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dantalion_xi's review against another edition
5.0
Huxley sharpens the tools which he employed in writing Crome Yellow and delivers an atmosphere which, it seems to me, could only be tasted in those akward post-fin-du-siècle times.
Witty, cynical and never failing to be satirycal, he proceeds to describe perfectly detailed characters who do not do much more than talking throughout the story - and I kind of gladfully expected it when I picked up the book.
As it usually seems to happen in his works, female characters lack some depth, but I dare say he seems to implicitly suggest that they are slaves of what society (i.e. male characters) expects from them, thus making a fine comparison between Mary, for instance, and the three male protagonists, who all seem to lack something in the end and are unable to obtain it because they are too obsessed with their own way of life.
In general, it reads playfully well. It has a delightful balance between comedy and melancholy, and a great deal of those conversations you would love to participate in - the same which, ironically, Mrs. Aldwinkle obsessively looks out for without realising that she is often there to witness them, and she just cannot realise it because she is distracted by what these moments ought to be instead of what they really are (she could use some Chelifer's truth serum, I am sure), so much that she never developed the tools to understand such themes.
What strikes me as puzzling, though, is the relation between the title and the characters. Some say that they represent Huxley's various facets, but I wonder if he would fall for something as cheap as self-deprecating himself as being superficial by exposing the shallowness of all his tracts.
It seems to me that, just like barren leaves, the characters, save the younger ones, who might be on their way to do just the same mistakes as the elder, have beautifully accomplished what should be the natural path of people who were not 'born to sow the earth' (of course, take this as a merely social description void of any philosophical value), that is living to become something different and to look (not to find) something more to it, since they all express and feel emotions that, however uncertain, or wrong or improbable, differ from the animal status of life so much that you should not deny the fact that they are, in the end, 'living souls'.
I cannot agree, either, with those who say that the novel is absolutely critical of the lesser aristocracy/bourgeoisie - mostly because of how comic and unattractive Mr. Falx sounds all the time. He is so deliberately (from the writing process point of view) boring, he doesn't even try to sound believable. This clearly demonstrates, in my opinion, that Huxley knew well that sophisticated as well as elevated thinking, unfortunately, requires the boredom which instead derives from having nothing useful or necessary to do.
("That's good", said Mr. Cardan, "I should be sorry to think you were doing anything actively useful. You retain the instincts of a gentleman; that's excellent...")
Mr. Chelifer might agree on this, if he were to read it in fifty years from his notes, because it sounds precisely like the kind of harsh reality we should courageously face - that everyone has their own suffocating cage, whatever the social class, and that, at some point, however interesting we might have been, we might well all end up withering like barren leaves, a meagre but sweetly melancholic memento for the people to come.
Witty, cynical and never failing to be satirycal, he proceeds to describe perfectly detailed characters who do not do much more than talking throughout the story - and I kind of gladfully expected it when I picked up the book.
As it usually seems to happen in his works, female characters lack some depth, but I dare say he seems to implicitly suggest that they are slaves of what society (i.e. male characters) expects from them, thus making a fine comparison between Mary, for instance, and the three male protagonists, who all seem to lack something in the end and are unable to obtain it because they are too obsessed with their own way of life.
In general, it reads playfully well. It has a delightful balance between comedy and melancholy, and a great deal of those conversations you would love to participate in - the same which, ironically, Mrs. Aldwinkle obsessively looks out for without realising that she is often there to witness them, and she just cannot realise it because she is distracted by what these moments ought to be instead of what they really are (she could use some Chelifer's truth serum, I am sure), so much that she never developed the tools to understand such themes.
What strikes me as puzzling, though, is the relation between the title and the characters. Some say that they represent Huxley's various facets, but I wonder if he would fall for something as cheap as self-deprecating himself as being superficial by exposing the shallowness of all his tracts.
It seems to me that, just like barren leaves, the characters, save the younger ones, who might be on their way to do just the same mistakes as the elder, have beautifully accomplished what should be the natural path of people who were not 'born to sow the earth' (of course, take this as a merely social description void of any philosophical value), that is living to become something different and to look (not to find) something more to it, since they all express and feel emotions that, however uncertain, or wrong or improbable, differ from the animal status of life so much that you should not deny the fact that they are, in the end, 'living souls'.
I cannot agree, either, with those who say that the novel is absolutely critical of the lesser aristocracy/bourgeoisie - mostly because of how comic and unattractive Mr. Falx sounds all the time. He is so deliberately (from the writing process point of view) boring, he doesn't even try to sound believable. This clearly demonstrates, in my opinion, that Huxley knew well that sophisticated as well as elevated thinking, unfortunately, requires the boredom which instead derives from having nothing useful or necessary to do.
