A Voyage to Arcturus and other works by David Lindsay

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I just finished reading this book, written in 1920 by Scottish author David Lindsay, after it was recommended to me by Doug Anderson, author of The Annotated Hobbit and editor of Tales Before Tolkien and Tales Before Narnia. He suggested that I read it because he knows that I am particularly attracted to the philosophical aspects of Tolkien's writings. According to the back cover of Tales Before Tolkien, "Tolkien praised A Voyage to Arcturus both as a thriller and as a work of philosophy, religion, and morality." I can see why! It is certainly one of the most fascinating and imaginative books that I have ever read, and quite possibly the most disturbing. Though it is setting is a journey to another star, it isn't really science fiction, nor is it quite fantasy. It is, as Tolkien says, both a thriller and a work of philosophy, religion and morality, disguised as science fiction/fantasy. Probably the books that I had the most similar experience in reading were Hesse's Sidhartha and Mann's The Magic Mountain, though this book is much darker and more disturbing than either of those books. I was a bit concerned when I read in the introduction that the style could be seen as dated, but I did not find it to be so at all. In fact, I found it as easy to read and as much of a page turner as any modern thriller. But much more thought-provoking and intense. I'll probably have to read it again in order to get a more ordered sense of what he was really saying, but I'd be really interested in other's opinions, if anyone else has read it, or decides to try to read it.

By the way, Lindsay's original title for the book was Nightspore on Torrence, and it would be well to keep that in mind if anyone reads the book.

[Primula Baggins]

You intrigue me, Voronwë.

The book is available for free (and legal, at least in the U.S.) download from Project Gutenberg here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1329

It's in several ebook formats as well as ASCII and HTML.

[Frelga]

The title sounds familiar. I wonder if it's something I had read in Russian. I'll check it out.

According to the back cover of Tales Before Tolkien, "Tolkien praised A Voyage to Arcturus both as a thriller and as a work of philosophy, religion, and morality."

So have you started Small Gods yet?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Prim, I would love to hear your take on the book. It is not an upbeat book by any means, but then again I don't think that your books could be so-described, either.

Frelga, I started to read it, but sadly it really didn't grab my attention. Perhaps I'll try again at some point. But could we stick to discussing Lindsay's book in this thread, please?

[Primula Baggins]

I've downloaded the text file and am converting it into something I can read pleasantly onscreen. I don't know when I'll be able to read it, but it looks fascinating.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I've now finished reading another book by Lindsay, Devil's Tor, that Doug Anderson suggested that I read. Another incredibly fascinating book. More challenging to read than Arcturus (particularly since the edition I got has tiny text), but well worth it for anyone interested in exploring the Unseen forces that exist in the universe, and particularly the myth of the Great Mother (including its manifestation as Mary, mother of Christ). A very deeply moving book.

Interestingly, Doug mentioned to me that Verlyn Flieger has an interesting comparison between Devil's Tor and some of Tolkien's work in A Question of Time, and when I went to look for it, I also found that she had a brief, but very telling comment about Arcturus as well. Among other things, she states that it "may be one of the most tantastical books ever written." I obviously am not nearly as learned as Verlyn Flieger (or Doug Anderson), but in my limited way I most certainly agree.

[vison]

I read Devil's Tor a long, long time ago and had completely forgotten it until you mentioned it. It was a strange book, or at least I recall thinking so at the time.

I'll have to see if I still have it. It strikes me that it was a little brown book from Everyman's Press or something like that.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

It definitely is a strange book. But a worthwhile one. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts about it, vison. Lindsay was definitely a man ahead of his time, both in his willingness to look at feminine power, and his challenging of Christian orthodoxy.