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78th out of 1,522 books
—
12,264 voters
Island
In Island, his last novel, Huxley transports us to a Pacific island where, for 120 years, an ideal society has flourished. Inevitably, this island of bliss attracts the envy and enmity of the surrounding world. A conspiracy is underway to take over Pala and events begin to move when an agent of the conspirators, a newspaperman named Faranby, is shipwrecked there. What Fara...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
July 30th 2002
by Harper Perennial Modern Classics
(first published 1962)
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This book was simply unbearable to read. The only reason I slugged through it was out of respect for Huxley and for the occasional snippets of philosophical wisdom I discovered along the way.
The theme is pure Huxley: intelligent, open-minded man gets shipwrecked on a remote tropical island where the native population has managed to create a utopia. The man meets a variety of people over a period of days who explain Pala's (the name of the island) unique culture.
The story is actually a successi...more
The theme is pure Huxley: intelligent, open-minded man gets shipwrecked on a remote tropical island where the native population has managed to create a utopia. The man meets a variety of people over a period of days who explain Pala's (the name of the island) unique culture.
The story is actually a successi...more
I'm on a roll. Or rather I've finally figured out how to find lots of books that I'll love. So many five stars, and it's only February. Anyways.
This book is like a savory meal that is extremely good for you. Or any activity that is rewarding in all the right ways. Hardin's 'Tragedy of the Commons' comes to mind, or more a massive extension on its logic in a world where there's a country that fully accepts it. Will brings enough cynicism into the utopia to put up a good fight, but his acceptance...more
This book is like a savory meal that is extremely good for you. Or any activity that is rewarding in all the right ways. Hardin's 'Tragedy of the Commons' comes to mind, or more a massive extension on its logic in a world where there's a country that fully accepts it. Will brings enough cynicism into the utopia to put up a good fight, but his acceptance...more
14 likes · like · see review
I'm not even finished with this and already it has had a profound effect on me. I resonate with this book like Cat's Cradle or Stranger in a Strange Land. It will take me two or three more reads—at least—to grok it in fullness, but it already feels as if some of the thoughts were for me, some of me. It's been a very long time since I fell so profoundly in love with a book, and it's a delicious, delightful, very spiritual experience.
10 likes · like · see review
Dec 08, 2012
John Carncross
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Hippies pretending to be Yuppies.
Shelves:
reviewed
My GRE Test Prep book says that qualifying and generally narrowing the scope of your thesis does not in any way undermine the effectiveness of your argument. On the contrary it makes the argument appear scholarly, more convincing. The persuasive power of Huxley’s utopia similarly rests in a kind of measured ambition. That is, while it is certainly naïve to assume human beings will ever solve all of their important problems, it also cannot be denied that these problems are all too often caused by...more
9 likes · like · see review
Aldous Huxley wrote this just before he died and to me this is his swan song. Island is set somewhere in the Pacific and depicts an Englishman's journey of spiritual enlightenment and self discovery. A progressive community takes mind-altering drugs and rejects conventional societal values for their own utopia. Everyone has the freedom to choose their own work, worship their own gods and have sex freely without the taboos of Western civilization. The community are exceptionally kind and open to...more
This is one of my new all time favourite books - strangely, I'd never heard of it until very recently. Huxley's expansive literacy in every genre is demonstrated masterfully in this treatise on modern society. Oddly, the backbone story is not terrific: the main character is a pitiful, selfish man with a broken sense of self and a wounded ego. Instead, what makes the book so rich, readable and re-readable is the intriguing way that Huxley demonstrates how humans always become the subjects of the...more
Aesthetically, not his best work, but wonderful none the less. The book is basically just an essay on politics, science, philosophy, religion, society, man, and ultimately, Utopia, masked as a novel. This is a forewarning to those looking for deep characters or a driving plot. However, the debate set forth by Huxley is more than a little intriguing, and should definitely hold the attention of anyone who has dreamed of a better life for the world and the people in it. One of the biggest arguments...more
It should be stated as a caveat to this review, that I believe that Huxley is one of the most important, intellectual, and enlightened mystics of the 20th century. I originally read this book 8 or nine years ago when my knowledge of spirituality, religion, and literature was sparse. However, it was one of those books that struck me like lightning and forever change the way I frame the world and our society.So a re-read…
Island is an active dialogue between relatively few characters who bring Huxl...more
Island is an active dialogue between relatively few characters who bring Huxl...more
This is a book to read and re-read for the philosophical and spiritual issues that it examines. The utopia of Pala is examined by an outsider, much like ourselves. Will has been brought up through the typical patriarchal pedagogy, which resents and demeans anything different.
He learns to embrace a parallel if not complementary way of living. The Palanese integrate teachings across philosophies (not just religions) of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity and accept the spectrum of individuals (m...more
He learns to embrace a parallel if not complementary way of living. The Palanese integrate teachings across philosophies (not just religions) of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity and accept the spectrum of individuals (m...more
A little hard to stay with this one. A man is shipwrecked on an island populated by the perfect society. A typical Huxley book, he exploits and criticizes the basest elements of his current society by contrasting it with the earth-friendly, free love island's society. His protagonist laughs like a hyena, has flashbacks of his miserable existence, and was essentially trying to get to this island to get a deal for oil companies, which would essentially destroy the island's balance and idealism. I'...more
This book was so jam-packed with ideas and opinions, it was nearly impossible to put down. You really get the sense of this being Huxley's last book and of him lying all of his beliefs right out there for you to interpret and assess. And seeing as how I agree with pretty much everything he says, I thought this book was awesome. My only complaints would be that since he has so much to say, the book is essentially plot-less, with 95% of the time dedicated to describing his utopia/dystopia scenario...more
Ultima e matura opera di Aldous Huxley, L'Isola è un classico romanzo del genere utopistico, classico già nella scelta dello stesso titolo: quale immagine migliore dell'isola?
Pubblicato appena prima della morte dell'autore, scritto parzialmente sotto gli effetti della mescalina, pensato come ad una risposta alla buia distopia de Il mondo nuovo, L'isola è, in realtà, un saggio travestito da romanzetto. Ignoro il resto della produzione di Huxley e soprattutto il suo celebre capolavoro, cui questo...more
Pubblicato appena prima della morte dell'autore, scritto parzialmente sotto gli effetti della mescalina, pensato come ad una risposta alla buia distopia de Il mondo nuovo, L'isola è, in realtà, un saggio travestito da romanzetto. Ignoro il resto della produzione di Huxley e soprattutto il suo celebre capolavoro, cui questo...more
My wife and I have been preparing for next year's season premiere of ABC's hit series, Lost, and decided to watch all four seasons' prior episodes. As part of the experience, we looked at the Lost Book Club offerings and noticed that Aldous Huxley's "Island (Perennial Classics) was included.
On seeing that online listing, I was reminded that I had read the book about a decade after it was originally published (in 1962), while I was in high school. Although most of us growing up in the 1960s were...more
On seeing that online listing, I was reminded that I had read the book about a decade after it was originally published (in 1962), while I was in high school. Although most of us growing up in the 1960s were...more
The Island is a logic exercise written as a theorem on how to build a utopia. He starts with the fact that the Island is a utopia surrounded by an imperfect and dangerous world, and then he goes layer by layer deeper into how it came about. It is described as a counterpoint to Brave New World. In it, Huxley shows artificial insemination, categorization of human beings, psychotropic drugs, but this time they are portrayed as being used the “correct” way, in a way that lifts the human spirit rathe...more
I am something of a Huxley fan; I've read a fair amount of his fiction and found his sense of humor enjoyable, if odd. His perspective, which is most definitely his own, gives me a great deal of food for thought.
I wish I could give Island more than two stars, but I don't feel like I can. When I rate books here, it's based on whether or not it is a 'good read' and enjoyable, not whether I feel the ideas within are important or thought-provoking.
This is one of those books with a lot to teach, but...more
I wish I could give Island more than two stars, but I don't feel like I can. When I rate books here, it's based on whether or not it is a 'good read' and enjoyable, not whether I feel the ideas within are important or thought-provoking.
This is one of those books with a lot to teach, but...more
Aldous Huxley
I knew Island was going to be a good read before I picked it up. Brave New World which made Huxley's name as a writer, is one of my favourites. The ending to Brave New World still sticks in my mind. I think this is because the ending gave you the facts to figure things out for yourself (the book ends with suicide).
