Aldous Huxley's Island

>>8426958
As an experience of literature, it's a little middle of the road for me –– BUT, as a philosophical text, quite strong and always relevant. Cool book.

>>8426958
personally I thought it was the worst book I've ever read and dropped it.
There's just no literature in the book. It's artless. The characters are rigidly symbolic and embody tropey characterization like a cartoon. The MC is a bitch and obviously as malleable as Huxley needed him to be to drive his philosophy forward. The world-building was completely underwhelming.
It's has nothing to offer besides a vehicle for Huxley's ideals.

>>8426958
Read Thomas Moore's Utopia first. In fact you should read Utopia regardless

>>8426958
Is this the one that's supposed to be Huxley's ideal vision of the future, rather than his vision of a dystopia in BNW?

>>8426958
Simpsons did it better, IMO.

>>8427699
Yes

>>8427387
Although I did enjoy Island, I'm inclined to agree. I noticed that many of the characters often read as though they are all the same person sharing the exact same diction and philosophies. It was a little jarring. What was underwhelming of the world-building though?

>>8427444
Thank you for the recommendation, I'll check it out. I still need to read Brave New World actually, went about Huxley all backwards.

Elementary Particles by Houellebecq must have spent twenty pages talking about Huxley and Island specifically.

>>8429164
What did he have to say about them?

>>8426958

Its a great book although of course its intent is just to discuss ideas and concepts and not have any plot or charcter development etc. People who say that its boring or that it had bad prose are missing the whole point.

I think a reason some people really don't like it is that in order to fully understand the books message and to get all of the scenes you need to have a decent undertanding of eastern philosophy, have properly taken psychedelics and be somewhat experienced with yoga/meditation. If you don't meet those requirements its like watching Pineapple Express without smoking weed first - it just seems boring and stupid even if you think you get what its about. If you do meet the requirements though or are just exceptionally open-minded it is an amazing book.

I do think that the society described in the book is better then most societies on the planet and that its not totally unrealistic. The pacifism part would not work well though because that society would just be doomed to be taken over and changed by others as Huxley points out in the book. In order for it to work it would have to have a military etc for defending itself and its way of life.

>>8429177
It's hard to say. There's a lot of thematic discussion of it and of Huxley's place in literature that shares elements with the plot of the book. Elementary Particles is 90% blind build up to you don't know what and then it leaps altogether off of a ledge at the end into something bizarre. Houellebecq took from and adored Huxley. You should read it. It's utterly heartbreaking.

>>8429196
Sounds intriguing, thank you, I will.

>>8429181
I have only minimal experience with psychedelics and yoga, and virtually no understanding of eastern philosophy, but I certainly did not find it boring or stupid. On the contrary, I was fascinated throughout. I understand what you're saying but I think Island is still accessible for the merits of its ideas without that experience and understanding, although it is better read and appreciated I'm sure with those than without. So yeah, I wouldn't say those were prerequisites for enjoyment.