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Anglia, koniec lat 20. ubiegłego wieku. Sebastian Barnack, siedemnastoletni uczeń, a zarazem zakompleksiony poeta, skonfliktowany z ojcem – antyfaszystowskim działaczem politycznym – wyjeżdża na wakacje do Florencji zaproszony przez stryja Eustace’a, zamożnego hedonistę, ateistę i konesera sztuki. Ma tam romans ze starszą od siebie kobietą, poznaje też Brunona Rontiniego, "filozofa wieczystego", pod którego wpływem doznaje głębokiej przemiany duchowej. Tymczasem Eustace umiera na zawał serca, stając się duchem. Poznajemy jego pośmiertne doświadczenia i rozpaczliwe próby nawiązania kontaktu z żyjącymi.
To przypowieść moralna o współzależności całego świata i o tym, że wszystkie ludzkie czyny mają dalekosiężne konsekwencje. Ale też powieść o sztuce życia i sztuce umierania, o dorastaniu i rozwoju wewnętrznym – jednocześnie traktat filozoficzny, otwierający mistyczny i psychodeliczny okres w twórczości autora Nowego wspaniałego świata.
To przypowieść moralna o współzależności całego świata i o tym, że wszystkie ludzkie czyny mają dalekosiężne konsekwencje. Ale też powieść o sztuce życia i sztuce umierania, o dorastaniu i rozwoju wewnętrznym – jednocześnie traktat filozoficzny, otwierający mistyczny i psychodeliczny okres w twórczości autora Nowego wspaniałego świata.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1944
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About the author
Aldous Huxley
962 books13.7k followersAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxley family, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, with a degree in English literature. Early in his career, he published short stories and poetry and edited the literary magazine Oxford Poetry, before going on to publish travel writing, satire, and screenplays. He spent the latter part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death. By the end of his life, Huxley was widely acknowledged as one of the foremost intellectuals of his time. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature nine times, and was elected Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature in 1962.
Huxley was a pacifist. He grew interested in philosophical mysticism, as well as universalism, addressing these subjects in his works such as The Perennial Philosophy (1945), which illustrates commonalities between Western and Eastern mysticism, and The Doors of Perception (1954), which interprets his own psychedelic experience with mescaline. In his most famous novel Brave New World (1932) and his final novel Island (1962), he presented his visions of dystopia and utopia, respectively.
Born into the prominent Huxley family, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, with a degree in English literature. Early in his career, he published short stories and poetry and edited the literary magazine Oxford Poetry, before going on to publish travel writing, satire, and screenplays. He spent the latter part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death. By the end of his life, Huxley was widely acknowledged as one of the foremost intellectuals of his time. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature nine times, and was elected Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature in 1962.
Huxley was a pacifist. He grew interested in philosophical mysticism, as well as universalism, addressing these subjects in his works such as The Perennial Philosophy (1945), which illustrates commonalities between Western and Eastern mysticism, and The Doors of Perception (1954), which interprets his own psychedelic experience with mescaline. In his most famous novel Brave New World (1932) and his final novel Island (1962), he presented his visions of dystopia and utopia, respectively.
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January 18, 2019
This is a difficult one to review. One of Huxley’s lesser known works; before Doors of Perception and after Brave New World and written as the Second World War finished. Difficult because it covers so much ground. It is a philosophical treatise, a critique of capitalism, fascism, socialism, especially of imperialism. It has a go at post-modernism and at Joyce, Woolf et al. It is a critique of religion in its traditional form; an exploration of Huxley’s attraction to Buddhism. It predates much existential thought and 60s radicalism and accurately predicts it. It talks about the trashing of the planet in a way that feels that it might have been written in the last ten years. It irritated and delighted me in equal measure. In the midst of that is a coming of age novel. It predicts the growing power of Russia and China; the collapse of Empire and at the same time preserves a lightness of touch and a sense of humour.
Sebastian Barnack is 17, with blond curly hair and is rather beautiful. His father John is a lawyer, anti-fascist and humanitarian. Unfortunately he does not understand Sebastian’s need for evening clothes and a social life because these are mere fripperies and totally unnecessary. Sebastian is an innocent (virgin) and a poet and does not understand his father’s asceticism. He is to spend the summer in Italy with his uncle Eustace. Eustace is a hedonist and sensualist, promising to teach Sebastian about life and love and buy him evening clothes! Bruno Rontini, a friend of Eustace will teach Sebastian about the spiritual side of life. The novel takes place over one summer, apart from an epilogue some 15 years later. Sebastian learns about life, loses his virginity, writes poetry, makes some mistakes; one of which (though simple and not too heinous) echoes through the years.
There are some startling moments. There is a death from a heart attack which Huxley describes with exceptional vividness and it feels all too real. I am not sure how Huxley does it, but he kills off a significant character (and I’m thinking No! You can’t do that) and at the same time the whole scene is hilarious; this is writing of a high order. The hilarity goes on as the character, who is an atheist discovers that death is not the end and the attempts to contact loved ones through a medium are very funny. The descriptions of life after death are irritating and unconvincing and a bit nirvanaish, but the point is made.
This novel for me is better than any of Huxley’s other work I have read. Sebastian is a typical 17 year old boy; hung up about girls, selfish, innocent and fancies himself as a poet. Sebastian grows up as he encounters goodness in the shape of Bruno Rontini and wickedness in the shape of fascism. There is even a type of reconciliation with his father by the end of the book. Embedded in the tale are the ideas; plenty to react to!
Suffering is not always ennobling. “Democracy is being able to say no to the boss, and you can’t say no unless you have enough property to enable you to eat when you have lost the bosses’ patronage.”
“For four and a half centuries white Europeans have been busily engaging in attacking, oppressing and exploiting the coloured people’s inhabiting the rest of the world. The catholic Spaniards and Portuguese began it; then came Protestant Dutch and Englishmen, Catholic French, Greek Orthodox, Russians, Lutheran Germans, Catholic Belgians. Trade and the Flag, exploitation and oppression, have always and everywhere followed or accompanied the proselytizing cross.
Victims have long memories – a fact which oppressors can never understand.”
It is powerful stuff and Huxley comprehensively dismantles western liberal ideas in a ruthless and pitiless way. The answers he gives are not convincing, but the demolition is spot on. There is much to argue with and Huxley is a little smug sometimes; but this is a thought provoking book. It foreshadows Fritz Fanon, Rachel Carson and the 60s radicals and it looks back on the post-modern movement. I like books that you can react to; I disagreed with a good deal, but it was a great ride!!
Sebastian Barnack is 17, with blond curly hair and is rather beautiful. His father John is a lawyer, anti-fascist and humanitarian. Unfortunately he does not understand Sebastian’s need for evening clothes and a social life because these are mere fripperies and totally unnecessary. Sebastian is an innocent (virgin) and a poet and does not understand his father’s asceticism. He is to spend the summer in Italy with his uncle Eustace. Eustace is a hedonist and sensualist, promising to teach Sebastian about life and love and buy him evening clothes! Bruno Rontini, a friend of Eustace will teach Sebastian about the spiritual side of life. The novel takes place over one summer, apart from an epilogue some 15 years later. Sebastian learns about life, loses his virginity, writes poetry, makes some mistakes; one of which (though simple and not too heinous) echoes through the years.