I was surprised when I first started reading the book. I was enjoying it. Given Huxley's reputation as an essayist, I was ready to cringe and thoroughly digest academi...more
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. "Brave New World" is one of my favorite dystopias, so I was excited to see how Huxley tackled a utopia, and to see how his thoughts on society matured between his writing of "Brave New World" and "Island"-- his last novel. I felt the result was slightly disappointing.
While all dystopias and utopias are comments on society, and almost all utopia/dystopia authors have an agenda which they would like the reader to come to after reading the work,...more
While all dystopias and utopias are comments on society, and almost all utopia/dystopia authors have an agenda which they would like the reader to come to after reading the work,...more
Originally published on my blog here in September 2000.
Huxley's last novel is one of his most flawed. It is his Utopia, contrasting with his masterpiece, Brave New World. Basically, the island of Pala is a hippie paradise; a Buddhist state in the Indian Ocean, with a drug to bring higher consciousness (like LSD, in which Huxley was interested, was supposed to). Western journalist Will Farnaby is washed ashore on Pala, and falls for the charm of its inhabitants.
The novel basically consists of a g...more
Huxley's last novel is one of his most flawed. It is his Utopia, contrasting with his masterpiece, Brave New World. Basically, the island of Pala is a hippie paradise; a Buddhist state in the Indian Ocean, with a drug to bring higher consciousness (like LSD, in which Huxley was interested, was supposed to). Western journalist Will Farnaby is washed ashore on Pala, and falls for the charm of its inhabitants.
The novel basically consists of a g...more
Apr 10, 2012
Chloes08171
is currently reading it
I read Island over the break, and I was quite impressed. Aldous Huxley is one of my favorite authors, but, other than Brave New World, none of his novels have ever really stood out that much to me. Island seemed to hit a little bit closer home for me. I was able to really connect with the happenings in this book. Not only was Will Farnaby's transformation a wonderful thing to be able to read about, but the fight for Pala parallels a lot of the world's current issues. I am very interested in envi...more
"Island" is Aldous Huxley's answer to "Brave New World". The latter is a world gone wrong. It's much harder to build a world where everything goes right. Which is why there aren't many "utopias" on the fiction shelf in Waterstones.
He is right in his assertion that a personal transformation is key and must come first. That political solutions will never work. However I take issue with his advocacy of mind expanding drugs. Perhaps a good experience with LSD is necessary to jolt the sleeper out of...more
He is right in his assertion that a personal transformation is key and must come first. That political solutions will never work. However I take issue with his advocacy of mind expanding drugs. Perhaps a good experience with LSD is necessary to jolt the sleeper out of...more
1 like · like · see review
Island is Huxley’s great utopian novel, a counterpoint to the dystopian Brave New World. Written towards the end of his life, it tells the story of an English journalist’s experiences in the fictional Asian island state of Pala. Combining Eastern mysticism, hallucinogenic drugs, tantric sex (really, who has the time?) and a smattering of modern science, the Palanese have created a kind of perfectly balanced and enlightened society, but for how long can they resist the encroachment of the despots...more
Great stuff. The description of an utopia that one could actually believe in, where one will take at least a few lessons from the reading very seriously, as it's clear that this was the work of a lifetime, studied, considered and finally expressed in this way, at the end of Huxley's life.
And although it doesn't try to be a novel more than it is a description, it is still endearing that even with such love put into this fictional community, Huxley saw no way of integrating it into reality without...more
And although it doesn't try to be a novel more than it is a description, it is still endearing that even with such love put into this fictional community, Huxley saw no way of integrating it into reality without...more
Huxley sounds off on all aspects of modern culture: the spread of imperialism, greed, materialism, family life, and the roots of unhappiness. Pala is an idyllic island where seemingly perfect life exists; the utopia of utopias. Simple logic reigns supreme, as the inhabitants live lives that are a mix of love, manual labor, and research and advancement in medicine. The people are happy, so typically the outside world is pressing to invade, in the form of a monarch poised to exploit the oil reserv...more
The Island of this book is a utopia known as Pala,A place full of spiritual wisdom(but no need to embrace a Godhead figure) a place where gentle hypnosis and yoga gets the populus through the day,it's the sort of place taht if in existence would be swarming with western new agers trying to make sense of life during a 'gap year'...despite my cynicism this is a good book reflecting on a utopian society and the way in such a society is built and remains in existence..the philosphical dialogue withi...more
As has been pointed out this isn't much of a novel. The characters are not deeply formed, they are mostly rather annoying (the references to "flayed smiles" get wearisome after a while), and most of them talk like Aldous Huxley. But I give it five stars and would give it more if I could!
