Time must have a stop
| Title | Time must have a stop |
|---|---|
| Author | by Aldous Huxley |
| Publication | Chatto & Windus |
| Size | 305p |
| Language |  ENG |
| ISBN | |
| Topics |
English fiction--Philosophical |
| Notes | The story initially follows Sebastian Barnack, a seventeen-year-old poet with the beauty of a della Robbia angel, and his desire to procure formal wear for a friend's party despite the wishes of his father John, an anti-fascist lawyer and socialist politician, who believes his son shouldn't live a decadent lifestyle while others suffer. Sebastian, in turn, believes his father's treatment of him comes from his strong physical resemblance to his late mother. Sebastian's mission takes him to holiday with his rich uncle Eustace, a hedonistic and highly indulgent man who has a great fondness for his young nephew. While staying with his uncle, Sebastian—a virgin—embarks upon a love affair with Veronica Thwale, a married woman who closely resembles Mary Esdaile, a character of his own imagination that he tells tales to his friends about. Eustace agrees to buy his nephew formal wear and even bestows a painting by Degas upon him. Sebastian has an intense sexual encounter with Mrs. Thwale, and he feels the holiday has been an unmitigated success. However before the weight of Eustace's generosity can be felt he dies of a heart attack, leaving Sebastian in a deep panic about the future of his outfit. Sebastian steals the painting to sell to fund his tuxedo but an auditor of the late uncle's estate notes the missing Degas and accusations of theft against innocent employees multiply. Sebastian remains silent, while others are accused and suffer. Finally, he knows he must get the Degas back. Unable to do so himself, he enlists the help of his father's cousin Bruno, a deeply religious bookshop owner. Meanwhile the spirit of Eustace, an atheist, lives on and is used as both a narrative tool to allow Huxley to show the fate of characters across time and distance but also adds a hint of comic irony when Eustace's eccentric mother-in-law Mrs. Gamble hosts a seance to talk to her dead son-in-law but the second-rate medium involved garbles his message to Sebastian. Bruno is able to retrieve the painting but at great cost - calling on friends that inadvertently make himself an enemy of the Italian Fascisti. [wikipedia] |
823
HUXL 20
40648
Available
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