Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I was lucky enough to read what many believe is Aldous Huxley's seminal work while travelling in the UK. It was my first time in London, and being in the same setting where most of the book takes place enhanced my reading experience. What an excellent set of insights of a modern time, an increasingly more "modern" period during which the book is set, and to have read it almost 100 years later puts into perspective how little has actually changed in society. Although we have advanced in technology, has our thought advanced in any way? We struggle the same way, it seems, even after all of our advances, our "progress" - what is the aim when relatively nothing has changed? Eyeless, we seem to move through time, indeed, although, as always, there is a tendency to believe we know very much.
Perhaps not the best book for de-stressing during and after finals, but an absolute success and now one of my all time favorites.
Eyeless in Gaza is absolutely confusing to follow, because different parts of the book take place in different years. Normally this would not be a problem, but the only time the date is specified is in a header at the beginning of the section. Eyeless In Gaza was also very boring, a majority of the novel is pointless filler material. Another thing that annoyed me was the way in which the relationships between characters are either not mentioned or not given enough context clues to figure out. An example of this: there are two characters, Helen and Mary Amberly, it is not clear what their relationship to each other is, sometimes it seems like they are sisters, but other times they are written about like they are mother and daughter, it is incredibly confusing
Esta es una de esas novelas concienzudas donde entra de todo. Particularmente interesante por ser escrita y publicada en el periodo entre guerras por uno de los grandes escritores del siglo. Su prosa no escasea en pormenores mientras discurre sobre religión, fascismo, la sociedad burguesa y el snobismo clasemediero del protagonista, con breves destellos de filología, ciencia y algo de romance.
Si ya había criticado Nocilla Dream por su fallido intento de romper con la tradicional narrativa lineal de la novela, me parece encomiable el acierto de Huxley que nos entrega su historia a través de un relato en círculos concéntricos que van perfilando al protagonista desde los distintos momentos de su vida, yendo y viniendo a través de la infancia y distintos puntos de su vida adulta.
Más allá de eso, fue agradable conocer otra faceta de Huxley como escritor y comprobar su habilidad para destacar lejos de la ficción.
Me parece que Huxley ha escrito este libro para mí, para sacarme los miedos y las certezas, detectar incontables faltas y defectos, pero a la vez para seguir sin flaquezas llevando el fuego sabiendo que no estoy solo, que ya otros han andado por este camino y que es válido, que alguien debe cargar con la estafeta; y que no es fácil, pero que sin duda sus frutos bien valen la pena.
Si ya había criticado Nocilla Dream por su fallido intento de romper con la tradicional narrativa lineal de la novela, me parece encomiable el acierto de Huxley que nos entrega su historia a través de un relato en círculos concéntricos que van perfilando al protagonista desde los distintos momentos de su vida, yendo y viniendo a través de la infancia y distintos puntos de su vida adulta.
Más allá de eso, fue agradable conocer otra faceta de Huxley como escritor y comprobar su habilidad para destacar lejos de la ficción.
Me parece que Huxley ha escrito este libro para mí, para sacarme los miedos y las certezas, detectar incontables faltas y defectos, pero a la vez para seguir sin flaquezas llevando el fuego sabiendo que no estoy solo, que ya otros han andado por este camino y que es válido, que alguien debe cargar con la estafeta; y que no es fácil, pero que sin duda sus frutos bien valen la pena.
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2216200.html[return][return]Eyeless in Gaza combines some fairly brutal commentary about lefties in British politics in the late 1930s, but tells the story in a narrative which is sliced up between decades, several different strands interlacing. There are some particularly grim scenes, involving a dog, an amputation, and a suicide, which are a striking contrast with the theoretical philosophising of the main character. I thought this had some of Huxley's better women characters as well, with a frank depiction of shifting relationships among a group of friends.
Fotografiile deveniseră aproape tot atât de înceţoşate ca şi amintirile. Tânăra femeie oprită locului în mijlocul unei grădini pe la sfârşitul secolului trecut, părea o fantomă surprinsă de cântatul cocoşului. Mama, îşi zise Anthony Beavis, recunoscând-o. Un an sau doi, poate o lună, două, înainte de moartea ei. Moda, îşi zise în timp ce examina fantoma de culoarea fumului, se aseamănă cu arta grădinarilor care prefac arbuştii şi copacii în figuri geometrice. Şi şoldurile astea arcuite. Şi nici bustul nu părea să aibă ceva comun cu un trup de femeie! Cascada pornită de sub gît şi oprită în talie! Claia de păr, o monstruoasă construcţie ornamentală menită doar să deformeze craniul. Privită în 1933 imaginea părea ciudat de respingătoare, hidoasă chiar. Şi totuşi, dacă închidea ochii (şi nu se împotrivi ispitei) putea încă s-o vadă pe maică-sa mereu frumoasă, când întinsă leneş pe un şezlong, când sprintenă, alergând pe terenul de tenis, când trecând ca o pasăre în zbor razant pe gheaţa unei îndepărtate ierni…
"Da, va exista intotdeaua durere si tristete[…]Si la urma urmei[…]ar fi oare de dorit sa fie altfel? […] N-ai vrea sa devii indiferent? Numai ca sa eviti o mica durere? Nu poti dori asta, nu-I asa?"
This is the story of Anthony Beavis's life, from childhood to his 40's. It's set up in chapters of different episodes in his life, jumping forward and backward in time. While I usually find this very distracting, it wasn't as difficult to follow as I expected. There is a lot of philosophy, sociology and intellectualism in this book. I found it accessible, though, instead of being too heavy or over my head.
This is the journey of a young man making sense of loss and love and all that encounters on his journey into adulthood. He fights in WWI and has affairs and all the while, is trying to make sense of his existence and what it all means. This doesn't ordinarily sound appealing, but I liked being privy to Anthony's growth and self-discovery. It gave me a lot to think about.
Food: Moroccan couscous served with spiced wine. A little different, with lots of chewy bits, and wine to help savor it.
This is the journey of a young man making sense of loss and love and all that encounters on his journey into adulthood. He fights in WWI and has affairs and all the while, is trying to make sense of his existence and what it all means. This doesn't ordinarily sound appealing, but I liked being privy to Anthony's growth and self-discovery. It gave me a lot to think about.
Food: Moroccan couscous served with spiced wine. A little different, with lots of chewy bits, and wine to help savor it.