/lit/ - Literature

Barefoot in the Head by Brian Aldiss

Its a novel set in 1940's or 1950's western Europe, a war breaks out and on side attempts to preemptively render the other defenseless by using planes to basically cover the entire country or at least most of its cities and towns with an airborne psychedelic drug and this odorless, tastless and invisible to the eye.

The book is basically narrated by someone who is one the towns and who feels the effects. The effects of the drug take multiple days to kick in and they only continue to get stronger each day and it dosnt wear off. As the protagonist gets more and more under the influence of the drug his narration of events become increasingly disjointed and the writing increasingly experimental.

A highly enjoyable read for anyone even if you have never tried LSD or mushrooms but you would especially appreciate the books if you did. The author captures the feel of tripping well. The book for the most part is just an entertaining novel but and the same time the author captures the essence of deep philosophical thinking that psychedelics can sometimes inspire and the author brings that out in the character so it is both entertaining and meaningful.