The Outsider [Paperback]

Colin Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1987

The seminal work on alienation, creativity, and the modern mind-set. "An exhaustive, luminously intelligent study...a real contribution to our understanding of our deepest predicament."—Philip Toynbee.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (September 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874772060
• ISBN-13: 978-0874772067
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

144 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that changed my life, March 19, 2002

By 

Malli (Mumbai, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Outsider (Paperback)

"In April-2000, when an exceptional heat wave had gripped the city of Mumbai in India, a young man, aged 27, stepped out of his house in Mehboob Studio and headed toward Lotus Book House". That was me last year. Over the first 3 months of the year 2000, some strange kind of uneasiness had gripped me.I was feeling divorced from most things and I could not pin down this sense of desolation. Completely led by chance, I ended up picking 'The Outsider'in a bookshop that April. I had no clue who Colin Wilson was or what the book was about. Some manifestation of the acausality principle of Carl Jung was at work I guess. My verdict on the book which is heartfelt and directly from experience(which is the only way one can be true to the book) is that 'The Outsider' is one of the most illuminating books that I have read in my life. The book is a scintillating journey that explores the position of the individual in the cosmos. After reading this book, I have read every single book mentioned in it which is an illustrious list that includes, Sartre's - 'Nausea; Hesse's - Sidhhartha, Narcissus & Goldmund, Steppenwolf, The Magister Ludi; Dostoyvesky's - Crime & Punishment, The Brother's Karamazov..the list is endless. I will recommend it to anyone who wants to explore the question of Man - the individual as against Man - the clock-work mechanism/ cog in the wheel . More importantly, the book is an experience; whatever I have written is only a description of that experience. An experience and its description can never be the same. This principle holds true for 'The outsider'. The reader will realise as he reads that the concepts and survival mechanisms of day-to-day banalities sorrounding his consciousness dissolve and that in some way this book gives rise to that 'oceanic feeling' of enlightenment.

70 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All-Time Favorite Book, May 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Outsider (Paperback)

For over 15 years this has been my favorite book. Wilson explicates a thesis - that much of great Western Literature is written by and concerns men who see and feel more deeply than their contemporaries. Perhaps one might regard them as more sensitive. At any rate, such men are alienated-hence outsiders. Such figures include: Hermann Hesse, Van Gogh, Hemmingway, Lawrence of Arabia, H.G. Wells, Albert Camus, Vaslav Nijinsky, Sartre, Tolstoy, and others.

This book can be used in many ways: as a primer to existential philosophy, an introduction to religious mysticism, or as an introduction to the work and thoughts some of the greatest artists and writers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Understanding of this book is helped by familiarity with the works and artists Wilson discusses - but it's not necessary. Wilson's discussion of each work/artists is complete enough even without prior exposure. And, indeed, it would be hard to have exposure to all he includes. In a way that, too, is a plus. I used this book as a core curriculum for nearly everything I've studied. I read what Wilson had to say, and if I was interested, I'd then explore those artists myself.

122 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You are not alone, February 13, 2003

By 

Takis Tz. (InYourHead) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Outsider (Paperback)

More people have read "Harry Potter" books than Colin Wilson books. So what you might say..True, and that would be qualifying you as an outsider. However, the fact that people seem to not be intereseted in themselves, what they are, and what's their "place" in this world or this reality(ies) is interesting. Isnt't it?
Wilson, in the "Outsider" lays out a study that asks many pivotal questions, questions that most people would label as existentialist. He defines the outsider as a person that "sees too deep but can't help it", a person that instinctively feels he doesnt fit in, becomes troubled by that, and sets out on a personal journey of discovering himself and his position in everything else.
To do this, Wilson studies the message many outsiders have "transmitted" throughout history, may they be philosophers, authors, dancers, painters, artists in general. He looks for parallels amongst them as he tries to interpret and define them, looks for common (but also for uncommon) points, but more importantly looks to detect what it is exactly that disatisfies them about the world they find themselves in.
And he does an extraordinary job at achieving his mission (defining the Outsider is a mission for those familiar with Wilson's works) while inducing provoking thoughts to the reader whether he's an outsider or not.
He also explores the methods of the outsiders he studies. In the end they all emerge as an official club and this is more startling than it might sound. It's the "commonness" among outsiders that's interesting in my opinion.
But, possibly the biggest issue is why does society keep producing Outsiders? Does that mean that as long as Outsiders keep being produced something is "wrong? It more than certainly does.
Any outsiders who will pick up this book to read will not be troubled by the fact that they might be unfamiliar with many artists Wilson studies. In fact, they'll wind up being inspired to study them also. On the other hand, any non-outsiders picking up this book might find themselves frustrated after the first 20-30 pages. And how will you know if you're an outsider or not to begin with? No worries. If you are you more than likely know it already. If you're not sure here's a tremendous and very inspirational book to help you find out. And if you aren't this book might help you understand those that are.
I've read several Colin Wilson books and what keeps amazing is that each and every one i've read is like "progress" for me, a personal progress, he functions like a keymaster handing out keys to those interested, and the fact that his writting style is never inaccessible is an added plus.
The "Outsider" is possibly the best book of its kind and it's no wonder that it brought Wilson some fame and success. It is a paradox though that even though Wilson has written very many illuminating books since then he still remains an "underground author"..Why`Well, i suppose that may have to do with the fact that he's an outsider himself, who, ultimately, will be read by (primarily) outsiders?
Discover that you are not alone.