Island (P.S.)
by Aldous Huxley
List Price:
Our Price: $8.49
You Save: $6.50 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.94 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Aldous HuxleyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-10-20
ISBN: 0061561797
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Book Reviews of Island (P.S.)
Book Review: Horrible novel, great vision
Summary: 4 Stars
First off, as many people have pointed out, 'Island' is a complete and total failure as a novel. The plot is paper thin and the 'characterization,' such as it is, is pretty horrible. But this doesn't mean this is a bad book, or not worth reading. Hermann Hesse's last (and one of his best) book, "The Glass Bead Game" (aka "Magister Ludi") suffers from the same faults, but likewise is eminently worth reading.
I wouldn't say Huxley succeeds in portraying a true utopia, but then, who ever has? Nowhere in fiction, essay, or political propaganda have I seen anyone else come even remotely close - Huxley at least borders on plausibility, and indeed, desirability (something else lacking from many 'utopian' visions). Many of the negative reviews here are by radical conservatives who find the ideas of more open sexuality, psychedelic visions and a modern updating of Eastern philosophy and contemplation anathema. Well, fair enough, I guess, but look at the world THOSE people are endeavouring (some cynics might say successfully) to build. I for one would definitely have appreciated more rock climbing, first-hand experiential evidence of 'higher things,' even if through psychedelics, and more sensitive sexual experience, during my confused youth. In fact, ultimately, I found my way to all of those things through friends, readings, and my own meandering gropings through life, but I don't feel at all that these were (or are now) encouraged by the social structure in which I live, nor by my elders. Huxley imagines a world in which this situation is reversed, and though I have some problems with his vision, I find it quite charming and desirable in many ways.
Some negative reviews have poitned out how quaint and 1960's-oriented and dated many of the ideas are (to those reviewers anyway); I would argue though that many of the new ideas fermenting in the 60's have really yet to come to full fruition, and far from being dated, are in need of further dissemination.
The book is heavily didactic and this can get a little annoying at times, but as always Huxley is full of insights and is worth reading. From what I understand he wrestled with this book for years trying to find a good way of conveying these notions; maybe he should have just opted for non-fiction of some kind. Still, this book is far from 'obsolete' and is Huxley's utopia very much worth considering for all those of us living in a the real-life, if toned-down, version of 'Brave New World.'
Summary of Island (P.S.)
In his final novel, which he considered his most important, Aldous Huxley transports us to the remote Pacific island of Pala, where an ideal society has flourished for 120 years.
Inevitably, this island of bliss attracts the envy and enmity of the surrounding world. A conspiracy is underway to take over Pala, and events are set in motion when an agent of the conspirators, a newspaperman named Faranby, is shipwrecked there. What Faranby doesn't expect is how his time with the people of Pala will revolutionize all his values and?to his amazement?give him hope.
Classics Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Classics Books
Native sonby Richard Wright
Perennial Library; Published: 1987; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.75
Native Son: And How Bigger Was Bornby Richard Wright
Perennial; Published: 1993-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $60.00
Raphael and the Noble Taskby Catherine Salton
Harper; Published: 2000-10-24; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.49
Price in other shops:
Island (Perennial Classics)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2002-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
A Tree Grows in Brooklynby Betty Smith
Harper; Published: 2001-11-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.86
Price in other shops:
The Great Divorce CDby C. S. Lewis
HarperAudio; Published: 2003-11-25; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.10
Price in other shops:
Great Expectationsby Charles Dickens
Macmillan Pub Co; Published: 1979-06; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops:
This Side of Paradiseby Fitzgerald
Scribner Paper Fiction; Published: 1988-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops:
Black Coffee (Poirot)by Agatha Christie
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2002-12-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $68.32
Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1960s)by Joan Didion
Flamingo; Published: 2001-04-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $22.25
Similar Books and other products
The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, 40th Anniversary Editionby Carlos Castaneda
Aladdin; University of California Press; Published: 2008-05-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.87
Price in other shops:
Eyeless in Gaza: A Novel (P.S.)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2009-10-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.27
Price in other shops:
Brave New World Revisited (P.S.)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2006-09-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.34
Price in other shops:
The Devils of Loudun (P.S.)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2009-07-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops:
The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell (P.S.)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2009-07-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.27
Price in other shops:
Landscapes of Urban Memory: The Sacred and the Civic in India's High-Tech Cityby Smriti Srinivas
Univ Of Minnesota Press; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $25.00
Price in other shops:
Brave New World (P.S.)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2010-01-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.20
Price in other shops:
Brave New Worldby Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2006-10-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
The Perennial Philosophy: An Interpretation of the Great Mystics, East and West (P.S.)by Aldous Huxley
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2009-07-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.34
Price in other shops:
The Doors Of Perception: Heaven and Hell (thINKing Classics)by Aldous Huxley
Fontal Lobe Publishing; Published: 2011-04-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.92
Price in other shops: