The Outsider

The Outsider 

Today , I am going to share another book that I have been reading since 1974 ! The Outsider is written by Colin Wilson . He wrote it as an inquiry into the nature of the sickness of humankind in the mid-twentieth century . 

I am sharing because the sickness of humankind is getting worse , as I see it today !

The Outsider is a person who seems to be in this world and yet does not feel he/she really belongs here ! The Outsider , from the very depths of his nature feels he is not at home and is always wondering at all the value systems , social systems and social institutions of the world .

The book first came out in 1956 ! 

If I share the contents of this wonderful book , you will understand how an outsider views the world .

Chapter 1 is called , The country of the blind . Here a vague description is given of the outsider. The outsider is seen as a social problem . The hero of the book remains unnamed . He is the anonymous man who comes from the country . Finds a job in a bank. He takes a room in a family hotel . Left alone in his room , he meditates . He has no genius , no mission to fulfil , no remarkable feelings to bestow . ' I have nothing and I deserve nothing .  Yet , in spite of it , I desire some sort of recompense.' The main character goes on commenting that , ' Religion... he doesn't care for ! ' As to philosophic discussions , they seem to me altogether meaningless. Nothing to be tested , nothing to be verified. Truth-what do they mean by it ! ' To the outsider , death seems important .  ' Death ,that is the most important of all ideas . ' Than coming back to his living problems ; ' I must make money ' Then he sees light coming from a small hole from the next room . He stands and looks through the spy-hole. ' I look , I see.....The next room offers itself to me in its nakedness. '

Chapter 2 . World without values .

There are 9 chapters and the outsider is constantly trying to make sense of the world in which he lives.

Chapter 3. The romantic outsider .

Chapter 4. The attempt to gain control

Chapter 5. The pain threshold .

Chapter 6. The question of Identity .

Chapter 7. The greater synthesis...

Chapter 8. The outsider as visionary. 

And finally Chapter 9 . Breaking the circuit .

Throughout the book , the outsider is feeling very lost in the world of ordinary people. He feels that their day to day living is a form of death ! The petty , trivial , everydayness means empty and meaningless and there is a deep cry within to seek out what is real !

It was a very great and timely book in my life . I was going through a very similar phase of my growing . My constant question like the outsider was always what does it mean ? What does it matter!

As I am sharing this rather old book , I wonder if it is still in print .

Colin Wilson was one of my favourite authors in the 1970's .

I will stop here . Hope you found something interesting in my very brief blog.

Till we meet again .Take care .

Amar.