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A review by harryr
The Eye in the Pyramid by Robert Anton Wilson, Robert Shea
2.0
I got the Illuminatus Trilogy on my kindle ages ago, after reading a biography [bandography?] of The KLF ([b:The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds|18625609|The KLF Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds|J.M.R. Higgs|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1401381740s/18625609.jpg|22010592]). I finally got round to trying it, by which time I couldn’t remember what to expect from it.
At first I thought it was more enjoyable — funnier — than I expected, as well as more formally interesting: it switches between people, places and times from paragraph to paragraph. But after a while, all that switching just got confusing, and the action got a bit repetitive. And it’s dated: it is a mass of 60s and 70s American political and cultural references, which don’t necessarily mean much to me; and the portrayal of women is pretty dreadful.
So it became a bit of a chore by the end, and I certainly didn’t feel inclined to read the other two volumes. But I can see why it has a cult following: it’s inventive and knowing; and entertaining in small doses.
At first I thought it was more enjoyable — funnier — than I expected, as well as more formally interesting: it switches between people, places and times from paragraph to paragraph. But after a while, all that switching just got confusing, and the action got a bit repetitive. And it’s dated: it is a mass of 60s and 70s American political and cultural references, which don’t necessarily mean much to me; and the portrayal of women is pretty dreadful.
So it became a bit of a chore by the end, and I certainly didn’t feel inclined to read the other two volumes. But I can see why it has a cult following: it’s inventive and knowing; and entertaining in small doses.