This is a listen for those curious about what life was like under the spell of the real-life cult-like figure Timothy Leary, who extolled the virtues of psychedelic drugs, free love, and the search for enlightenment. Boyle’s latest novel takes the listener back to the 1960s and a group of PhD students who are followers of the charismatic psychologist. Narrator Johnathan McClain delivers this story in a mellow tone that illuminates the days of drug experimentation and flower power. Boyle knows how to tell a story, and McClain offers a nice balance of skilled pacing and a sensitive approach to characters who may leave listeners aghast at their life choices. J.P.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
A provocative new novel from bestselling author T.C. Boyle exploring the first scientific and recreational forays into LSD and its mind-altering possibilities.
In this stirring and insightful novel, T.C. Boyle takes us back to the 1960s and to the early days of a drug whose effects have reverberated widely throughout our culture: LSD.
In 1943, LSD is synthesized in Basel. Two decades later, a coterie of grad students at Harvard are gradually drawn into the inner circle of renowned psychologist and psychedelic drug enthusiast Timothy Leary. Fitzhugh Loney, a psychology Ph.D. student and his wife, Joanie, become entranced by the drug's possibilities such that their “research” becomes less a matter of clinical trials and academic papers and instead turns into a free-wheeling exploration of mind expansion, group dynamics, and communal living. With his trademark humor and pathos, Boyle moves us through the Loneys' initiation at one of Leary's parties to his notorious summer seminars in Zihuatanejo until the Loneys' eventual expulsion from Harvard and their introduction to a communal arrangement of thirty devotees-students, wives, and children-living together in a sixty-four room mansion and devoting themselves to all kinds of experimentation and questioning.
Is LSD a belief system? Does it allow you to see God? Can the Loneys' marriage-or any marriage, for that matter-survive the chaotic and sometimes orgiastic use of psychedelic drugs? Wry, witty, and wise, Outside Looking In is an ideal subject for this American master, and highlights Boyle's acrobatic prose, detailed plots, and big ideas. It's an utterly engaging and occasionally trippy look at the nature of reality, identity, and consciousness, as well as our seemingly infinite capacities for creativity, re-invention, and self-discovery.
'Outside Looking In' is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of LSD and the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
T.C.
Boyle's masterful storytelling and insightful exploration of psychology and marriage make this book a true gem in American literature.
HarperCollins 2024
A provocative new novel from bestselling author T.C. Boyle exploring the first scientific and recreational forays into LSD and its mind-altering possibilities.
In this stirring and insightful novel, T.C. Boyle takes us back to the 1960s and to the early days of a drug whose effects have reverberated widely throughout our culture: LSD.
In 1943, LSD is synthesized in Basel. Two decades later, a coterie of grad students at Harvard are gradually drawn into the inner circle of renowned psychologist and psychedelic drug enthusiast Timothy Leary. Fitzhugh Loney, a psychology Ph.D. student and his wife, Joanie, become entranced by the drug's possibilities such that their “research” becomes less a matter of clinical trials and academic papers and instead turns into a free-wheeling exploration of mind expansion, group dynamics, and communal living. With his trademark humor and pathos, Boyle moves us through the Loneys' initiation at one of Leary's parties to his notorious summer seminars in Zihuatanejo until the Loneys' eventual expulsion from Harvard and their introduction to a communal arrangement of thirty devotees-students, wives, and children-living together in a sixty-four room mansion and devoting themselves to all kinds of experimentation and questioning.
Is LSD a belief system? Does it allow you to see God? Can the Loneys' marriage-or any marriage, for that matter-survive the chaotic and sometimes orgiastic use of psychedelic drugs? Wry, witty, and wise, Outside Looking In is an ideal subject for this American master, and highlights Boyle's acrobatic prose, detailed plots, and big ideas. It's an utterly engaging and occasionally trippy look at the nature of reality, identity, and consciousness, as well as our seemingly infinite capacities for creativity, re-invention, and self-discovery.
'Outside Looking In' is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of LSD and the counterculture movement of the 1960s.
T.C.
Boyle's masterful storytelling and insightful exploration of psychology and marriage make this book a true gem in American literature.
HarperCollins 2024
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940173434715 |
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Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
Publication date: | 04/09/2019 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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