Eyeless in Gaza (Vintage Classic)

"There is an old saying the arabs used to say that words have an almost sword-like effect and it is exactly this feeling that Eyeless in Gaza imbued in me when i was reading it. The words and the sentences, the way they are so poignantly structured is magical to say the least. I think this is the greatest achievement of the book. It may be true that some of the ideas that he extrapolates i find disaggreable at some levels, but the beauty of the book lies in its literary ingenuity and it is for that reason that i shall recommend this book to everyone interested in literature. I believe if the purpose of life be the pursuit of happiness then books are its poetry and this book is that poetry that illuminates the hearts and the intellect in such a complimentary way that it is difficult to see who can write as greatly as this man did."
~ Written on 2002-04-09

"Once again I finish a Huxley book and feel as if I've been forced to sit through a political broadcast on behalf of the middleclass wannabe intellectual party. On a few occasions I felt that the narrative had stopped and Huxley's was attempting to tell us about his life. If so, he really must have been miserable (possible as Godalming is awful).

It's easy to see why all but the literature buffs ignore Huxley's work. It's as if he wrote purely to impress a peer or two (thesaurus on permanent standby). Had made the effort to make his material interesting, he surely would have succeeded in broadcasting his messages, or sell more books!

The only part of the book I found interesting is purely from a historic perspective. The story contains a few references to Hitler and his work - the book was published in 1936. Though the related death of a character (which I won't name) seems out of context and artificial. Almost to the point where one feels Huxley added the character after the manuscript was complete purely to kill him off, just to capture the mood of conflict building in Europe.

If you're not studying literature, you may prefer to borrow a copy from your local library before parting with any cash. I wish I did."
~ Written on 2000-05-03

"Huxley seems to be the master of pretty much everything an author should be the master of. Here we have an impressive argument as to why we should all ditch belligerence and restart the peace pledge union: a convincing pacifist novel. On the other hand it's a story of a man who is at complete liberty to do whatever he chooses, finds that he lives exactly the sort of life he would be expected to and finds it very disatisfying. Bizarrely he bumps into a strange Scot who changes it all for him, and convinces him to live altruistically. It reads a bit more interestingly than that, I promise!

'Eyeless at Gaza' refers constantly to the Bible (see the title) - somewhat incongruously for one of Britain's most noted atheists. Yet it is the enduring strength of Biblical narratives, images and thinking which is one of the most revelealing aspects of this novel. Should the church be as radical as Huxley proposes we all should be, perhaps it would regain some legitimate, voluntarily yielded, authority.

Bar the disappointing ending - a ramble through New Age nonsense which is out of place with the intelligence of the rest of the novel - a truly mind-broadening and challenging novel by a sadly neglected great author."
~ Written on 1999-10-15