There are some startling moments. There is a death from a heart attack which Huxley describes with exceptional vividness and it feels all too real. I am not sure how Huxley does it, but he kills off a significant character (and I’m thinking No! You can’t do that) and at the same time the whole scene is hilarious; this is writing of a high order. The hilarity goes on as the character, who is an atheist discovers that death is not the end and the attempts to contact loved ones through a medium are very funny. The descriptions of life after death are irritating and unconvincing and a bit nirvanaish, but the point is made.
This novel for me is better than any of Huxley’s other work I have read. Sebastian is a typical 17 year old boy; hung up about girls, selfish, innocent and fancies himself as a poet. Sebastian grows up as he encounters goodness in the shape of Bruno Rontini and wickedness in the shape of fascism. There is even a type of reconciliation with his father by the end of the book. Embedded in the tale are the ideas; plenty to react to!
Suffering is not always ennobling. “Democracy is being able to say no to the boss, and you can’t say no unless you have enough property to enable you to eat when you have lost the bosses’ patronage.”
“For four and a half centuries white Europeans have been busily engaging in attacking, oppressing and exploiting the coloured people’s inhabiting the rest of the world. The catholic Spaniards and Portuguese began it; then came Protestant Dutch and Englishmen, Catholic French, Greek Orthodox, Russians, Lutheran Germans, Catholic Belgians. Trade and the Flag, exploitation and oppression, have always and everywhere followed or accompanied the proselytizing cross.
Victims have long memories – a fact which oppressors can never understand.”
It is powerful stuff and Huxley comprehensively dismantles western liberal ideas in a ruthless and pitiless way. The answers he gives are not convincing, but the demolition is spot on. There is much to argue with and Huxley is a little smug sometimes; but this is a thought provoking book. It foreshadows Fritz Fanon, Rachel Carson and the 60s radicals and it looks back on the post-modern movement. I like books that you can react to; I disagreed with a good deal, but it was a great ride!!
April 20, 2009
'of course, you realize,' he added, 'that you'll always be disappointed?'
'with what?'
'with girls, with parties, with experience in general. nobody who has any kind of creative imagination can possibly be anything but disappointed with real life. when i was young i used to be miserable because i hadn't any talents - nothing but a little taste and cleverness. but now i'm not sure one isn't happier that way. people like you aren't really commensurable with the world they live in. whereas people like me are completely adapted to it.' he removed the [cigar:] from between his large damp lips to take another sip of brandy.
'your business isn't doing things,' he resumed. 'it isn't even living. it's writing poetry. vox et praeterea nihil, that's what you are and what you ought to be. or rather voces, not vox. all the voices in the world. like chaucer. like shakespeare. the miller's voice and the parson's voice, desdemona's and caliban's and kent's and polonius'. all of them impartially.'
'impartially,' sebastian repeated slowly.
yes, that was good; that was exactly what he'd been trying to think about himself, but had never quite succeeded, because such thoughts didn't fit into the ethical and philosophical patterns which he had been brought up to regard as axiomatic. voices, all the voices impartially. he was delighted by the thought.
'of course,' eustace was saying, 'you could always argue that you live more intensely in your mental world-substitute than we who only wallow in the real thing and i'd be inclined to admit it. but the trouble is that you can't be content to stick to your beautiful ersatz. you have to descend into evening clothes and ciro's and chorus girls - and perhaps even politics and committee meetings, god help us! with lamentable results. because you're not at home with these lumpy bits of matter. they depress you, they bewilder you, they shock you and sicken you and make a fool of you. and yet they still tempt you; and they'll go on tempting you, all our life. tempting you to embark on actions which you know in advance can only make you miserable and distract you from the one thing you can do properly, the one thing that people value you for.'
'with what?'
'with girls, with parties, with experience in general. nobody who has any kind of creative imagination can possibly be anything but disappointed with real life. when i was young i used to be miserable because i hadn't any talents - nothing but a little taste and cleverness. but now i'm not sure one isn't happier that way. people like you aren't really commensurable with the world they live in. whereas people like me are completely adapted to it.' he removed the [cigar:] from between his large damp lips to take another sip of brandy.
'your business isn't doing things,' he resumed. 'it isn't even living. it's writing poetry. vox et praeterea nihil, that's what you are and what you ought to be. or rather voces, not vox. all the voices in the world. like chaucer. like shakespeare. the miller's voice and the parson's voice, desdemona's and caliban's and kent's and polonius'. all of them impartially.'
'impartially,' sebastian repeated slowly.
yes, that was good; that was exactly what he'd been trying to think about himself, but had never quite succeeded, because such thoughts didn't fit into the ethical and philosophical patterns which he had been brought up to regard as axiomatic. voices, all the voices impartially. he was delighted by the thought.
'of course,' eustace was saying, 'you could always argue that you live more intensely in your mental world-substitute than we who only wallow in the real thing and i'd be inclined to admit it. but the trouble is that you can't be content to stick to your beautiful ersatz. you have to descend into evening clothes and ciro's and chorus girls - and perhaps even politics and committee meetings, god help us! with lamentable results. because you're not at home with these lumpy bits of matter. they depress you, they bewilder you, they shock you and sicken you and make a fool of you. and yet they still tempt you; and they'll go on tempting you, all our life. tempting you to embark on actions which you know in advance can only make you miserable and distract you from the one thing you can do properly, the one thing that people value you for.'
July 2, 2016
2016 Reading Challenge #25 Un libro que se desarrolle en el verano
Creo que fue una mala idea haber empezado a conocer a Huxley con este libro y no con Un mundo feliz. No porque haya destrozado alguna imagen previa que tenía del autor o porque me haya parecido horroroso, sino porque es evidente que las cuatrocientas páginas que recorrí sin mucho convencimiento tienen un objetivo que colisiona con el mío: yo sólo quería leer una novela de aprendizaje ambientada en Italia, pre Segunda Guerra Mundial y en verano (porque me servía para un reto). Es un 2.5 con media estrella que merece por la profundidad que quiere alcanzar.
La trama podría no existir, podrían ser personas (preferentemente de género masculino, según Huxley, no yo) alrededor de una mesa discutiendo e igual sería una novela. Esta se trata de Sebastian Barnack, un joven de diecisiete años, supuestamente poeta e hijo de un político de izquierda que viajará a Italia con su tío Eustace (quien, para mí, trabaja de molestar opinando). En Florencia se encontrará con personas que su tío irá presentándole y que van a jugar un rol importante en su vida.
Así que habrá una galería de personajes que educarán a Sebastian en diferentes “disciplinas” de la vida, incluyendo la sexual. Eustace tiene un refinado gusto en pintura y en literatura, otro será una especie de guía espiritual, una de las mujeres será quien lo inicie en los placeres carnales en los cuales él tanto piensa y que Huxley tiene la amabilidad de recordarle al lector cada dos por tres. Sebastian es alguien que, desde mi punto de vista, se va desdibujando a medida que el narrador en tercera persona lo abandona para mostrar las acciones de los otros, que siempre incluyen una exposición de posturas intelectuales y políticas. A pesar de ello, no puedo negar que me resultaron interesantes porque retratan décadas turbulentas de Europa (los hechos transcurren entre 1929 y 1944, si no hice mal las cuentas) y eso me encanta. El problema no es aprender un poco más en un lugar que no se esperaba, sino la forma en que se disponen esas ideas (históricas, filosóficas, religiosas) de las que Huxley quiere hablar a través de los personajes. Se siente natural, sí, pero retrasa el desarrollo de los escasos hechos relevantes de la novela y vuelve a Eustace, Sebastian, Bruno y Veronica, entre otros, en simples títeres funcionales a una sola voz. Hay mucho escepticismo y un desdén por la realidad que se nota en el mismo narrador. Básicamente, la Humanidad no avanzó nada y los sucesos del siglo XX reorganizan al mundo en varios sentidos, pero todos son inciertos y probablemente catastróficos.
Como contrapartida a ese cúmulo de malas perspectivas, está la espiritualidad, cosa que en el siglo XX será difícil de conseguir. En la novela hay referencias a la muerte y capítulos que la tratan de lleno. Son disfrutables, llaman a la reflexión y saber que Huxley se sentía atraído por el espiritismo da confianza (no porque uno crea o no en eso, sino porque conoce el tema de la parapsicología). Lo que no me gustó fue que se usara como punto de quiebre y quedara tan discordante con la primera mitad de la historia. Fue un buen giro (algo humorístico, tal vez) que, aunque incluye más de un asunto para destacar y anotar, opaca la historia de Sebastian. Por cierto, la forma de escribir de Huxley me pareció muy amena pero no la encontré tan cautivadora como en un principio. Y el epílogo sobra, por más bonito que sea.
Y hablando de Sebastian y de cosas opacas (él mismo es un canto a la opacidad, ahora que lo pienso), los personajes femeninos de esta novela me parecieron variados y antipáticos, sobre todo porque están estereotipados en sus discursos. Lo que dicen suena forzado y no tienen participación en las largas discusiones intelectuales que se producen entre personajes masculinos. Siempre están aparte, cumpliendo el rol de educadora, de madre, de amante o de estorbo, en el peor de los casos. La que más me llamó la atención es Veronica Thwale y los acontecimientos se encargaron de derrumbar mis opiniones sobre ella con bastante facilidad.
Supongo que la etapa en la que Huxley escribió El tiempo debe detenerse fue muy peculiar para él y le produjo necesidad de condensar sus inquietudes en una novela, como a tantos otros. Es loable, tiene todo el derecho de hacerlo, pero eso no significa que a todos nos guste el resultado. Me quedó pendiente averiguar si las observaciones que Eustace hace sobre Dante Alighieri y Geoffrey Chaucer son del autor o si fueron construidas para que un personaje tan repelente como el tío de Sebastian las emitiera.
En fin, tenía expectativas con este libro porque lo compré después de leer la primera página, que describía una situación que intrigaba. Podría echarle la culpa de mi desencanto a Eustace, a la estructura o a la soberbia de la narración. Sin embargo, confío en que esta novela le puede llegar a gustar a lectores que busquen específicamente algo que les dé para pensar, preferiblemente fuera de época de vacaciones. No me la llevaría a la playa.
Creo que fue una mala idea haber empezado a conocer a Huxley con este libro y no con Un mundo feliz. No porque haya destrozado alguna imagen previa que tenía del autor o porque me haya parecido horroroso, sino porque es evidente que las cuatrocientas páginas que recorrí sin mucho convencimiento tienen un objetivo que colisiona con el mío: yo sólo quería leer una novela de aprendizaje ambientada en Italia, pre Segunda Guerra Mundial y en verano (porque me servía para un reto). Es un 2.5 con media estrella que merece por la profundidad que quiere alcanzar.
La trama podría no existir, podrían ser personas (preferentemente de género masculino, según Huxley, no yo) alrededor de una mesa discutiendo e igual sería una novela. Esta se trata de Sebastian Barnack, un joven de diecisiete años, supuestamente poeta e hijo de un político de izquierda que viajará a Italia con su tío Eustace (quien, para mí, trabaja de molestar opinando). En Florencia se encontrará con personas que su tío irá presentándole y que van a jugar un rol importante en su vida.
Así que habrá una galería de personajes que educarán a Sebastian en diferentes “disciplinas” de la vida, incluyendo la sexual. Eustace tiene un refinado gusto en pintura y en literatura, otro será una especie de guía espiritual, una de las mujeres será quien lo inicie en los placeres carnales en los cuales él tanto piensa y que Huxley tiene la amabilidad de recordarle al lector cada dos por tres. Sebastian es alguien que, desde mi punto de vista, se va desdibujando a medida que el narrador en tercera persona lo abandona para mostrar las acciones de los otros, que siempre incluyen una exposición de posturas intelectuales y políticas. A pesar de ello, no puedo negar que me resultaron interesantes porque retratan décadas turbulentas de Europa (los hechos transcurren entre 1929 y 1944, si no hice mal las cuentas) y eso me encanta. El problema no es aprender un poco más en un lugar que no se esperaba, sino la forma en que se disponen esas ideas (históricas, filosóficas, religiosas) de las que Huxley quiere hablar a través de los personajes. Se siente natural, sí, pero retrasa el desarrollo de los escasos hechos relevantes de la novela y vuelve a Eustace, Sebastian, Bruno y Veronica, entre otros, en simples títeres funcionales a una sola voz. Hay mucho escepticismo y un desdén por la realidad que se nota en el mismo narrador. Básicamente, la Humanidad no avanzó nada y los sucesos del siglo XX reorganizan al mundo en varios sentidos, pero todos son inciertos y probablemente catastróficos.
Como contrapartida a ese cúmulo de malas perspectivas, está la espiritualidad, cosa que en el siglo XX será difícil de conseguir. En la novela hay referencias a la muerte y capítulos que la tratan de lleno. Son disfrutables, llaman a la reflexión y saber que Huxley se sentía atraído por el espiritismo da confianza (no porque uno crea o no en eso, sino porque conoce el tema de la parapsicología). Lo que no me gustó fue que se usara como punto de quiebre y quedara tan discordante con la primera mitad de la historia. Fue un buen giro (algo humorístico, tal vez) que, aunque incluye más de un asunto para destacar y anotar, opaca la historia de Sebastian. Por cierto, la forma de escribir de Huxley me pareció muy amena pero no la encontré tan cautivadora como en un principio. Y el epílogo sobra, por más bonito que sea.
Y hablando de Sebastian y de cosas opacas (él mismo es un canto a la opacidad, ahora que lo pienso), los personajes femeninos de esta novela me parecieron variados y antipáticos, sobre todo porque están estereotipados en sus discursos. Lo que dicen suena forzado y no tienen participación en las largas discusiones intelectuales que se producen entre personajes masculinos. Siempre están aparte, cumpliendo el rol de educadora, de madre, de amante o de estorbo, en el peor de los casos. La que más me llamó la atención es Veronica Thwale y los acontecimientos se encargaron de derrumbar mis opiniones sobre ella con bastante facilidad.
Supongo que la etapa en la que Huxley escribió El tiempo debe detenerse fue muy peculiar para él y le produjo necesidad de condensar sus inquietudes en una novela, como a tantos otros. Es loable, tiene todo el derecho de hacerlo, pero eso no significa que a todos nos guste el resultado. Me quedó pendiente averiguar si las observaciones que Eustace hace sobre Dante Alighieri y Geoffrey Chaucer son del autor o si fueron construidas para que un personaje tan repelente como el tío de Sebastian las emitiera.
