Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Final testament from a 20th century master, November 21, 2000
If you judge this book solely on its literary merit, you will be disappointed. There isn't much of a plot here, and characterization lacks adequate depth. If on the other hand, you regard this novel as a way to frame a whole set of ideas, you'll be greatly rewarded. Along with Thomas Mann, Huxley is perhaps the most intelligent and well rounded man in the world of 20th century literature, and this work is a culmination of a lifetime of thought about society, science, and the relationship between them. Huxley was a man who actually cared about humankind, and in this book he tells us what it would take to create a perfect society. He seems to have taken great pains to stay clear of science fiction and wrote the most practical utopia he could conceive based on the scientific and technological achievements of his day. Forty years later, the world of Pala lies well within our realm of technological possibility. So why don't we build it? What Huxley indirectly shows is that even when we can do it, we are not willing to pay the price for it. In a world where the market is king, and freedom without responsibility is seen as a given, Pala looks as distant and quaint as the SF worlds of Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. Even if Pala is not feasible on a nationwide or worldwide scale, this novel has important things to teach us as individuals. It convincingly shows how we are conditioned by our environment and upbringing to behave a certain way. If we change or overcome that conditioning our lives will be transformed, even as we are encroached by the cruel world around us. Island is sure to give food for thought for a long time to come.
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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Go Get It!, November 17, 1999
By A Customer
I found this book lying in a closed dusty box in the basement where all of my dad's old books are. I had heard tons about The Doors of Perception so decided to give this one a try. If I say that this book changed by whole life it would be saying too much. But if definitely makes me wonder why we, the entire human race, are rotting away to glory when a "formula" for better and more fulfilling way to live is out there for us to take. It's in this very book. After reading this book I doubt there would be anybody who would not question the existing, decadent values and morals that bind us all. What a perfect mixture of eastern and western wisdom! I really recommend that this book should be a part of the curriculum in schools throughout the world. Oh ya the part about the mushrooms in that temple as part of the initiation process and the accompanying Shiva Vedic chants...it really can be the most awesome out of body experience you can have. Trust me I am from India. Bottom Line: Go read it and ask everyone you know to read it too. Spread the message and who knows maybe one day we could all experience Huxley's Utopia.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, November 27, 2002
Island, in my opinion is probably Aldous Huxley's best work, and also one of the best books I have ever read. For those of you interested in spirituality, this would probably be the book to get started on. It has a good way of telling you what peace and the "Buddha Nature" really does feel like. The book is about a utopian society on an island called Pala. Will Farnaby, 'suffering from the disease called Civilization', lands on the island, in the hope of getting the bid for a lucrative oil contract, but the more of the island he sees, the more he realizes that the island must be saved from civilization at all costs. To say more would be to spoil the story for those of you who have not read it. Needless to say, I liked this book a lot more than I liked Brave New World, or any of his other books. I feel that this was his most pointed attack on our way of life. It can be read and re-read a million times. The ideas contained in it are really refreshing, so refreshing and original that I'm still trying to come up with well founded criticisms. This book is well worth the price, now if only there were more authors who could write like this.
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