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Eyeless in Gaza

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Eyeless in Gaza

By: Aldous Huxley
Narrated by: Jamie Parker
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Though somewhat overshadowed by Brave New World and The Doors of Perception, Huxley’s modernist novel Eyeless in Gaza (1936) is often regarded as his finest work. The writer and historian Simon Heffer dubbed it, unequivocally, ‘his only great novel.’

The plot centres on Anthony Beavis, a dilettante social theorist, a man inclined to recoil from life. The pleasures of the physical world disgust him and the universe of ideas is but a poor refuge. Having long lost the art of intimacy, he betrays friendships and toys with the affections of women. But as Beavis approaches middle age, his world of perfect detachment begins to lose its appeal. Finally realising that his withdrawal from life has been motivated not by intellectual honesty but by moral cowardice, Beavis, devastated and at crisis point, meets the remarkable and redoubtable Dr Miller.

The novel’s style and setting create a unique atmosphere. Placed mainly in the inter-war years of the 20th century, the story is told in short, dated sections without following strict chronology: we encounter characters and events through fractured time, forward and backward, resulting in an unusual perspective. Eyeless in Gaza – a quotation from Milton’s Samson Agonistes – will come as an exciting, enriching surprise to many who know only the more popular Huxley. Especially in this persuasive recording by Jamie Parker.©1936 Aldous Huxley (P)2024 W.F.Howes Ltd Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological War
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The non-linearity of the novel made it hard to follow, but the strength of its ideas and characters rose above that issue. Huxley was a true ‘intellectual’ and the novel never shirks from stripping away the social layers of learned behaviour, to offer a deep and subtle exploration of the characters nuances and true (selfish) motivations. There is little or no self-care or kindness on display, and much unpleasantness born of weakness, until eventually the central character acknowledges his own cowardice in the face of life… but through its bleak picture of 1930’s English Society, there do emerge some new qualities, pacifism and eastern spiritual practice.. Im not sure those two concepts emerge successfully as a novel, more as an essay tagged to the end of book. But they still carry water.

Portrait of Lost Souls

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A book that I should have known earlier, but so glad to have experienced it now. The reading of it was perfectly fitting to the content.

Beautifully read.

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This book is something else. It is written in nonlinear fashion, giving a sense of being inside the mind of the voice of the author. Like being on a ride through various memories loosely tied together. The main plot of the book is a tragic one, but surrounding it there are various very interesting characters with brilliant minds, sharp wits but also quirks and flaws. A recurring theme is struggles of communication between otherwise very high functioning individuals. Huxley’s prose is simple yet elegant and for me this is his best book.

The narrator also does a wonderful job, perhaps the best I’ve heard of picking up on the phrasing, tempo, rhythm and prosody of the characters. Very interesting book!

Brilliantly executed character drama

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