En fin, tenía expectativas con este libro porque lo compré después de leer la primera página, que describía una situación que intrigaba. Podría echarle la culpa de mi desencanto a Eustace, a la estructura o a la soberbia de la narración. Sin embargo, confío en que esta novela le puede llegar a gustar a lectores que busquen específicamente algo que les dé para pensar, preferiblemente fuera de época de vacaciones. No me la llevaría a la playa.
February 3, 2008
Seriously one of the best books I've read in the last few years. It's a deceptive read in that the storyline is a facade for Huxley's philosophical messages. If you can get past the fact that it really isn't about a young man trying to procure formal evening wear, but instead a dialogue of morals, it becomes much easier to read and very enjoyable. Definitely worth finishing, and definitely worth reading again.
April 24, 2023
This was my first-time reading Huxley and it was a really enjoyable experience reading this light hearted novel with so many undercurrent themes. There was not one character I disliked, from the bon vivant, pleasure seeking, gluttonous Eustace, to the hapless and innocent Sebastian. I loved the themes, there is a deep range of the various relationships that runs deep, father-son, uncle-nephew, Brother to brother, peer to peer. All of this is set in the background of Fascist Italy and lends a secretive and suspenseful tone to proceedings.
I think most people can identify with Sebastien, a naïve, shy young adult with a dreamy and poetic mind. We see him get tangled up in a web of little lies of his own doing which leads to an arrest, a false accusation, and a rather vicious act of revenge against an innocent spectator. Perhaps many of us as children told little lies or were not forthcoming with the truth that ended up with us getting into trouble in school or at home. Sebastien learns this lesson and due to the severe repercussions must process the consequences on this, Huxley allows the story then to run deeply on themes of religion, spirituality, and morality. We enter the mind of Sebastien who must process this guilt; first the inaction of being unforthcoming with the truth and secondly of the lies told to cover this up.
At the end of the novel, Sebastien’s father is re-introduced to us and provides commentary on the state of the world as Europe lurches towards a battle of Democracy Vs Fascism Vs Communism. The novel ends on a rather sour note as the future of Europe is predicted to be carved up by imperialistic and totalitarian ambitions, with the individual liberty of millions of people at stake. Was Huxley trying to use Eustace and Sebastien or Bruno as a micro example of what was going to happen in Europe?
I think most people can identify with Sebastien, a naïve, shy young adult with a dreamy and poetic mind. We see him get tangled up in a web of little lies of his own doing which leads to an arrest, a false accusation, and a rather vicious act of revenge against an innocent spectator. Perhaps many of us as children told little lies or were not forthcoming with the truth that ended up with us getting into trouble in school or at home. Sebastien learns this lesson and due to the severe repercussions must process the consequences on this, Huxley allows the story then to run deeply on themes of religion, spirituality, and morality. We enter the mind of Sebastien who must process this guilt; first the inaction of being unforthcoming with the truth and secondly of the lies told to cover this up.
At the end of the novel, Sebastien’s father is re-introduced to us and provides commentary on the state of the world as Europe lurches towards a battle of Democracy Vs Fascism Vs Communism. The novel ends on a rather sour note as the future of Europe is predicted to be carved up by imperialistic and totalitarian ambitions, with the individual liberty of millions of people at stake. Was Huxley trying to use Eustace and Sebastien or Bruno as a micro example of what was going to happen in Europe?
September 20, 2017
"მთელ სამყაროში ერთადერთი,რაც შეგიძლია გამოასწორო, ეს მხოლოდ და მხოლოდ საკუთარი თავია. ყველაფერი იქიდან უნდა დაიწყო და სხვა ადამიანების გარემოებას უნდა მოეშვა. დანარჩენი ისედაც მოგვარდება, თუ პირად ამბებს მოაწესრიგებ. სანამ სიკეთეს ჩაიდენდე, ჯერ უნდა გახდე კეთილი".
"ცოდნა ყოფნის პროპორციულია - ცოდნა ემყარება იმას თუ ვინ ხარ შენ? და ვინ ხარ შენ, ეს უკვე 3 ფაქტორზეა დამოკიდებული: რა გადმოგეცა მემკვიდრეობით, როგორ იმოქმედა გარემომ შენზე და როგორ გადაწყვიტე გარემო და მემკვიდრეობით გადმოცემული გამოიყენო".
"ის ვინც უკეთესი არ ხდება, უარესი ხდება".
ცოტა მშრალი სიუჟეტია,მაგრამ ბევრი კაი მონაკვეთია წიგნში.
"ცოდნა ყოფნის პროპორციულია - ცოდნა ემყარება იმას თუ ვინ ხარ შენ? და ვინ ხარ შენ, ეს უკვე 3 ფაქტორზეა დამოკიდებული: რა გადმოგეცა მემკვიდრეობით, როგორ იმოქმედა გარემომ შენზე და როგორ გადაწყვიტე გარემო და მემკვიდრეობით გადმოცემული გამოიყენო".
"ის ვინც უკეთესი არ ხდება, უარესი ხდება".
ცოტა მშრალი სიუჟეტია,მაგრამ ბევრი კაი მონაკვეთია წიგნში.
January 22, 2016
Y es entonces cuando el tiempo vuelve a detenerse, imagen trillada donde las haya pues el tiempo o no se detiene nunca o está detenido desde siempre. (Amuleto, Roberto Bolaño)
El tiempo debe detenerse es el último libro que publica Navona de Aldous Huxley, y narra la historia de Sebastian Barnack, un muchacho que se traslada a Florencia a pasar el verano con su tío Eustache. A raíz de ese viaje, vivirá grandes aventuras, tanto de disfrute personal como intelectual. En estas aventuras, Sebastian conocerá a Veronica, la mujer que le hará despertar sus primeras pasiones y exaltamientos sexuales. También a Bruno Rontini, un librero y filósofo dedicado en cuerpo y alma a su profesión y a lo que el intelecto y “el espíritu” le ofrecen. A partir de entonces, Sebastian se adentrará en el mundo adulto; un mundo que, aunque se le ofrecerá de una manera simbólica y hostil, sabrá percibir con el esmero y la profunda convicción en todo aquello que la vida puede ofrecerle tanto física como filosófica y existencialmente. Sebastian conocerá la violencia reinante en el mundo adulto, pero, así mismo, logrará escapar de ella sustrayendo lo que yace por debajo de la superficialidad; lo banal, lo que aún no es seguro o lo que se espera por venir.
Cabe destacar la belleza con la que Huxley describe los hechos, infortunios y peripecias de Sebastian y sus compañeros. Es inevitable dejarse llevar por el aura intelectual y cristalina con la que Huxley escribe. El autor nos muestra la elevación de los placeres sensoriales de una manera que nos eleva espiritualmente, sabiendo así extraer la profundidad, la belleza y la luz de todo aquello que sentimos y dejamos pasar. De este modo, conocemos y nos adentramos en el mundo que Sebastian va creando junto a los demás personajes. Y no sólo para nosotros. De hecho para su protagonista resulta primordial el poder de la descripción, cómo se puede observar y aprender en cada instante lo que la vida le va ofreciendo.
