BOOK REVIEW: "A Voyage to Arcturus" by David Lindsay
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- Опубліковано 22 гру 2014
- Among the most strange and surreal novels of the 20th century, "A Voyage to Arcturus" was the debut novel of David Lindsay and first published in 1920. Defying all typical writing conventions, the style of the book is innovative and different. Despite being a story about a quest, it completely goes against the motif of The Hero's Journey. The book was given to me by Paul Giamatti when I worked on the film American Splendor and is an amazingly innovative story.
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Thank you for reviewing this overwhelmingly imaginative, one-of-a-kind book and exposing it to a wider audience. Very good review of a book of genuine genius.
This book has remained with me for years. Just the ideas and the language of it. It left me with odd chills at the end
Cool. I'm glad you enjoyed it and it had a positive effect on you.
Colin Wilson wrote a book about Lindsay, a great deal of which discusses A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS. Wilson's book is well-worth a read for anyone digging into VOYAGE and wrestling with what the book is trying to say.
I read this book in High School in 1970. Wow! It started me on my own voyage. Still, I don't think I ever emerged from Matterplay, and still wander the Wombflash forest with Sullenbode. Eric I can send you a jar of Olfire, but as it is a superfluid that is frictionless it often leaks out of the bottle. Many folks just don't understand why they get an empty jar in the mail after I send it!
+Keith Raymond - After reading "Xenogenesis" by Harlan Ellison, it would be best to not accept jars of "superfluids" from fans, but I appreciate the thought! LOL Glad you liked the book.
Excellent Review. This book has made a huge impact on my life and it's my favorite one ever
Nice review, that book is probably the one I usually refer to as my favorite novel of all time (that and virtually anything by Dostoyevsky). CS Lewis was quite impressed by it.
The philosophical theories are definitely there, as each chapter is basically the presentation of a way of thinking that gets destroyed by the protagonist (or should I say uber-protagonist). This aspect of it becomes clearer on subsequent readings. The whole thing is quite the work of art with a very powerful visual ending. I used to read this novel once every few years... very few books can stir up the same interest and fascination.
+jackcslewis2009 Intriguing. I only read it once, so I didn't pick up on all of that. But I do love the tale. Thanks for watching my review!
Probably the only thing which disproves the cliche' "Stranger Than Fiction". Nothing is stranger than "A Voyage To Arcturus". I read it in 1973 and never looked back.
LOL
That's funny. I agree. One of the strangest books ever. Yet so much fun to read.
_A Voyage To Arcturus_ defies all the conventions of how a story *should* be written, yet it's still so enthralling.
For jale and ulfire, you could make a 3-D film, and have the object be different colors in each eye. I have had experience of this effect, using the View-Master toy, and I interpreted it as a single color.
Randomly picked up this book on a train ride in India as a bewildered 22-year old, and finished it before I reached my destination. It always stuck with me, especially the part regarding Ulfire and Jale (but also the stars/suns Branchspell and Alppain and their effects, omg). Thought about it today and sought out a review and was not emotionally disappointed, thanks!
I’m not usually big into philosophical novels precisely because they lack plot (I can deal with meandering but there needs to be some tangible goal out there) it’s one of the strangest most interesting books I’ve ever read. I might actually reread it
I will now add this to my list . Thanks!
I read 'Voyage' fifty-five years ago as a teenager. If fit into the sixties really well, I am still trippin.
Thanks for the review. Very well done
Even though the audio quality could be improved
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
This is one of my favourite books. That was a good review! There is a storyline -- but tis' sort of obscured. Apparently Lindsay's publisher cut a lot of his original manuscript out of the version we got, and the original is long since lost, so we will likely never know what Lindsay's original vision fully looked like. I personally feel like it's the story elements and "connective tissue" that must largely have been removed.
Still, the purpose of maskull's journey is to prepare him for the spiritual ascension to Nightspore, the person he will become. Nightspore has no interest in Crystalman's world -- he sees it as nothing but filthy illusion -- whereas maskull is still attached to it. Ultimately while I love this book, its philosophy -- which seems to amount to "exitence is pain; music, beauty, even love, might only be distractions to keep us from fulfilling our spiritual hunger for Muspel -- is not one I'm entirely comfortable. Lindsay seems to acknowledge this though -- in the beginning a character is overcome by the beauty of music -- the Woman from ifdawn is almost too good to be real, and so again, it's a painful thing, when she's cast aside for Maskull's quest and literally dies when he stops looking to her.
Read The Haunted Woman an Devil's Tor sometime. They'll help. I wish Linday's few other books were easier to get a hold of.
Now, this book would be hard to make into a film, but I'd love to see at least an attempt made. (There was a very primitive version of this book made into a student film in, I believe, the 1970's.)
Why must they always ruin great novels by trying to make a film? I.e. The Dark Tower
Nice video. I just finished the book and enjoyed.
I am curious why you end your videos with ‘keep speaking English America’
Thank you for the review. I was turned onto the book by C.S. Lewis and as I bought the book, I just keep rereading it. I also searched out other works by Lindsay, although Arcturus is pretty much his only "success", if we may call it that. Anyway, I keep puzzling, trying to penetrate his thought.
I suspect those who claim it is a study of different philosophical and psychological precepts are probably correct, but I'm not educated enough on the various symbolism to pick up on everything.
You from Cleve-O?
Noticed an odd trend in the written word. The use of phrases that are a kind of re-invention that seems not needed. I pull an example from the description for the video: "Among the most strange...". Up until recently the phrase that was used was, simply, "among the strangest..", since "most" is implicit in the word "strangest". Yes, quite a trivial thing, but I've started to hear this use of the word "most" in newscasts, and written passages to, it appears, boost, or attempt to intensify the word that is being modified.. My only theory is that we are surrounded by such extreme things that words like "most" and "more" may seem to carry more strength as a modifier. i better shut up now, as this "aside" seems, even to me, much ado about nothing. (A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS has long been one of my favorite novels. I was pleased to hear Paul Giamontti ---spelling surely is incorrect, sorry----talk about this book on the Steven Colbert show. Very cool!) Good review!
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
Maybe a brain tumor, or an addiction to a hallucinatory drug would have helped me to better appreciate this book. IMO read about as well and was as satisfying as Mary Shelley's, "The Last Man". Was as digestible as a Chorizo/Drywall Plaster Chimi.
Books are like people. Loved by some. Hated by others.