Rating: 
Summary: weak plot, weaker characters
Review: First off, let me say I enjoy most of Huxley's work. The style of this book is totally different from the usual Huxley method. I've never read anything else by Christopher Isherwood. This book starts out boring, and ends boring. That's really the sum of it. The characters are flat and extremely simple. In his early work (say, pre "Brave New World"), Huxley's characters are an embodiment of one single trait. However, they are always developed well, and their thought processes are complex while remaining within this one trait. This book has the same characterization - Jacob, for example, is moronically kind and simple (think Forrest Gump). There are also the classic evil tricksters, and so on. It's not done well at all, and I left this book with a bad taste in my mouth.
Rating:
Summary: weak plot, weaker characters
Review: First off, let me say I enjoy most of Huxley's work. The style of this book is totally different from the usual Huxley method. I've never read anything else by Christopher Isherwood. This book starts out boring, and ends boring. That's really the sum of it. The characters are flat and extremely simple. In his early work (say, pre "Brave New World"), Huxley's characters are an embodiment of one single trait. However, they are always developed well, and their thought processes are complex while remaining within this one trait. This book has the same characterization - Jacob, for example, is moronically kind and simple (think Forrest Gump). There are also the classic evil tricksters, and so on. It's not done well at all, and I left this book with a bad taste in my mouth.
Rating: 
Summary: Healing in a Positive Way!
Review: I like a person that sticks to their beliefs and personal principles. A person that doesn't get swayed by others negative traits. That's why I took a special liking to Jacob Erickson, a shy, and sometimes naïve person, who is the main character in this wonderful little story that takes place in the 1920's. One day he discovers he has the power to heal animals with his hands, and soon after finds out he can heal humans, too, when he heals Sharon, a girl he has fallen in love with. He soon leaves his job on a ranch in California's Mojave Desert to pursue Sharon who has run off to be a singer in Los Angeles. It's there that there adventure starts to take several unexpected turns from working for exploitative showmen, to seedy stage shows, and to healing an ailing young millionaire named Earl, who changes everything and leads them on a different course in their lives.Jabob reminds me of myself years ago when I had the opportunity to heal but decided to choose a different path for my life which I found to be in my best interest. It's a difficult choice and this story, told in the first person, makes it much more realistic. As Jacob finds out you can only heal those who want to be healed. The body can be healed but Jabob only wanted to heal the body if the soul & heart are healed, too. A wise choice. I'm glad I discovered this book and truly enjoyed it. Highly Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Healing in a Positive Way!
Review: I like a person that sticks to their beliefs and personal principles. A person that doesn't get swayed by others negative traits. That's why I took a special liking to Jacob Erickson, a shy, and sometimes naïve person, who is the main character in this wonderful little story that takes place in the 1920's. One day he discovers he has the power to heal animals with his hands, and soon after finds out he can heal humans, too, when he heals Sharon, a girl he has fallen in love with. He soon leaves his job on a ranch in California's Mojave Desert to pursue Sharon who has run off to be a singer in Los Angeles. It's there that there adventure starts to take several unexpected turns from working for exploitative showmen, to seedy stage shows, and to healing an ailing young millionaire named Earl, who changes everything and leads them on a different course in their lives. Jabob reminds me of myself years ago when I had the opportunity to heal but decided to choose a different path for my life which I found to be in my best interest. It's a difficult choice and this story, told in the first person, makes it much more realistic. As Jacob finds out you can only heal those who want to be healed. The body can be healed but Jabob only wanted to heal the body if the soul & heart are healed, too. A wise choice. I'm glad I discovered this book and truly enjoyed it. Highly Recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: About the Book
Review: In the late 1930s, with war on the horizon, a large sector of the intellectual community of Europe emigrated to the United States, to California in particular. What they found there was Nirvana-sunshine, freedom, mysticism, and the burgeoning movie industry. American writers such as William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald were trying their hands at the cinema, and the Europeans followed suit. JACOB'S HANDS is the result of a collaborative effort of two distinct geniuses in their fields, novelist/essayist Aldous Huxley and playwright/novelist Christopher Isherwood, whose stories of Berlin inspired CABARET. Originally written for the screen, this fable has never been published before; it lay in a trunk at the Huxley estate for five decades before being discovered by actress Sharon Stone in 1997.
Rating: 
Summary: The insights of Huxley ...
Review: Interesting how Hollywood types embrace such spiritual ideas without commiting to one chosen path. This work starts with an incredible insight into some of Jesus' words yet speaks to healing as a natural and mystical experience. I'd think the Creator would be more included in the reasoning.
Well worth reading. Many, many thanks to Sharon Stone for recognizing the beauty of this fable and giving it new life at this end of the century.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable fiction, its cinematic roots all too obvious.
Review: Its been a very long time since I've sat down and read a book from cover to cover all in one sitting. It couldn't be helped in this case. I know this was written as a rough draft for a screenplay, but so what, I think it is complete as it is. It does what a book should do. It starts the little theater of the mind and lets you fill in the blanks. If you lack imagination, for heaven sake don't pick up this book, wait for the movie. If you prefer to create your own details, however, you can't beat this for a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book that should make a great movie.
Review: Its been a very long time since I've sat down and read a book from cover to cover all in one sitting. It couldn't be helped in this case. I know this was written as a rough draft for a screenplay, but so what, I think it is complete as it is. It does what a book should do. It starts the little theater of the mind and lets you fill in the blanks. If you lack imagination, for heaven sake don't pick up this book, wait for the movie. If you prefer to create your own details, however, you can't beat this for a good read.
Rating:
Summary: HEAL ME!
Review: Jacob's Hands is a tantalizing account of one man's eyes opening. Poor Jacob, so ingnorant of the world. He truly believes in goodness. This book is a look into the evils of human nature. Human nature is greedy and self serving, unfortunately, Jacob does not realize this. In attempt to give his love all that he can, he opens himself up to exploitation. This book is a reader's journey into the souls of the pure and the corrupt. Perhaps the authors whished us all to take a good deep look into our own souls and the manner in which we treat others. This book is just one more glorious demonstration of life by Adlous Huxley, this time with the help of Christopher Isherwood.
Rating:
Summary: HEAL ME!
Review: Jacob's Hands is a tantalizing account of one man's eyes opening. Poor Jacob, so ingnorant of the world. He truly believes in goodness. This book is a look into the evils of human nature. Human nature is greedy and self serving, unfortunately, Jacob does not realize this. In attempt to give his love all that he can, he opens himself up to exploitation. This book is a reader's journey into the souls of the pure and the corrupt. Perhaps the authors whished us all to take a good deep look into our own souls and the manner in which we treat others. This book is just one more glorious demonstration of life by Adlous Huxley, this time with the help of Christopher Isherwood.
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