El papel de Bruno, el filósofo, destaca terriblemente por encima de casi todos los demás. En él encontramos el conocimiento que no sólo posee del mundo, sino de la mente humana, de la psique y sus recovecos. Su personaje nos lleva a la inquietud que tiene el ser humano por saber no sólo más de aquello que le rodea, sino de su ser, de su conciencia y de sus actos. Bruno, así, se convierte en la conciencia a la que Sebastian aspira en cierto modo, pues siempre recurre a su sabiduría y a su saber estar para “ser”.
De este modo, nos encontramos ante un libro de inmenso valor y tributo a la vida, al tiempo en el que nos hallamos inmersos. Sólo aprovechando lo que tenemos en este momento podremos extraer lo que en un pasado tuvimos o en un futuro tendremos para así aprovechar a pleno rendimiento lo que el intelecto y nuestro ser tienen para ofrecer. Y recibir. Y, así mismo, recibimos del libro el máximo poder del intelecto para hacernos ver, percibir, lo que la vida es y puede ser. Eso que refleja su extenso epílogo final, en el que se nos muestra la vida de los protagonistas años más tarde.
El profundo saber filosófico de este libro se convierte en esencial para aquellos que amen la aventura del conocimiento, la aventura que los libros de Huxley siempre nos ofrecen para desentrañar la vida, nuestra psique y nuestra alma.
Reseña publicada en http://diarios.detour.es/literaturas/...
El tiempo debe detenerse es el último libro que publica Navona de Aldous Huxley, y narra la historia de Sebastian Barnack, un muchacho que se traslada a Florencia a pasar el verano con su tío Eustache. A raíz de ese viaje, vivirá grandes aventuras, tanto de disfrute personal como intelectual. En estas aventuras, Sebastian conocerá a Veronica, la mujer que le hará despertar sus primeras pasiones y exaltamientos sexuales. También a Bruno Rontini, un librero y filósofo dedicado en cuerpo y alma a su profesión y a lo que el intelecto y “el espíritu” le ofrecen. A partir de entonces, Sebastian se adentrará en el mundo adulto; un mundo que, aunque se le ofrecerá de una manera simbólica y hostil, sabrá percibir con el esmero y la profunda convicción en todo aquello que la vida puede ofrecerle tanto física como filosófica y existencialmente. Sebastian conocerá la violencia reinante en el mundo adulto, pero, así mismo, logrará escapar de ella sustrayendo lo que yace por debajo de la superficialidad; lo banal, lo que aún no es seguro o lo que se espera por venir.
Cabe destacar la belleza con la que Huxley describe los hechos, infortunios y peripecias de Sebastian y sus compañeros. Es inevitable dejarse llevar por el aura intelectual y cristalina con la que Huxley escribe. El autor nos muestra la elevación de los placeres sensoriales de una manera que nos eleva espiritualmente, sabiendo así extraer la profundidad, la belleza y la luz de todo aquello que sentimos y dejamos pasar. De este modo, conocemos y nos adentramos en el mundo que Sebastian va creando junto a los demás personajes. Y no sólo para nosotros. De hecho para su protagonista resulta primordial el poder de la descripción, cómo se puede observar y aprender en cada instante lo que la vida le va ofreciendo.
El papel de Bruno, el filósofo, destaca terriblemente por encima de casi todos los demás. En él encontramos el conocimiento que no sólo posee del mundo, sino de la mente humana, de la psique y sus recovecos. Su personaje nos lleva a la inquietud que tiene el ser humano por saber no sólo más de aquello que le rodea, sino de su ser, de su conciencia y de sus actos. Bruno, así, se convierte en la conciencia a la que Sebastian aspira en cierto modo, pues siempre recurre a su sabiduría y a su saber estar para “ser”.
De este modo, nos encontramos ante un libro de inmenso valor y tributo a la vida, al tiempo en el que nos hallamos inmersos. Sólo aprovechando lo que tenemos en este momento podremos extraer lo que en un pasado tuvimos o en un futuro tendremos para así aprovechar a pleno rendimiento lo que el intelecto y nuestro ser tienen para ofrecer. Y recibir. Y, así mismo, recibimos del libro el máximo poder del intelecto para hacernos ver, percibir, lo que la vida es y puede ser. Eso que refleja su extenso epílogo final, en el que se nos muestra la vida de los protagonistas años más tarde.
El profundo saber filosófico de este libro se convierte en esencial para aquellos que amen la aventura del conocimiento, la aventura que los libros de Huxley siempre nos ofrecen para desentrañar la vida, nuestra psique y nuestra alma.
Reseña publicada en http://diarios.detour.es/literaturas/...
December 26, 2019
This novel was written just prior to the publication of the Perennial philosophy, his essay on the mystical. Reading this leaves no doubt that the direction his writing was taking was very personal & closely following his own spiritual evolution. In fact, 'Time Must Have a Stop' could almost have been written as a prelude to where he was to take his audience with his future essays. While his last major novel, 'Eyeless In Gaza', if we are to jump frog 'After a many Summer', left the protagonist at the edge of this spiritual exploration, this book jumps right in with the first ever after death account of "the light" I've ever read in a book.
"The light", that supposed near death experience many have anecdotally gone through to live to tell about, was described, not entirely surprisingly from Huxley, as a very psychedelic state. As he describes it here, it mirrors exactly the bliss/anxiety/eternalness that LSD or other hallucinogens take the mind through, as a Self-aware, living, changing geometric Lattice of light. Which influenced which? His experiments with Hallucinogens or his association with Vedanta, it's hard to say, but there is no doubt that his experience of the psychedelic state played a major role in the formulation of his description of the post death state in this novel. The novel in itself is not one of his great works in a literary sense. It is not in the realms of 'Point Counter' Point or 'Eyeless in Gaza'. It however moved, to my mind in a much better direction than his previous novel, 'After a many summer', returning to his drier, more introspective English style.
While the book is not a monument or masterpiece, it is a very good book, and a good read. Set in Florence, he surrounds his characters with art, culture and the richness of life, while setting it all up to challenge the reader of its surrender (in the form of personal annihilation). The book is not about bringing culture to the reader, but the wisdom to treat it all as superficial and ultimately a distraction. There is no doubt this book was presented as nothing less than a modern sutra.
Having read many reviews here, I still feel Huxley was grossly misunderstood. The man was a cynic with a scientific dissection of reality. He was not a hopeful, was not a dreamer, if you were to understand his earlier works, so why would he break here? His mind was the fruit of the evolution of the ground of those traits. The word 'God' raises eyebrows and rightly so, but for want of a better linguistic bridge, Huxley, sparingly uses this term to identify with an ultimate ground; a ground which many have experienced and is held by no institution. We do not take it as accepted fact the stories humorous lines about the misadventures of a séance, but rather a vehicle to attempt to describe a deeper, ineffable state which goes beyond any descriptions a book may grant. Gathered from millenia of experience, Huxley has sifted through texts (and pretexts) to offer the most viable answer to a most impossible question. To say the atheist is the ultimate conveyor of truth is to put one's faith blindly in yet one more dogma. Yet Huxley ultimately does not explicitly even commit to any specific doctrine, settling on the final "Not this, not this" as the only description of truth.
This is a relatively minor novel for Huxley, but at the same time an important one. Well written, great fun in fact, but in order to understand it as more than mere point of View, to understand it as the Hero of the book, Bruno would have, one would have to extend oneself to read Huxley's next work, the 'Perennial Philosophy'.
