Last night I finished reading Island by Aldous Huxley, and all I have to say is wow. The first three-fourths of the book were a bit of a struggle to get through, but the final fourth of the book was so delightful to read I want to go back and read the whole thing again. The very last chapter left me speechless. I haven’t felt that kind of an effect from reading a book in a long, long time (or ever?). The entire book feels like it builds up until the very final word on the very last page, which is a perfect summary of what this book is about.

The story is about a man named Will Farnaby, who washes up on the shores of an island utopia named Pala. This little island houses the best of East and West philosophy, focusing heavily on the Buddha and states of contemplation. There is oil in Pala, but they are very strict at limiting the amount of power industry holds  and so refuse to sell their rights to neighboring countries to exploit this resource. Will Farnaby is an agent sent to Pala representing someone who wants access to this oil. His time spent there, however, changes his entire world view and as the book progressed I felt like my views of the world changed along with him. Each chapter he grew more enlightened, more aware of the beauty this little island nation holds.

I think what made this novel such a joy to read were the ideas Huxley presented that are so simple, yet vastly superior to anything in the modern industrialized world. One example is having children be raised by many families at once in what he calls a MAC (mutual adoption club), so instead of having one mother and one father a child of Pala might have twenty-two mothers and twenty-two fathers. The benefits of this would be astounding; no more parents brainwashing their children with their own twisted beliefs. If a parent is being unruly to a child or the child needs a break from their home, they need only go live with one of their other parents for a change of environment. It creates a sense of community where everyone only wants what is best for everyone else.

The school system he described is wonderful as well. He talks about building “bridges” from one subject to another, allowing students to realize that words are merely words and that true knowledge lies in what the words represent. Each student is also trained at a young age to know and accept that every person is living a subjective experience. One scene I loved was when Will was sitting in on a classroom and the teacher told everyone in the classroom to pinch themselves. Then the teacher went on to explain how each individual person in the room felt a different sensation of pain, yet there is only one word “pain” to describe what had taken place. One word to describe twenty-three (or however many students there were) different experiences of pain. And then, the teacher went on, expand that to the millions of people on Earth and you realize very quickly how words are merely filters, not actualities. If only children were taught this way in our schools, to see the actual meaning behind the lessons instead of just memorizing the words at face value.

With all that said it is hard to recommend this book to anyone. It was written over fifty years ago, making many of the references dated. The overall tone and message, however, stand the test of time and his writing is so well done that I could actually see these character’s faces and hear their laughter. It is the little nuances that made this book great, such as the birds of the island trained to speak uplifting phrases like, “Attention!” or “Here and Now!”, reminding everyone to live in the moment and constantly remain aware of this precious gift of life we are all given. It is a thinking man’s book, and has many nuggets of genius that will satisfy anyone willing to give it a shot.

Overall, I can say without a doubt this is the greatest book I have ever read. It has usurped one of Aldous Huxley’s other novels (which you may have heard of) Brave New World, which has been my favorite book for a long time. This was written as a counter-point to that book, a utopian vision versus a dystopian vision, and in the end I feel the utopia won out. I feel the ideas presented in this book are powerful enough they will stick with me long after I have put the book down. This is a classic I will reread year after year, just to visit the island nation of Pala once more.