THE SOUL OF THE MARIONETTE

Compared with that of humans, the life of the marionette looks more like an enviable state of freedomIn his brilliantly enjoyable an d freewheeling new book, John Gray draws together the religious, philosophic, and fantastical traditions that question the very idea of human freedom. We flatter ourselves about the nature of free will and yet the most enormous forces--logical, physical, metaphysi cal--constrain our every action. Many writers and intellectuals have always understood this, but instead of embracing our condition we battle...[Read more]