Don't get me wrong, it is not a heavy book. It is well balanced with humor and interesting character sketches that he treats much more kindly than in his earlier works in spite of their flaws. He even treats himself a little more charitably if we are to imagine he is Sebastian. I loved this book. It returned him from that American novel style, back to where he belongs. It was warm, rich and thought provoking and enough to make me continue to follow his path had I not read this before his later works. An absolute must for any Huxley fan. Oh, and interestingly, Bruno, the spiritual inspiration, died of throat cancer, as did Huxley many years later.
"The light", that supposed near death experience many have anecdotally gone through to live to tell about, was described, not entirely surprisingly from Huxley, as a very psychedelic state. As he describes it here, it mirrors exactly the bliss/anxiety/eternalness that LSD or other hallucinogens take the mind through, as a Self-aware, living, changing geometric Lattice of light. Which influenced which? His experiments with Hallucinogens or his association with Vedanta, it's hard to say, but there is no doubt that his experience of the psychedelic state played a major role in the formulation of his description of the post death state in this novel. The novel in itself is not one of his great works in a literary sense. It is not in the realms of 'Point Counter' Point or 'Eyeless in Gaza'. It however moved, to my mind in a much better direction than his previous novel, 'After a many summer', returning to his drier, more introspective English style.
While the book is not a monument or masterpiece, it is a very good book, and a good read. Set in Florence, he surrounds his characters with art, culture and the richness of life, while setting it all up to challenge the reader of its surrender (in the form of personal annihilation). The book is not about bringing culture to the reader, but the wisdom to treat it all as superficial and ultimately a distraction. There is no doubt this book was presented as nothing less than a modern sutra.
Having read many reviews here, I still feel Huxley was grossly misunderstood. The man was a cynic with a scientific dissection of reality. He was not a hopeful, was not a dreamer, if you were to understand his earlier works, so why would he break here? His mind was the fruit of the evolution of the ground of those traits. The word 'God' raises eyebrows and rightly so, but for want of a better linguistic bridge, Huxley, sparingly uses this term to identify with an ultimate ground; a ground which many have experienced and is held by no institution. We do not take it as accepted fact the stories humorous lines about the misadventures of a séance, but rather a vehicle to attempt to describe a deeper, ineffable state which goes beyond any descriptions a book may grant. Gathered from millenia of experience, Huxley has sifted through texts (and pretexts) to offer the most viable answer to a most impossible question. To say the atheist is the ultimate conveyor of truth is to put one's faith blindly in yet one more dogma. Yet Huxley ultimately does not explicitly even commit to any specific doctrine, settling on the final "Not this, not this" as the only description of truth.
This is a relatively minor novel for Huxley, but at the same time an important one. Well written, great fun in fact, but in order to understand it as more than mere point of View, to understand it as the Hero of the book, Bruno would have, one would have to extend oneself to read Huxley's next work, the 'Perennial Philosophy'.
Don't get me wrong, it is not a heavy book. It is well balanced with humor and interesting character sketches that he treats much more kindly than in his earlier works in spite of their flaws. He even treats himself a little more charitably if we are to imagine he is Sebastian. I loved this book. It returned him from that American novel style, back to where he belongs. It was warm, rich and thought provoking and enough to make me continue to follow his path had I not read this before his later works. An absolute must for any Huxley fan. Oh, and interestingly, Bruno, the spiritual inspiration, died of throat cancer, as did Huxley many years later.
March 16, 2016
A coming of age book by Aldous Huxley. The most interesting part is transformation of Sebastian Barnack. I can completely relate to his character and I am sure, so as many who are able to reflect on their past, present and maybe even the future. I have the same values as I had when I was in my teens, twenties, thirties, but I have different beliefs and understanding of my surroundings and even those same values. That is how I saw Sebastian as I read this book.
Not to spoil the book for anyone who would like to read it themselves, here is just a tidbit about it. The story starts with description of a young man, who with his youthful charm and good looks is able to make people like him immediately, pay attention to anything he would request and even forgive him on anything that others might not be able to get away with. He makes mistakes, a few and many, but as any young person, he has a hard time dealing with telling the truth, owning up to them and at the same time trying to justify them. Sebastian is not a bad person, but he is young and scared, of his own doing and his own actions. Is he selfish? Yes, he might be and even cynical, but all and all, he is desperate to feel better about his actions by hoping that no one will find out or when they do, they will once again fall for his charm and a smile. Can someone blame him for his actions? Sure, of course he is wrong and he knows it, but yet he continues to fall deeper into his own desperate mental hole that he dug for himself of deceit and hence in a way hurting the ones who are trying to help him, the ones who love him. His priorities are not aligned with strong character, but yet he knows it and not able to get out of pitiful of his own actions.
Bruno changes Sebastian's life. Bruno is a distant relative and a man of virtue. He teaches Sebastian not by lecturing, not by talks, but by being. Bruno pays the price for Sebastian's actions, but yet he continues to display the virtue and higher level of character that eventually helps Sebastian in the long run.
Skip forward and we see a man, a man who has been through some good and bad of life, but a man nevertheless who was able to learn and evolve into a person that he was meant to be. He becomes a man of stronger character and therefore gains respect even from someone who doesn't always volunteer to display respect, his father. That man is Sebastian and his life has taken many terms, but he was able to learn humility from his experiences and from the man who stood by him through actions that others might have not supported, Bruno.
Huxley was an amazing psycho-analyst. He was able to create a character and then do analysis on his character, where you feel what the character feels and yet you are able to reflect on his actions that you would not agree with, worry about him doing the right thing and eventually praise the character for becoming a person of some greater value. Amazing book and work of fiction. It draws you in and makes you want to see what happens next. I have to admit, I am a huge Huxley fan, but I did not love every single one of his books. This one I liked a lot. Even though it has taken me a little longer than I expected to read it, it was not due to the book, but my constraints of time and whenever I had time to pick it up, I had a hard time putting it down. I was contemplating whether to give this one 4 or 5 stars and since there is no 4.5, then 5 it is.
Not to spoil the book for anyone who would like to read it themselves, here is just a tidbit about it. The story starts with description of a young man, who with his youthful charm and good looks is able to make people like him immediately, pay attention to anything he would request and even forgive him on anything that others might not be able to get away with. He makes mistakes, a few and many, but as any young person, he has a hard time dealing with telling the truth, owning up to them and at the same time trying to justify them. Sebastian is not a bad person, but he is young and scared, of his own doing and his own actions. Is he selfish? Yes, he might be and even cynical, but all and all, he is desperate to feel better about his actions by hoping that no one will find out or when they do, they will once again fall for his charm and a smile. Can someone blame him for his actions? Sure, of course he is wrong and he knows it, but yet he continues to fall deeper into his own desperate mental hole that he dug for himself of deceit and hence in a way hurting the ones who are trying to help him, the ones who love him. His priorities are not aligned with strong character, but yet he knows it and not able to get out of pitiful of his own actions.
Bruno changes Sebastian's life. Bruno is a distant relative and a man of virtue. He teaches Sebastian not by lecturing, not by talks, but by being. Bruno pays the price for Sebastian's actions, but yet he continues to display the virtue and higher level of character that eventually helps Sebastian in the long run.
