'Barefoot in the Head' by Brian W. Aldiss is a psychedelic science fiction novel set in Europe after the Acid Head War, where the continent has been attacked with long-lasting psychochemical aerosols. The story follows a messianic character, Colin Charteris, who preaches higher consciousness in a Joycean experimental style of broken syntax and neologisms, creating a fragmented yet compelling narrative that challenges the reader's cognitive processing.

Writing/Prose:

The writing incorporates a Joycean style of fragmented language and stream of consciousness, creating a challenging yet occasionally beautiful reading experience.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative revolves around the aftermath of a war fought with LSD weapons, focusing on a protagonist who embodies a messiah figure amidst the chaotic landscape of post-apocalyptic Europe.

Setting:

The setting takes place in a post-war Europe affected by the lingering effects of LSD, creating a psychedelic and chaotic backdrop for the narrative.

Pacing:

Pacing is erratic and slow due to the experimental prose, making for a challenging and difficult reading experience.

Colin Charteris climbed out of his Banshee into the northern square, to stand for a moment stretching. Sinews and bones flexed and dainty. The machine beside him creaked and snapped like a landed fish...

Notes:

The book is set in a post-war Europe affected by chemical weapons.

These weapons are LSD-like aerosols known as PCA (Psycho Chemical Aerosols).

The main character is a sort of messianic figure named Colin Charteris.

The writing style is heavily experimental, using techniques similar to James Joyce in 'Finnegan's Wake'.

The language breaks down as the story progresses, making it increasingly difficult to read.

Despite its challenges, some readers find beauty in its prose and wordsmithing.

The story critiques the idea that everyone should take drugs to improve the world.

The book was originally published as a series of connected stories.

It involves themes of culture, religion, drugs, technology, and war.

Many readers find it bizarre but rewarding if they are open-minded.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings for Barefoot in the Head include high levels of drug use, psychological distress, and themes of madness due to hallucinogenic exposure.

From The Publisher:

'Everyone's touched! Don't be taken in by appearances here. Believe me, the old world has gone, but its shell remains in place. One day soon, there will come a breath of wind, a new messiah, the shell will crumple, and the kids will run, screaming, barefoot in the head, through lush new imaginary meadows. What a time to be young!'Barefoot in the Head is a tale of a future world recovering from a holocaust of hallucinogenic chemical weapons. For the victims, reality is a fluid mixture of the real, the imaginary and the nightmarish, the past, present and future. Colin Charteris, the hero and anti-hero on this continually disintegrating stage, has not himself survived the cataclysm unscathed, and his gradual descent into fantastic and paranoid visions will have drastic consequences for civilization.Brian Aldiss, in a psychedelic tour de force of inventive, playful narrative, owing as much to the methods of James Joyce and the experimentalism of William S. Burroughs as to H. G. Wells, goes light-years beyond the conventions of the genre to tell his story.

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About the Author:

Brian Aldiss, born in 1925, is one of the most prolific authors of both general and science fiction. In a writing career stretching from 1955 to the present he has published over seventy books. He has also been an influential compiler of science fiction anthologies. A Science Fiction Omnibus is available as a Penguin Modern Classic.Faber have reissued six of his best science fiction titles: Earthworks, Cryptozoic!, Barefoot in the Head, Galaxies like Grains of Sand, The Dark Light Years and The Shape of Further Things.

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Barefoot in the Head

Brian W. Aldiss