I read this after Huxley's series of lectures, "The Human Situation". That is perhaps more readable than Island, and gives more background for some of his ideas. For instance, the practice in Pala of introducing...more
I read this after Huxley's series of lectures, "The Human Situation". That is perhaps more readable than Island, and gives more background for some of his ideas. For instance, the practice in Pala of introducing...more
"Non possiamo liberarci con la ragione della nostra fondamentale irrazionalità. Possiamo soltanto imparare l'arte di essere irrazionali in modo ragionevole."
Ultima e matura opera di Aldous Huxley, L'Isola è un classico romanzo del genere utopistico, classico già nella scelta dello stesso titolo: quale immagine migliore dell'isola?
Pubblicato appena prima della morte dell'autore, scritto parzialmente sotto gli effetti della mescalina, pensato come ad una risposta alla buia distopia de Il mondo nu...more
Ultima e matura opera di Aldous Huxley, L'Isola è un classico romanzo del genere utopistico, classico già nella scelta dello stesso titolo: quale immagine migliore dell'isola?
Pubblicato appena prima della morte dell'autore, scritto parzialmente sotto gli effetti della mescalina, pensato come ad una risposta alla buia distopia de Il mondo nu...more
Huxley's 'antidote' to his dystopian "Brave New World" concerns the poeple living on a Pacific island called Pala and a British journalist who is sent there on behalf of an oil conglomerate to try and broker a deal with the natives. The journalist ends up on the island not by the way he planned, when the boat he is travelling on is caught in a storm and he makes it ashore, barely alive. He is nursed back to health and stays on Pala for a short while.
Huxley uses the outsider as a sort-of "Voice o...more
Huxley uses the outsider as a sort-of "Voice o...more
Island, by Aldous Huxley, is an almost dystopian book, but manages to actually fulfill the idea of a utopia. On a small, able-to-be-controlled island, a society has developed to the point of perfect balance and harmony. Although there are overarching political issues, such as the possible takeover of the island by oil tycoons, the protagonist, Will Farnaby, comes to realize the beauty of the culture that has developed on this island. They use the moksha medicine to promote love, self-awareness,...more
Island
Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics
368 pages
I, personally didn’t like Island. The beginning of the book was hard to read because it seemed like there wasn’t anything going on. I am thinking that this is typical for any of Aldous Huxley’s books because his other book Brave New World had many boring parts in it, and there were times when I was very tempted to just put the book down and give up reading the book. Since Aldous Huxley was a humanist, and a peson who was against war, t...more
Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics
368 pages
I, personally didn’t like Island. The beginning of the book was hard to read because it seemed like there wasn’t anything going on. I am thinking that this is typical for any of Aldous Huxley’s books because his other book Brave New World had many boring parts in it, and there were times when I was very tempted to just put the book down and give up reading the book. Since Aldous Huxley was a humanist, and a peson who was against war, t...more
I can see what's being done here. I enjoyed un picking the philosophical references and notions: the slight philosophical 'feel' of the book: the evident exploration of the possibilities of life - both good and evil, the need to 'attend' to that which we would rather bury - the 'inner journey' of Will Farnaby's character and so on. And I enjoyed certain passages of the book and some of the language, though generally I find Huxley's writing very dry. In all honesty, I found this book rather tedio...more
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Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. He spent the latter part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death in 1963. Best known for his novels and wide-ranging output of essays, he also published short stories, poetry, travel writing, and film stories and scripts. Through his novels and es...more
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“Armaments, universal debt, and planned obsolescence - those are the three pillars of Western prosperity. If war, waste, and moneylenders were abolished, you'd collapse. And while you people are overconsuming the rest of the world sinks more and more deeply into chronic disaster.”
—
96 people liked it
“It’s dark because you are trying too hard.
Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.
Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply.
Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them...
So throw away your baggage and go forward.
There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet,
trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair.
That’s why you must walk so lightly.
Lightly my darling...”
—
53 people liked it
More quotes…
Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly.
Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply.
Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them...
So throw away your baggage and go forward.
There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet,
trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair.
That’s why you must walk so lightly.
Lightly my darling...”
Feb 01, 2013 09:21pm
Jun 17, 2013 12:24pm