Boomeritis: A Novel That Will Set You Free!

by Ken Wilber

Book Overview

Ken Wilber's latest book is a daring departure from his previous writings--a highly original work of fiction that combines brilliant scholarship with tongue-in-cheek storytelling to present the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590300084
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.2" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Look Ma...no hands and no net!

I understand the sharp critiques of Mr. Wilber's literary skill. However, given the universal high speed learning curve upon which the unsuspecting reader is placed, it proves to be a gift beyond measure. This book is worth the ride and the effort it takes to read. The open minded and open hearted reader will be richly rewarded. Those opening this book loaded down with the weight of expectation of what an entertaining read looks like will be greatly disappointed. Allow your most deeply held sacred cows to be challenged. Yes, it feels like tightwire walking on a gusty day without a net. Let these dearly held constructs fall, even if only for the duration of reading the book. All that's risked is profound spaciousness of being and ever broadening boundaries of the heart.

Keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times...

As I read the opening of this twisted tale ["I am the bastard child of two deeply confused parents, one of whom I am ashamed of, the other of whom is ashamed of me. None of us are on speaking terms, for which we are all grateful. (These things bother you, every now and then.)"], I had the distinct sense that I was on the initial incline of a breathtaking roller-coaster (chunk, chunk, chunk). I was not disappointed.WARNING: This ride is not for everyone!It is a terrible novel, yes, and full of awful ideas...in the sense that the book simply won't behave and it takes you places that you may not want to go. This book offends and irritates and soothes...it slaps your [rear] while it holds your hand and fills your head with all manner of difficulty. When it's not doing that, it's busy warping the boundaries between what's real and what's imagined. Oh, yes, there's also distracting sexual imagery and escapes into non-ordinary states that interrupt the flow of the story. (How irritating and what poor form!) In between, it provides yet another view of Ken's overwhelming synthesis and blasphemy, arrogance and sheer joy in a vehicle that provokes as much it transports.I understand the editorial critiques that say this is just one more look at Ken's philosophy, but that's a bit like saying "oh...another look at the Louvre. Haven't we seen that already?" However, every time I am exposed to this vast body of thought and spirit and heart, I learn. So don't read this solely to be entertained...although that's likely to happen. Don't look for character development -- that is, not in the characters in the book -- it seems to happen instead to the people who read the book.So be forewarned. I have a friend who is a former pro ball player, a cognitive psychologist and a seeker. His one sentence review, after eating the book whole, was "I loved every minute of it...but it was really painful." That's why you should read it.

America's ... Bodhisattva's Brave New World

What will realize god-consciousness first- Carbon or Silicon?In Boomeritis, Ken Wilber's first novel, and probably his most avant-garde project yet (which is saying quite a bit), the philosopher-sage from Colorado jumps into the pop spirituality marketplace with a book that pokes fun at the New Age movement, takes a flamethrower to the sacred cows of what Spiral Dynamics refers to as the "mean green meme", and has enough raunchy sex fantasies to make Robert Anton Wilson blush. This ain't James Redfield or Deepak Chopra, not by a long shot."Boomeritis" is the "Great Postmodern Novel". It's about nothing but theory, filled with two-dimensional characters and silly, cruel dialogue, constantly self-references, interrupts all meaningful thoughts with lewdness, reduces all meaning to surface features and irony- and this is precisely what makes this novel so brilliant. In writing such a novel, Wilber shows his reader precisely what is wrong with "flatland" by subtly [pulling] the reader into his worldview, and then bludgeoning the reader with the realization that he's been had- that the shallowness of the novel and the endless gags are nothing but a ploy and a put on by a literary zen master in an attempt to beat the reader into awakening. It's a turnabout that will catch the reader unprepared, even if he thinks he's prepared for it. Wilber's deviousness and tongue-in-cheek humor, though evident in his scholarly works as well, are out in full force here.But "Boomeritis" is more than just an extremely long koan. It's a musing on consiciousness, artificial intelligence, and meaning. It has a wonderful segment in which Wilber relates true stories from his friend, the musician Stuart Davis, who is featured as a prominent character in the story. Best of all, the ending is an absolute blast.Pick up Boomeritis, for Wilber tells the truth, if in a somewhat roundabout way- this novel will set you free.

