Brief Book Review for "Island" (1962) by author Aldous Huxley

Island (1962) by Author Aldous Huxley

"Attention, Here and Now boys!!" I am not much of a book critic or whatever its called, but I do want to add some more content to this blog so here goes another book review. I just recently finished English author/writer Aldous Huxley's Island, which was published in 1962 and actually was the last book he released before he died in November of 1963. I would definitely recommend Island to anybody who is looking for some interesting reading, although it is not a fast-paced entertainment book by any means, however, it may leave you thinking critically about society and its many structures and why they are the way they are and if there could be a better way to do many things. The story is set on a fictional utopian-island-society called Pala, where an English oil-company ambassador (main characater Will Farnaby) becomes shipwrecked, while illegally surveying the coastline. Naturally may oil-companies are vying for a shot at winning the oil/industrial development contracts for Pala, but the society is yet to conform to the industrial-western model. The locals take him in and treat him medically at first, and he gets a good look for a few weeks at the society and starts to actually fall in love with it a bit. Much of the book isn't about plot so much as a peek into what an ideal society might look, as well as how transcendental experiences (drug-induced in many of his books) can open one's mind up to new ideas and better ways of living (or shake up some of the rigid and closed-off structures at least). Now, this may sound somewhat familiar to Huxley's other books/essays, such as the renowned Brave New World, or Doors of Perception, but I would personally say that this is my favorite of his books I've read so far, although I haven't read too many others to be honest, so take my reviews with a grain of salt full-stop. Be sure to check out the wikpedia page on this book HERE if you are interested in learning more about the book. And there it is, more brief book reviews to come!