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A review by david_rhee
Time Must Have a Stop by Aldous Huxley
4.0
I must admit that I almost didn't give this one a fair chance all for a couple things which bothered me to no end. The protagonist made me grind a few layers of enamel off the tops of my molars. Exactly the type of character that gets me steaming. Dismissive, fancies himself a poet, calculating, and when he gets into a jam he can't think of anything else to do but to flash one of his "angelic, irresistible" smiles fully expecting its recipient to melt like wax. Yea, try that on me and see what happens, kid.
Then there's Huxley's bizarre narration from the point of view from someone who had just died. The unravelling consciousness interspersed with the fading remnants of half-lost memories is an interesting vantage point, but the sheer bewilderment of it all blunted the effect of any aesthetic impression I might feel. Plus, the episodes told through the lens of a seance seeking out the dead man really crank up the weirdness. I can't say I was ready for an appearance by the Witch of Endor. Some might praise this as originality but I can't be sure how much credit is deserving due to the known fact of Huxley's stash of performance enhancing drugs. Cynical of me? I was probably just in a bad mood too. It wasn't a good week for me.
I was thankful that I have a strict rule for myself: Finish everything you read. I do believe Huxley's prose is enough to carry one through, however. The book's resolution is what makes it great. It was like having a vivid but thoroughly confusing dream then waking up and having a venerable sage explain it to you. In a sweeping wave, Huxley suspends the human cycle of violence and exploitation and places it under the microscope thereby opening up the question of humanity's spiritual awakening. What a great ride especially because it leaves the reader with material to digest long after closing the back cover.
Then there's Huxley's bizarre narration from the point of view from someone who had just died. The unravelling consciousness interspersed with the fading remnants of half-lost memories is an interesting vantage point, but the sheer bewilderment of it all blunted the effect of any aesthetic impression I might feel. Plus, the episodes told through the lens of a seance seeking out the dead man really crank up the weirdness. I can't say I was ready for an appearance by the Witch of Endor. Some might praise this as originality but I can't be sure how much credit is deserving due to the known fact of Huxley's stash of performance enhancing drugs. Cynical of me? I was probably just in a bad mood too. It wasn't a good week for me.
I was thankful that I have a strict rule for myself: Finish everything you read. I do believe Huxley's prose is enough to carry one through, however. The book's resolution is what makes it great. It was like having a vivid but thoroughly confusing dream then waking up and having a venerable sage explain it to you. In a sweeping wave, Huxley suspends the human cycle of violence and exploitation and places it under the microscope thereby opening up the question of humanity's spiritual awakening. What a great ride especially because it leaves the reader with material to digest long after closing the back cover.