The Philosopher's Apprentice

by James K. Morrow

Book Overview

A brilliant philosopher with a talent for self-destruction, Mason Ambrose gratefully accepts an offer no starving ethicist could refuse. He must travel to a private tropical island and tutor Londa Sabacthani, a beautiful, brilliant adolescent who has lost both her memory and her moral sense in a freak accident. Londa's soul is an empty vessel--and Mason's job will be to fill it.

But all is not as it seems on Isla de Sangre. Londa's reclusive...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061351458
• ISBN13: 9780061351457
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Morrow's brilliance continues

James Morrow continues to poke Western society in its most sensitive spots, never resorting to the cudgel, and always making us laugh, chortle, or smirk even as we wince. The Philosopher's Apprentice continues the grand Morrow tradition, slaughtering the sacred cows of cloning, abortion, the value of philosophy, and even the place of ethics (if any?!?) in our overclocked, corporatized world. Additionally, it's one of Morrow's best character studies. Moral dilemmas and emotional lives are rendered poignantly and with utter clarity through the first-person narrator. My one real complaint is apparently a trick of the publisher, although I am literally guilty of judging a book by its cover. I happened across the book and ordered it immediately based on its author, not bothering to read the synopsis. Because the cover style is so similar to the style used for The Last Witchfinder, I was expecting another novel set in that milieu. As far as the cover goes, the joke's on me, but the larger joke is on people who pass up this splendid novel.

Brilliant

Never a dull moment! This is the brilliant story of a graduate student hired to teach morality to a teenage girl named Londa, whose conscience is a blank slate. The results are terrifying. The novel also has elements of science fiction and horror, but if you don't normally read those genres, I believe you will find The Philosopher's Apprentice very satisfying and realistic with its engaging characters, intriguing psychodrama, quirky humor, and bursts of action. While this book never mentions the true case of murderers Leopold and Loeb, it occurs to me that The Philosopher's Apprectice is a kind of mirror image to that scandal. As you may recall, in 1924, two rich young college students, named Leopold and Loeb, interpreted the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche to mean that they were "beyond good and evil," or in other words, above the law. This idea, accompanied by obviously sociopathic tendencies, contirbuted to their decision to murder a fourteen year old boy. The Philosopher's Apprentice presents an opposite but equally devastating scenario, when young Londa decides it is her job to enforce morality on others, because she has the money and power to do so, with no regard for the rights and viewpoints of those she wishes to convert. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fun, intelligent thrills.

My new favorite James Morrow title

For about 8-10 pages, I really struggled to get into the book. Then, all of a sudden, as Chapter 1 was concluding, I became so thoroughly hooked into the wonderful realm of ethics, immaculoids, and everything else that perhaps only James Morrow could concoct so well that I couldn't put the book down. As the plot unfolds, he navigates the richest depths of ethics with incredible ease and paves the path for readers to comfortably follow. The book edged past Blameless in Abaddon as my favorite of the 8 of his titles that I've read.

Fun and satire with ethics and philosophy

Having never read any James Morrow, I wasn't sure what to expect. But having recently started reading philosophy texts again, I thought this book could be fun and also thought-provoking. It definitely was. The Philosopher's Apprentice is like Christopher Moore meets Herman Hesse. It definitely would help to have some knowledge of philosophy to get the most from this story, but it certainly is not required. Just observing the state of the world will be a good background to enjoy this book. If deep, ethical questions and paradoxes appeal to you, this book will too. Mason Ambrose, materialist and philosophy student is at a crossroads. His future in philosophy is in jeopardy when he is offered a lucrative job. His task will be to tutor teenager Londa, and provide her with a conscience, for due to an accident, she has amnesia and doesn't know how to act ethically. Mason's acceptance of this role takes him and others on an "odyssey" that the reader doesn't know how or where it will end until the story's conclusion. The Philosopher's Apprentice contains great philosophical/ethical and political issues and would really appeal to someone who has interest in cloning and genetics(hint, hint.) I don't want to say more and give away any of the twists and turns of this story. I really enjoyed this novel. Good stuff.

excellent satirical look at American ethics

A Philosophy PH.D candidate withdraws his application after losing a heated argument re his dissertation; the only thing left for him to obtain his doctorate. Mason Ambrose accepts work tutoring seventeen year old Londa Sabacthani, who suffered a severe head injury that destroyed her morality. Her brilliant mother molecular geneticist Edwina wants Mason to help her daughter regain what she lost. Mason travels to Edwina's home on Ilsa de Sangre of the Florida Keys to work with Londa, who tells him she is an only child. Soon after he arrives Mason finds on the next estate five-year-old Donya living with two tutors trying to help her regain her lost "rectitude" following a brain injury occurring from a bicycle accident. Donya insists she is an only child whose mother is Edwina. The three tutors share notes and conclude after some other snooping that Edwina is a female Dr. Frankenstein. This is an excellent satirical look at American ethics re business, science, politics, and the family with seemingly nonsensical actions yet retains its feasibility. This is mostly because the solid cast rings genuine especially the kids. For instance Londa takes her new learned ethics to the business community. Fans who appreciate something different but entertainingly well written and thought provoking will want to follow the teaching escapades of THE PHILOSOPHER'S APPRENTICE. Harriet Klausner