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Four Door Compact Reviews
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The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell
By Aldus Huxley

Possibly the first and only novel to be written entirely under the influence of Mescaline, The Doors of Perception was the inspiration for the name of a little band called The Doors. It quickly became a cult classic after its initial release in 1954, and a few years later was released in conjunction with the follow-up Heaven and Hell. Both pieces are about as far from 1984 as one can get; they are philosophical essays, describing in lucid detail Huxley's experiments with Mescaline. Intrigued by new research on the human brain, Huxley began to ritualistically imbibe mescaline and as far as was possible, to record its effects on his perception of reality. Parts of the essays were later culled from notes, but the vast majority describes his experiences in real time. The titles derive from a quote by the British visionary poet and artist William Blake. Blake believed that reality is changeable, and that our perceptions are able to create either a heaven or a hell of our own making, thus making the human divine. Although a long contemplation of how to properly describe the blue flowers on a vase may cause flashbacks of Ode to a Grecian Urn and other heavy handed lessons of English lit, this book is unique in its innocent and entirely unscientific game of mental hide and seek.

A Wind at the Door
By Madeline L'Engle

This was my favorite book from the age of eight to sixteen, and its weirdness and hallucinatory quality continue to inspire me. Rivaled only by the Phantom Tollbooth in entertainment value, it is a great introduction to one of the most revered writers of young adult fiction. Released in 1974, it was intended as a sequel to A Wrinkle in Time but can be easily read on its own. The book is exuberant and intelligent, never talking down to young readers yet packed with time-space theories that would make Hawking proud. The story's heroine is Meg, a young girl whose brother Charles is mortally ill. Meg and her best friend Calvin, a budding philosopher, are transformed into miniscule particles that are breathed and eaten by Charles. They must then fight an epic battle with the evil angels and demons at war for Calvin's life, assisted by a single Cherubim named Proginoskes. The reconciliation of science and religion in this novel is far advanced in the author's style, and she doesn't waste time contemplating the existence of God. Rather, she focuses on the story, and the non-analytical courage in the face of death that can only be discovered in young children. This is a book about science fiction, mathematics, spirituality and even the disaster of a childhood friendship that threatens to turn into love.

"A Wind in the Door" is a remarkable story about three children as they embark on a fantastic adventure of life, love, and acceptance. Calvin OKeefe and Meg Murry must work together to save Megs little brother, Charles Wallace from death, while Meg embarks on a journey of her own to find her true self. I just recently became a fan of Madeline LEngle and this is the second book of hers that Ive had the oppurtunity to read. As an eigth grade student I find Ms. LEngles work truly wonderful and hope to read more of books in the future. " A Wind in the Door" is a truly remarkably book and I would recommend it to anyone who would wish to read it.

-Customer review from http://virtuaproject.com

Coraline
By Neil Gaimon

Not since four English schoolchildren walked through a wardrobe and discovered the magical land of Narnia has the simple act of opening a door unlocked such a fantastic journey. Coraline's journey, while equally fascinating, is much more disturbing.

-USA Today

It was raining that day, raining so hard that the entire yard was turned to mush and Coraline was bored; so bored that when her dad told her to go count all the doors in the house she ran out of her dad's office to begin. Ran probably isn't the right word -Slough, or Slouch, or Scamper might be better. Coraline isn't an ordinary girl and Neil Gaimon's book about her isn't an ordinary book. Imagine Alice in Wonderland on a little of your roommate's homemade acid, or better yet, on Lewis Carroll's acid. After Coraline has counted each and every door in the house, she arrives at one which can't be opened. Anyone taking bets? When she makes it to the other side she finds a parallel family, but this one doesn't make her eat strange foods or ignore her to work on novels. But her "other" mother happens to have buttons for eyes, and her fingers are long and claw-like, plus her favorite snack appears to be a sack full of black beetles. When the other mother wants to keep Coraline for herself Coraline must discover her secret and beat her in a twisted game or loose her real parents forever. Gaimon, also the author of many adult and graphic novels, has a penchant for stories that appeal to real kids, not the ones made up by Penguin Putnam. Kids have always loved a little spine tingling ghost action but gone are Grimm days when the Little Mermaid danced on knives and turned to seafoam rather than murder her beloved prince. Learning to outmatch fictional demons can help us deal with real ones, and stories with complex morals help us reconcile ourselves to the ambiguity of life's moral choices. A little fear can be good for you.

The Open Door
By Peter Brook

Anyone interested in directing must read this book. In fact, if you are an actor, a writer, a choreographer, a musician, or a finger painting fool, Peter Brook is your man. The director of more than fifty world renowned plays, and the world's foremost theatre theorist, Peter Brook should be a stodgy old geezer. He should smell of sauerkraut and recommend that his students stick to Checkhov. But instead, The Open Door is a masterful blueprint of how to inspire actors and animate the stage; moreover, it is a felonious guide to kidnapping an audience. It is not a key to open the door; it's a kick in the ass to get you through it.

True form is not like the construction of a building, where each action is the logical step forward from the previous one. On the contrary, the true process of construction involves at the same time a sort of demolition. This means accepting fear. All demolitions created a dangerous space in which there are fewer crutches and fewer supports.

Peter Brook may not be the first demolitions expert to work in theatre, but he is certainly the best. The Open Door acts like a sledgehammer on the brain, tearing down old ideas about art and revealing a new construction of simplicity and power. His contemporary ideas about culture will without doubt continue to be relevant even after all his sets are torn down.

You have the right to challenge the insidious idea, socially accepted today, that "culture" is automatically "superior". Naturally culture is something very important, but the vague idea of culture that is not re-examined, renewed, is like a truncheon to prevent people from making legitimate complaints.