Who Will Really "Get It" ? Many, hopefully.

At least thirty percent of the population will probably not like this book, yet it may turn out to be a great example of the Perfect Postmodern Novel. If the three editorial reviews of "Boomeritis" I've seen are any indication, many readers will not understand Wilber's intent in writing this book. It's so sad when you see people get whacked between the eyes with a Stick Of Compassion and yet they don't even know they've been whacked.You'll soon see why I give this book 5 stars, but this is what you can expect to find in Boomeritis (as I shamelessly rip concepts and phrases from the book - I doubt Ken would mind. He might even find it humorous): 1) This book is sharply critical of many of society's closely held ideals and ideas, and many sacred cows are viciously gored. Too, it isn't soothing that the author comes across as polemical and pathetically narcissistic.2) As written, there seems to be no difference between fact and fiction. Did this really happen? Does this character really exist, or not? At least one character, in fact, has a real-life counterpart of the same name and job description, but others seem to be an amalgam of various personalities both real and fictional. And many so-called facts are truly questionable. 3) Some of the main characters have been portrayed with shady, shallow, and reprehensible backgrounds. A certain segment of the readership will probably find the demographic distribution of these characters to be expected and fitting, others will find it curiously unnerving.4) It's boring! The writing is incredibly flat. It often seems to be all Theory, a stream of verbal vomit, with no flowing prose or colorful descriptions of surroundings, people, or places. If it weren't for the X-rated fantasy scenes interjected every ten minutes, would the book even hold our interest? 5) There seems to be no great, highbrow writing here, as we're accustomed to seeing from `old' Ken Wilber. The text is simply an ad hoc mixture of fleeting images and scenes, largely drawing on elements of pop culture and the quintessential hooks of sex, drugs and rock `n roll.6) The characters are flat and two-dimensional. No depth, only surfaces. `Character development' would be an oxymoron in "Boomeritis."7) The book is written with an attitude of cranky criticism. What is positive in the book has been ripped off from other people, including Wilber's own past work.And all of that, Dear Souls, is exactly why this book is so darned wonderful!Readers who are not at all aware of Wilber's intent will find the book to be most objectionable. (Let's hope!) Some readers might consider it to be nothing more than convoluted spew. (Well, yes, it is.) Others who are more familiar with Wilber's previous works will consider this to be a further reduction by a pandit who claims to shun reductionism, a lame attempt to boil his message down into a form suitable for mass marketing, a sell-out, nothing more than a continuation of the thinning down that was last seen in ste

Boomeritis: a light in the politically correct darkness

Having read all of Wilber's books, I often wonderd which would be the best introdution, the best to give to a skeptical professor or cynical freind, the book to spark a real interest. This book is it. As a daring, accurate, and sophisticated exposure of the narcissim which pervades our culture, Boomeritis is a demanding read. Philosophicaly dense, the book delves into the implications outlined in many of his other books. He outlines the cutting edge psychological model called Spiral Dynamics, and using this developmental framework he examines everything from post-modernism to UFO abductions, from 60's counter cuture to gender roles to artificial intelligence. And yet it's a novel, and it's witty and hilarious. The book unfolds as a series of lectures attended by some very cynical and always amusing gen Xers. But as the story moves along irony slowly gives way to a more serious look at the state of the world. Ultimately, however, it is an invitation to awaken not only to the meaning and depth in the world which unfolds around us, but to the very single Self which stares out through all our various eyes. Ken Wilber has released a bomb of integrity, a land mine of meaning into our culture, and disguised it as the perfect post-modern novel. Be careful, the blast may leave you naked and alone, but it may take you from that alone to the Alone.