Tono-Bungay by H.G. Wells
This novel might well have been written in 1909, but it certainly has a relevance today. Think of the way in which the power of advertising has a profound influence over a willingly gullible public, especially in the field of so called 'health products'. Think what George's uncle might have achieved by way of today's mass media, especially tv advertising! On this theme alone (and there are many others in the book, such as various kinds of 'love ' and 'desire'), this book has as much meaning for the 21st century, as it had for the beginning of the twentieth.<br>There is an excellent edition, in hardback, in the 'House of Stratus' series, for the reasonable price of 9.99 (pounds sterling). Read it!!
Extremely powerful quote from chapter 10
First time i read this was in 1969 out of a Sierra Club book dealing with the travels of two young men from Berkeley called "On the Loose". They filled the books with magnificent quotes that reflected their idealistic quests for visions of natural beauty & the sad loss of pure wilds by encroaching civilization they were a part of . Never forgot this quote from the time of 1rst reading & it has stayed with me all my life .
From Tono Bungay (1909)
" In these plethoric times, when there is too much coarse stuff for everybody and the struggle for life takes the form of a competitive advertisement and the effort to fill your neighbor's eye, there is no urgent demand either for personal courage, sound nerves or stark beauty, we find ourselves by accident. Always before these times the bulk of the people did not overeat themselves because they couldn't, whether they wanted to or not, and all but a very few were kept "fit" by unavoidable exercise and personal danger. Now if only he pitches his standard low enough and keep free from pride, almost anyone can achieve a sort of excess.You can go through contemporary life fudging and evading, indulging and slacking, never really hungry nor frightened nor passionately stirred, your highest moment a mere sentimental orgasm, and your first real contact with primary and elemental necessities the sweat of your death bed. -
HG Wells