In "Island," his last novel, Huxley transports us to a Pacific island where, for 120 years, an ideal society has flourished. Inevitably, this islan...
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Dec 16, 2009
John
rated it: 
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 b
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Aug 22, 2008
Tom
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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 stor 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 stor More...
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Sep 20, 2011
Jodi
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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.
Feb 25, 2011
Kainan
rated it: 
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
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Jun 10, 2008
Chaz
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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 brin More...
Island is an active dialogue between relatively few characters who brin More...
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Mar 06, 2008
Preeta
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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 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 More...
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Dec 16, 2008
Jenni
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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.
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Dec 17, 2009
Dina
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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
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May 02, 2011
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...
Dec 10, 2008
John
rated it:
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 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 More...
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Jan 15, 2012
Simon
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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 despo
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Sep 08, 2011
RMD
rated it:
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 w 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 w More...
Aug 02, 2011
Brian
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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 res
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Jun 26, 2011
Andrew
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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
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May 30, 2011
AJ
rated it:
Huxley talked of wanting to achieve the perfect synthesis of essay and novel. From what I remember of Brave New World, he came close to achieving this, but here the balance is all wrong.
The basic premise here should make for a good story. A British journalist is shipwrecked on a tropical island, and he is then rescued and taken in by its inhabitants. They claim to have built a utopia. The journalist is initially cynical, but he is soon won over. He even comes to love this utopia, w More...
The basic premise here should make for a good story. A British journalist is shipwrecked on a tropical island, and he is then rescued and taken in by its inhabitants. They claim to have built a utopia. The journalist is initially cynical, but he is soon won over. He even comes to love this utopia, w More...
May 24, 2011
Mark
rated it:
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, 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, More...
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Jan 29, 2011
Tancredi
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"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 dis 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 dis More...
Nov 14, 2010
Sean
rated it:
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 More...
Huxley uses the outsider More...
Nov 02, 2010
Sean
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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,
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Dec 26, 2009
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, 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, More...
Nov 13, 2009
Helen
rated it:
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
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Jul 29, 2011
Jenee
rated it: 
Where do I start. The writing is amazing, beautiful, brilliant. The story itself, a little over bearing. This is one of those books that makes you think so much that you don't really want to think anymore. And though I didn't find it dry one bit I did find it tedious. The entire book is made up of dialog and thoughts. The ending is the only part of the story that gives a small glimpse of action. But then again Huxley wrote this as his finally commentary of civilization and human nature.
It is pre More...
It is pre More...
Aug 24, 2008
Scott
rated it:
At first I didn't like the artificial framework to describe Huxley's utopia or the fact that it seemed a little preachy, but by the end it actually made a lot of sense. I liked the perfect human uptopia being a combination of science and spirituality not based on any religion. Too bad it would be impossible due to human nature, plus the type of society described limits progress so that the even greater uptopia afforded by the singularity would never be possible :)
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Jul 31, 2011
Apersephone
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Huxley was born in Great Britain in 1894 in an era that saw extreme changes in the quality of European life. Still as an adult he chose to move to America and live in what some may have called the “land of inventions or modernity”. All in all there was at this period in history a globally recognized and distinct train of thought for the betterment of the world through modern technology and this was, yes, well advertised. And at the same time of radical change in people’s lives, comes the worry t
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Sep 18, 2011
Jough
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As a 'novel' alone, this work would not be worth the full 5 stars, as indicated in my rating. But when considered in regards to Brave New World, this novel becomes something a bit more. While the plot can be seen as a kind of 'counter-point' to that of Brave New World (Huxley is largely interested in displaying the possibility of his ideal 'utopia' over a 'dystopia'), one of the core themes remains the same -- the destructive nature of the westernization on our civilization and its affect on o
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Jan 14, 2011
Ad Astra
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A lot of the book is actually an explanation of the functioning of how Huxley views the workings of a utopian culture. Based around Buddhist teachings, the population is focused around sustaining awareness in a moment. A lot of interesting commentary on the nature of Western and Eastern culture. The book's tempo is a little off since it jumps from small drops of plot, to large portions of philosophy, theology, and the explination of a structural utopian culture. This is the second book I've read
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Nov 26, 2008
Mark
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I could see how some folks didn't like this book. It could have been written in essay form without characters to map out what his ideal Utopian society would look like. Instead, he presented it through the eyes of a shipwrecked reporter. I feel that this was an effective approach, because the reporter could effectively be the voice of outside human consciousness. Slowly as the main character gets sold on the island's ideas, the reader (or at least me) also gets sold. If this book were in es
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Jul 06, 2011
Todd
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will farnaby is the liaison to Lord Aldehyde. he comes to the island of Pala for the sole purpose of obtaining the oil rights for his employer. Will finds that he gets more from the island than just the oil. a skeptic with a scandalous past, full of pity, hate, misery. a monster created partially by his father, partially by his own destructive habits and misconstrued perspectives of people and life. will comes to the island and is ambivalent towards murugan, rani and towards the islands peopl
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Sep 16, 2009
El
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The biggest problem I have with books centered on Utopian themes is that they are written more like a how-to guide than an actual novel. At least with dystopic literature things happen as well as playing as a mirror to the past society before it went "bad". With Utopian novels you have a character, usually a cynic (Will Farnaby here), who stumbles upon/is shipwrecked upon/falls asleep and wakes up in/etc. a brand new world. (Yes, that was an Aldous Huxley joke.) In Will's case, he
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Feb 17, 2011
Ben
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This is not a novel. It's an essay in dialogue with something of a plot, the purpose of which seems to be to tug the reader in favor of the ideas of the dialogue-essay. The message of that essay? A utopian society can be created in a vaccuum and consists of: focusing on the here and now, practicing free love, and occassionally taking part in hallucinogenics. And all, or most, of that utopian society is genuinely happy.
The protagnoist, Will, is a scout for an oil magnate who washe More...
The protagnoist, Will, is a scout for an oil magnate who washe More...
