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Eyeless in Gaza
Aldous Huxley Book Review

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Plot Summary of Eyeless in Gaza
"Eyeless in Gaza is the story of Anthony Beavis and his circle of friends and acquaintances, from childhood to mid adulthood, mainly in the first decades of the twentieth century. The storyline is non-sequential, with the events shuffled, so that each chapter picks up the strand at a different point in the characters' lives.

Anthony Beavis, as a boy loses his mother and is raised by a comically pedantic father who delights in etymology--fascinating to him but a tedious bore to all others. A sensitive and reflective youngster, he finds a kindred spirit at his public school with gentle Brian Foxworthy, a friendship that eventual ends in Brian's suicide over a love rivalry, an event that becomes a touchstone for many of the themes in Anthony's development. Meanwhile, Beavis enjoys other sensualities in his youth, with a rather "borderline" woman and then years later, as this women declines into poverty and addiction, her daughter. Then, searching for meaning in his anemic and detached existence, Anthony joins Mark Staithes, a bully from his early years at Balustrode school, on a pointless escapade in South America--an aesthetic violence for violence's sake adventure that leaves Mark Staithes without a leg. Returning to England, Beavis models himself on a pacifist and finds comfort in a philosophy that is good, whole, and, though not intellectually sophisticated as his erstwhile beliefs, benefits people in a direct way. The interest in pacifism coincides with Huxley's humanistic tone in the middle years of his oeuvre."

Damon LaBarbera, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Eyeless in Gaza
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1900-1920's
Life of a profession: - writer
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over - vague finding self/purpose in life (i.e. no plot to book)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 6 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
The Americas (not US): Yes
Jungles? Yes
Jungles - Snakes

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards - written like a journal/diary/letters
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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Any Human Heart by William Boyd
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Emily's Quest by L.M. Montgomery


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