Island (Perennial Classics)
by Aldous Huxley

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Book Reviews of Island (Perennial Classics)

Book Review: Outstanding Satire
Summary: 5 Stars

The key point I feel Huxley makes is that capitalistic or corporate power in the west is able to use it vast resources to obtain what it desires. Corporate power uses money, religion, and the greed of the State to pursue its ends. Had the leaders of Pala given into greed then the Island would not have suffered its eventual fate at the hands of an outside force--but would have suffered an erosion of its "utopian" nature and everyone except the greedy would have lost in the end anyway. But either way it is clear that the corporate interests will take what it desires and use the tools of religious fervor and state power to further their own ends. Its key resource, however, is still MONEY---and in pursuit of what?----more MONEY. The happiness of everyday citizens is sacrificed at the altar of corporate greed.

Island was published in 1962 and really reflects Huxley's views, I suspect, of the latter half of the 1950's. Interestingly, the 1950's are marked by (1) the true rise of consumerism and corporate exploitation of American demand for goods; (2) entrenchment of the Cold War and suppression of individual rights and free thought based on ideological extremism (McCarthy, Hoover, John Foster Dulles, Castro, and Stalin are all towering figures of the 1950s); (3) the emerging battle and public expression of a new set of sexual mores which met a backlash by conservative/religious segments of society; (4) The emergence of cold war capitalism fueled both by American defense corporations and the attempt of the Soviet Union to catch up with the west in terms of industrialization and military might (Eisenhower, during his Presidency, warned of the might of the military industrial complex). Some argue the entire cold war was generated by the greed of American defense industries (this is far-fetched in my opinion).

The scary thing about all this--the same set of circumstances can be said to have exit today, despite the end of the cold war. Certainly, the power of corporations to dominate the political agenda and decision making process is still intact. Whether this limits or threatens individual liberties and democracy is another question. Certainly it did in the 1950's in America. It is amazing to me the correlation between the 1950's and the 1980's at the height of the cold war in American History. (For more information on the 1950's in this country I would recommend a perusal of David Halberstam's The 1950's). Huxley's book is as timely and poignant today as it was in 1962. The right or ability of an individual and a society to choose how it is going to live and progress is as impeded today as it was in the early 1960's---and by the same forces.

Some rogue comments:

1. I found the discussion of "maithuna" or the "yoga of love" to be quite humorous. I especially liked Farnaby's snide thought "What shall be do to be saved? The answer is in four letters". Is there really such a thing as "maithuna"?

2. The use of mind altering drugs for experiencing a different slice of reality was provocative. Huxley wrote a book called "The Doors of Perception" which I have not read. I found these elements of the book to be interesting and really wanted more explication on the subject.

3. The commentary on population control was also quite timely then and now. This exchange I found quite clear and commonsensical:

Farnaby: "You seem to have solved your economic problems [on the Island] pretty successfully".

Dr. Robert: "Solving them wasn't difficult. To begin with, we never allowed ourselves to produce more children than we could feed, clothe, house, and educate into something like full humanity".

4. One of the scary pitfalls of the book is the Island's use of psychological drugs to control and shape the personality of its children so they don't grow up to be problems. Huxley, I felt, placed too much trust in science and medicine in this instance. This seemed to me like something not out of a peaceful utopian society but "A Clockwork Orange" (see p. 154-155 of the Perennial Library paperback edition for the reference-about 2/3rds into chapter 9).

5. I know little about Buddhism and Yoga so those parts of the books I did not get as much out of, although I found them of interest. I wonder why he chose forms of these religions as those most applicable to his utopia as opposed to atheism or some form of spiritualistic religion other than Buddhism?

One last comment: The ending was perfect in its cynicism. (...)

Summary of Island (Perennial Classics)

Classics Books

• Subjects > Literature & Fiction > Classics
• Literary
• Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction