The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 20 February 1998
by Aldous Huxley
In this book, Huxley paints the portrait of Jo Stoyte, an obsessed millionaire in the late 1930s, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Citizen Kane (or to William Randolph Hearst). The man is fabulously wealthy, paying the unscrupulous Dr. Obispo a fortune to research human longevity to stave off his paralyzing fear of death. The nearly science-fiction subplot is that very research, and how it turns to the innards of ancient carp. The whole book, though, seems designed to couch Huxley's own philosophical view on life and the pursuit of freedom. His character, Propter, floats through the book as an observer and pontificator, but it is frustrating to try to discern the connection between his speeches and the remainder of the plot. Nevertheless, the story takes an unforgettable turn.