"The existential side of inner seeking, which appealed to another part of me as an adolescent. The war-traumatized pilot Larry Darrell was my first encounter with a character who walks away from conventional social life to find inner meaning. I suppose you could say that Maugham waves a sparkler at the start of the spiritual journey. Materialism and money-grubbing get a bashing, which is worth thinking about today."

"The dystopian side of Huxley produced Brave New World, which foretold the myriad bleak worlds to come. The Perennial Philosophy is the mirror opposite, or perhaps the cure. In describing the common features of world spirituality, it outlines with clarity the transcendent strain in what humans aspire to become. Without a transcendent vision, I can’t imagine anyone’s life having deeply rooted purpose and meaning."

"The breathtaking beauty of Alameddine’s prose alone makes this compulsive reading. Its true genius, however, lies in the sacrosanct ideas that the narrator—a translator of books that will never be read—lays bare with humorous irreverence, wry insouciance, or intellectual outrage. She is fearless in looking at aging and death, the morality of war and survival, and the true meaning of a meaningful life. She also gives advice on not dying your hair blue in bad light."