("That's good", said Mr. Cardan, "I should be sorry to think you were doing anything actively useful. You retain the instincts of a gentleman; that's excellent...")
Mr. Chelifer might agree on this, if he were to read it in fifty years from his notes, because it sounds precisely like the kind of harsh reality we should courageously face - that everyone has their own suffocating cage, whatever the social class, and that, at some point, however interesting we might have been, we might well all end up withering like barren leaves, a meagre but sweetly melancholic memento for the people to come.
amyvrizzo's review against another edition
3.0
The first third of this book was deathly boring, but the remainder was interesting and enjoyable to read, albeit full of misogyny. Huxley always strikes me as a brilliant predictor of the future - in this book published in 1925 he predicts a future of an international community enabled by fast, long-range communication and transport. “In a few generations it may be that the whole planet will be covered by one vast American-speaking tribe, all thinking and acting in the same way”.
phoebegordon's review against another edition
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nikiforova's review against another edition
3.0
Just some thoughts about Those Barren Leaves which can also be applied to Huxley's first two novels: great satire (it did make me laugh), rather boring characters, not much in terms of a plot (but it gets better), the necessary use of at least two foreign and/or anciant languages (because that's Huxley and that's what he does).
To sum up: I feel like I don't have much to say about Those Barren Leaves because it is so much like Crome Yellow. But I like Huxley's style and I don't think that reading his early works and seeing the development of the ideas that will later be expressed in Brave New World is a waste of time.
To sum up: I feel like I don't have much to say about Those Barren Leaves because it is so much like Crome Yellow. But I like Huxley's style and I don't think that reading his early works and seeing the development of the ideas that will later be expressed in Brave New World is a waste of time.
chaoticbookgremlin's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
christensen5's review against another edition
3.0
3+
Satire and philosophy! Who else but Huxley can meld really biting criticism so unselfconsciously with airy contemplation? On the satirical side this one reads rather like Crome Yellow (if memory serves), though with the great distinction that the satire pulls back from total caricature, sharing quite earnestly with the reader the inner experience of the characters being mocked. Therein lies much of the philosophy (the rest is in dialogue between said characters), and is no less thoughtful for being voiced by men and women whose flaws we witness in excruciating detail.
The overall effect was sometimes amusing, often quite thought provoking and scattered with moments of Huxley's characterisic prescience. That said, it is a rather scattered novel, and could really do without the sometimes dismissive takes on women and their motivations. It was also interesting to see Huxley brushing with the Eastern contemplative tradition at this early point in his career - I do wonder how influential he was in spreading these ideas in the Anglophone West.
Satire and philosophy! Who else but Huxley can meld really biting criticism so unselfconsciously with airy contemplation? On the satirical side this one reads rather like Crome Yellow (if memory serves), though with the great distinction that the satire pulls back from total caricature, sharing quite earnestly with the reader the inner experience of the characters being mocked. Therein lies much of the philosophy (the rest is in dialogue between said characters), and is no less thoughtful for being voiced by men and women whose flaws we witness in excruciating detail.
The overall effect was sometimes amusing, often quite thought provoking and scattered with moments of Huxley's characterisic prescience. That said, it is a rather scattered novel, and could really do without the sometimes dismissive takes on women and their motivations. It was also interesting to see Huxley brushing with the Eastern contemplative tradition at this early point in his career - I do wonder how influential he was in spreading these ideas in the Anglophone West.
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
3.0
Era îmbrăcată într-o rochie ecosez cu carouri mari albastre pe fond alb, cu talia foarte ridicată şi fusta, foarte lungă şi largă : era o rochie demodată şi totodată extrem de modernă, simplă, ca o uniformă, de şcolăriţă şi totuși emancipată, modestă dar în acelaşi, timp mult mai îndrăzneață decât cele care se purtau în saloanele din Chelsea. Faţa-i era foarte netedă, bucălată şi palidă, atît de netedă şi bucălată încât nimeni nu i-ar fi dat cei 30 de ani bătuţi pe muchie. Avea trăsături delicate,, ochii căprui închis, iar sprâncenele arcuite erau parcă trase cu penelul de un pictor oriental pe o mască, din porţelan. Părul, aproape negru, strâns într-un coc bogat pe ceafă, îi lăsa fruntea liberă. Urechile, descoperite, erau foarte albe şi mici. Era o faţă inexpresivă, ca de păpuşă, dar o păpuşă extrem de inteligentă.
earth_to_haley's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
sophieh's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
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