action of the story involves Ibuti, a man placed in a body while still possessing the ego attachments of the "unenlightened." He discovers a frighteningly peaceful world, but is universal peace enough?

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best ever?, November 9, 2005

By 

Mike Linley (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gray Matters (Mass Market Paperback)

This has to be one of the best books I have ever read if not THE best. I am a real bookworm and have read a ton of stuff from hundreds of authors but this just blew my mind. I have been looking for a copy since first reading 'Gray Matters' over 20 years ago. Unfortunately, I could not remember the name of the author (sorry William!), although I never forgot his sheer brilliance.

I'd recommend this one to any intelligent adult reader interested in science fiction; this one really is the dog's bits and pieces!

9 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the greatest sci fi ever written, July 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Gray Matters (Hardcover)

Hjortsberg is the greatest writer in history. This is the best science fiction book ever written.... I hope i'm not beating around the bush too much. Read this book (get past the first few pages) and you will soon be telling everyone you know the exact same thing that I've told you.