Skip forward and we see a man, a man who has been through some good and bad of life, but a man nevertheless who was able to learn and evolve into a person that he was meant to be. He becomes a man of stronger character and therefore gains respect even from someone who doesn't always volunteer to display respect, his father. That man is Sebastian and his life has taken many terms, but he was able to learn humility from his experiences and from the man who stood by him through actions that others might have not supported, Bruno.
Huxley was an amazing psycho-analyst. He was able to create a character and then do analysis on his character, where you feel what the character feels and yet you are able to reflect on his actions that you would not agree with, worry about him doing the right thing and eventually praise the character for becoming a person of some greater value. Amazing book and work of fiction. It draws you in and makes you want to see what happens next. I have to admit, I am a huge Huxley fan, but I did not love every single one of his books. This one I liked a lot. Even though it has taken me a little longer than I expected to read it, it was not due to the book, but my constraints of time and whenever I had time to pick it up, I had a hard time putting it down. I was contemplating whether to give this one 4 or 5 stars and since there is no 4.5, then 5 it is.
March 3, 2022
Huxley clearly had a lot of (surprisingly prescient) things to say about politics and humanity, but fails to work them neatly into a compelling narrative. Instead, we get scene after scene of characters pontificating at length about the nature of the universe. There is deep analysis conveyed through wonderful prose here, but you can't escape the notion that Huxley should have just written a treatise rather than hoodwink readers into thinking they'd get a satisfying piece of narrative fiction.
May 9, 2025
Zaman Artık Durmalı, genç bir şair olan Sebastian Barnack’in kişisel gelişim sürecini konu alır.
Sebastian yaz tatilinde, amcasının evine gider. Bu tatil, sadece bir kaçış değil, aynı zamanda kendi kimliğini keşfetme yolculuğunun da başlangıcıdır. Amcasının çevresindeki geniş entelektüel toplulukta, yeni fikirlerle tanışır, ancak en çok etkilendiği kişi, sahaf Bruno Rontini olur.
Sebastian yaz tatilinde, amcasının evine gider. Bu tatil, sadece bir kaçış değil, aynı zamanda kendi kimliğini keşfetme yolculuğunun da başlangıcıdır. Amcasının çevresindeki geniş entelektüel toplulukta, yeni fikirlerle tanışır, ancak en çok etkilendiği kişi, sahaf Bruno Rontini olur.
December 13, 2013
Huxley is now best known for his 'Brave New World' dystopia. And that is well. His other books are amusing, erudite fiction. Huxley, however had an abiding interest in arcane philosophies and 'Time Must Have a Stop' is one of his most interesting books. It is an attempt - imbued with Huxley's inevitable wit - to explore beyond death. An attempt that demonstrates insight and considerable philosophical inquiry. Highly recommended.
May 4, 2009
I really tried to like this book. While I did think many parts/quotes were clever, I found the oveall book to be too verbose.
February 16, 2025
And suddenly he knew these recovered figments of himself for what they so shamefully were; knew them for mere clots and disintegrations, for mere absences of light, mere untransparent privations, nothingness that had to be annihilated, had to be held up into incandescence, considered and understood and then repudiated, annihilated to make place for the beauty, the knowledge, the bliss.
I wasn’t at all prepared for Huxley and had no inkling what this book was going to be about. In my college library, I was looking instead for Brave New World but, since I failed to find it, I picked this one up, thinking that written by the same man who’s written a positively famous book, it must be good, as well. And it is, undoubtedly. But for the uninitiated, this book is kind of hard to get in to, to get properly adjusted, as the early pages completely knock you numb with their verbiage. Huxley, among other things, can get verbose as anything. The patient and inexorable reader might wade through the early few chapters and, though no Nirvana waits at the end of the endeavor, the reading experience will not prove to be completely futile, in my humble opinion, at least.
This book must not be read for the fiction, the story, the character development. It isn’t a traditional novel as it aims not to excite the fancy but to give a few philosophical nuggets to chew on. It is more of a philosophical treatise than a novel, actually. If Huxley wanted to tell a story, he could have done it in 5 pages as nothing much happens in this book. The characters are drawn as mouthpieces to explicate Huxley’s philosophy and his qualms regarding the world as he saw it. They are also drawn as embodiments and possible archetypes: you have a morally depraved atheist in Eustace whose end of life is pleasure; the spiritualist and the enlightener Bruno; the mother-figure and the sentimentalist in Mrs. Ockham, and the cynical, invulnerable, morally questionable adulteress in Mrs. Thwale. Oh, and you also have the political puritan in John Barnack, as well. In drawing such diverse characters, Huxley has, in a way, given a cross-sectional analysis of his world and in the midst of these characters is our protagonist, the seventeen-year old Sebastian Barnack who is precocious and annoying as hell! Experience and transformation await this seventeen-year old contradiction of a human being and, in this way, this novel can be seen as one of those coming-of-age thingies. In the Epilogue, the reader sees a more self-aware Sebastian who’s less wordy and specious, concerned about more important things in life and, finally, asking the right questions. It is said that the ideas in this book were further developed in The Perennial Philosophy and I’m looking forward to reading it to understand better Huxley’s take on the world. The little I’ve managed to gather is that Huxley, to his fortune, was a kind of a spiritualist. I knew before of his fascination with Hinduism and Buddhism and it is very much evident in this book.
All in all, I warn the reader that this is not a recreational book and definitely does not bear the enjoyable fruits of common fiction. It is heavy, can get a little dull, sometimes even difficult and you might ask yourself what is the bloody point of all of this?! As I happened to mention that I issued this book out of my college library, the page beginning the 16th chapter had a little pencilled squiggle saying: “Do not waste your valuable time with this dull book!” Further on, the squiggle reappeared saying: “Useless!” I wanted to place a squiggle of my own somewhere but then I decided otherwise. He or she, whoever wrote them, are kind of right as this book is not meant for everyone. Huxley was an intellectual, first and foremost, and this book is a proof of that. You do not have ordinary conversations between the characters but essay-length debates on art, culture and theology replete with the most fantastic of pedantic allusions. Well that’s Huxley for you. He does, however, manage to pull you in at some point and does well in his endeavor.
The 2 stars are, well, kind of personal. He disparages a few things that are very important to me. I have been open-minded enough to review him pleasantly but I apologize, I shall advise Muslim readers in being cautious whilst reading this book, if you do choose to pick it up. It gets offensive but then again, the stereotypes have gotten too old and clichéd to actually offend us. They kind of elicit a meh now. Meh for you, Huxley!
That said, I’m still open to reading Brave New World and I hope the next time I visit my library, I’ll find the right book.
And of course, he reflected, resurrection is optional. We are under no compulsion except to persist—to persist as we are, growing always a little worse and a little worse; indefinitely, until we wish to rise again as something other than ourselves; inexorably, unless we permit ourselves to be raised.
I wasn’t at all prepared for Huxley and had no inkling what this book was going to be about. In my college library, I was looking instead for Brave New World but, since I failed to find it, I picked this one up, thinking that written by the same man who’s written a positively famous book, it must be good, as well. And it is, undoubtedly. But for the uninitiated, this book is kind of hard to get in to, to get properly adjusted, as the early pages completely knock you numb with their verbiage. Huxley, among other things, can get verbose as anything. The patient and inexorable reader might wade through the early few chapters and, though no Nirvana waits at the end of the endeavor, the reading experience will not prove to be completely futile, in my humble opinion, at least.
