Book Notes: Doors Of Perception

This was a very difficult audiobook to listen to because it was full of long sentences. (Here, remove “as it was” for a smoother flow)

For example:

• Modern Sentence: The house was big.
• 1950s Sentence: The sprawling Victorian mansion loomed over the quaint street, its imposing façade casting a long shadow in the afternoon sun.

Even though it was only a two-hour listen, I almost gave up on it.

Huxley describes the profound impact mescaline had on his senses, particularly vision. He describes seeing the world with heightened detail and a sense of interconnectedness.

Huxley claims to have had no imagination and that artists can see the world in colors in a way that he needed mescaline to achieve. I’m not sure if this statement is entirely true, or if artists really see the world that vividly.

What struck me most was the author’s awareness of the harmfulness of alcohol and nicotine, even in the 1950s.

The Doors of Perception

Title: The Doors of Perception Author: Aldous Huxley ISBN10: 0060900075 ISBN13: 9780060900076