originally posted May 31, 2012
As has been widely noted, the twenty-first century is strange, worrying and makes very little sense. Help is at hand, however, because the late twentieth century produced two huge novels which shed light on our current predicament. These two books are polar opposites, yet oddly similar – opposed twins, in other words, like Cain and Abel.
Both novels are ridiculously long. Both were largely ignored by the literary and educational establishments, due to their unmistakable whiff of madness (This fear of insanity is, of course, why the literary and educational establishments always miss out on all the good stuff.) They have both, however, found a devoted readership, been hailed as life changing, and have remained in print since publication. Between them, they explain much of our current twenty-first century world, from the underground anarchism of Anonymous and the shift from hierarchies to networks, to the Tea Party and neo-conservative hijack of American politics and the massive shift in wealth distribution towards the super rich.
These two books are, of course Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and Robert Anton Wilson’s Illuminatus! Trilogy (Co-written with Robert Shea, who I’m rudely leaving out of the picture in order to portray a false RAW/Rand dichotomy).
But – which is which? Fear not, the following guide will explain all: Read more →