This book must not be read for the fiction, the story, the character development. It isn’t a traditional novel as it aims not to excite the fancy but to give a few philosophical nuggets to chew on. It is more of a philosophical treatise than a novel, actually. If Huxley wanted to tell a story, he could have done it in 5 pages as nothing much happens in this book. The characters are drawn as mouthpieces to explicate Huxley’s philosophy and his qualms regarding the world as he saw it. They are also drawn as embodiments and possible archetypes: you have a morally depraved atheist in Eustace whose end of life is pleasure; the spiritualist and the enlightener Bruno; the mother-figure and the sentimentalist in Mrs. Ockham, and the cynical, invulnerable, morally questionable adulteress in Mrs. Thwale. Oh, and you also have the political puritan in John Barnack, as well. In drawing such diverse characters, Huxley has, in a way, given a cross-sectional analysis of his world and in the midst of these characters is our protagonist, the seventeen-year old Sebastian Barnack who is precocious and annoying as hell! Experience and transformation await this seventeen-year old contradiction of a human being and, in this way, this novel can be seen as one of those coming-of-age thingies. In the Epilogue, the reader sees a more self-aware Sebastian who’s less wordy and specious, concerned about more important things in life and, finally, asking the right questions. It is said that the ideas in this book were further developed in The Perennial Philosophy and I’m looking forward to reading it to understand better Huxley’s take on the world. The little I’ve managed to gather is that Huxley, to his fortune, was a kind of a spiritualist. I knew before of his fascination with Hinduism and Buddhism and it is very much evident in this book.
All in all, I warn the reader that this is not a recreational book and definitely does not bear the enjoyable fruits of common fiction. It is heavy, can get a little dull, sometimes even difficult and you might ask yourself what is the bloody point of all of this?! As I happened to mention that I issued this book out of my college library, the page beginning the 16th chapter had a little pencilled squiggle saying: “Do not waste your valuable time with this dull book!” Further on, the squiggle reappeared saying: “Useless!” I wanted to place a squiggle of my own somewhere but then I decided otherwise. He or she, whoever wrote them, are kind of right as this book is not meant for everyone. Huxley was an intellectual, first and foremost, and this book is a proof of that. You do not have ordinary conversations between the characters but essay-length debates on art, culture and theology replete with the most fantastic of pedantic allusions. Well that’s Huxley for you. He does, however, manage to pull you in at some point and does well in his endeavor.
The 2 stars are, well, kind of personal. He disparages a few things that are very important to me. I have been open-minded enough to review him pleasantly but I apologize, I shall advise Muslim readers in being cautious whilst reading this book, if you do choose to pick it up. It gets offensive but then again, the stereotypes have gotten too old and clichéd to actually offend us. They kind of elicit a meh now. Meh for you, Huxley!
That said, I’m still open to reading Brave New World and I hope the next time I visit my library, I’ll find the right book.
And of course, he reflected, resurrection is optional. We are under no compulsion except to persist—to persist as we are, growing always a little worse and a little worse; indefinitely, until we wish to rise again as something other than ourselves; inexorably, unless we permit ourselves to be raised.
July 22, 2024
3.5 good ideas and stuff just not really interesting plot. Extra .5 star for last 15ish pages and for being funny sometimes
August 12, 2020
This would have been a 2.5 star rating if half stars were allowed.
I found this book to be very challenging to appreciate. Aldous Huxley was a highly intelligent individual and I have enjoyed other works of his. But this one really missed. There were elements of the novel that reminded me why I enjoy reading his works, but there were so many other aspects of this novel that I found overly difficult. I felt I needed to be a scholar to appreciate this novel. By the time the reader reaches the end of this novel, it is clear this is Mr. Huxley’s philosophy. Had he focused on telling the story so as to deliver the message, this would have been a more rewarding read.
I found this book to be very challenging to appreciate. Aldous Huxley was a highly intelligent individual and I have enjoyed other works of his. But this one really missed. There were elements of the novel that reminded me why I enjoy reading his works, but there were so many other aspects of this novel that I found overly difficult. I felt I needed to be a scholar to appreciate this novel. By the time the reader reaches the end of this novel, it is clear this is Mr. Huxley’s philosophy. Had he focused on telling the story so as to deliver the message, this would have been a more rewarding read.
April 7, 2018
Huxley was deep into his mystical phase by the time he wrote this, 1945, and there’s a heavy didactic strain to the novel – while it starts as something of a social satire, by the ending it’s become pretty close to a straightforward essay, masquerading as the notebook of one of the characters. So it’s an excellent presentation of his views on religion and mysticism, though there’s no mention of psychedelics at this point, presumably he hadn’t yet begun his explorations there. And his biting sense of humor keeps it fairly entertaining as a novel.
July 14, 2014
Beautifully written, this book is a wonderful display of Huxley's true command of the language. It is a refreshing thought provoker; a satire of the conventions of the world, as well as a relateable variation on the coming-of-age story.
February 16, 2021
Update: I've been forced to read this book twice, and it still failed to intrigue me.
I'm simply not a fan of this author, and after forcing myself to read two books by him, I've determined that's okay.
I'm simply not a fan of this author, and after forcing myself to read two books by him, I've determined that's okay.
December 8, 2020
Impressionante a erudição, a clareza de visão, a análise de seu tempo e a clareza com que Huxley projeta o futuro. Tudo embalado numa crítica mordaz ao estilo de vida da alta classe média europeia na primeira metade do século XX
December 31, 2020
Extremely clever (above my head, in places) and wonderfully written. I did find myself thinking, at times, "just get on with it", as I do find Huxley rather verbose but, nevertheless, this is still a very engaging and thought-provoking book.
January 17, 2021
Verbose. A chore to read.
April 6, 2023
Almost a dnf
September 24, 2025
największym problemem z czytaniem czegokolwiek innego niż Nowy Wspaniały Świat od Huxleya, jest to, że jego personalna filozofia nie ma dzisiaj żadnego odniesienia, a wizja świata we wcześniej wspomnianej książce jest coraz bliższa... te wywody filozoficzne nawet jeśli są trafne, niestety nie przewidziały przyszłości i w momencie, w którym przestają być tylko ogólną metafizyczną paplaniną, a chcą poruszyć jakiś temat społeczny, to wydają się totalnym żartem. fajna fabuła, spoko nawiązania do buddyzmu, ale czyta się ciężko...
April 11, 2023
3.5 Jak to sam określił Huxley, jest to ,,coś w rodzaju powieści". Czuć, jako że fabuła ciągle oscyluje tu na pograniczu manifestu filozoficzno-religijno-politycznego. No ale ja tam doceniam, jak ktoś sobie tak po prostu popierdoli i czuć, że ma coś do powiedzenia. Nawet jeśli nie do końca rozumiem co.
February 13, 2020
Un lectura muy distinta a Un mundo feliz, un poco aburrida, desesperanzadora y raramente espiritual.
Read
October 30, 2020Finally putting this bad boi to bed. Big fat DNF.
June 4, 2021
Absurdamente tedioso e verborrágico. A cada nova poesia de Sebastian eu queria sair correndo.
July 1, 2021
სწორ დროს, სწორ ასაკში ჩავავლე ამ წიგნს ხელი.
April 30, 2024
abandoné en la página 130.
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