Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy : The Universe Next Door , the Trick Top Hat , and the Homing Pigeons

by Robert Anton Wilson

The sequel to the cult classic The Illuminatus! Trilogy, this is an epic fantasy that offers a twisted look at our modern-day world--a reality that exists in another dimension of time and space that may be closer than we think.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B00A2MT61K
• ISBN13: 9780440500704
• Release Date: October 1988
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Operation MF continues...

After reading The Illuminatus! Trilogy, I stared at my copy of Schroedinger's Cat and wondered how the hell Bob could top the 800-page work of lunacy he had created with Robert Shea. Of course, I shouldn't have doubted Bob; anyone who has read his books knows how he can construct the most meaningful anecdotes and stories from seemingly random and uninteresting information. This book is no different. When I started reading this book, I assumed that the story would have to do with Schroedinger's Cat (obviously), but I didn't understand the novel's structure until I reached page 80 and the book ended, only to start again in a different world (which I know sounds strange; read it if you want to understand). The plot of this novel seems entirely random, and up to a certain point it is, but it has more structure than would seem at first glance. Like Illuminatus!, it would require a great deal of analysis and scholarship to unravel the ever-knotted threads of Schroedinger's Cat, and I know few who have the time to do that. Still, it's quite an enjoyable read, even if you never know fully what the hell is going on. As is usual for Robert Anton Wilson books, Schroedinger's Cat is side-splittingly funny. Perhaps the funniest part of the book is how characters change from world to world. For instance, in one world, Epicene Wildeblood is a debonair ladies' man. In a different world, Epicene is now a she, Mary Margaret Wildeblood, after a sex change. Even historical figures in the novel change depending on the world. James Joyce, in one world, was a minor composer. In another, Ezra Pound was not a famous poet; he was a famous folksinger. In yet another, Aleister Crowley was not an infamous occultist, but instead a British general who was the first person to reach the North Pole, which he claimed was inhabited by little green people when he got there (if you laugh at that, you will appreciate the book's humor). It's hard to put together a review of this book, because there's no continuous plot (at least not in the ordinary sense). Characters disappear for (sometimes literally) hundreds of pages, then reappear as if nothing happened. It's very disorienting and why I waited several months after reading the book to actually review it. I thought that "sitting on my thoughts," allowing them to formulate, would help. Instead, I find that I've forgotten half of what went on in the book. Oh, memory, how thou hast robbed me! Anyway, before I start to ramble, let me say that this is a good book for all science-fiction fans to read, since it is actual SCIENCE fiction (i.e. it involves quite complicated issues of quantum mechanics). I would recommend it to anyone with an IQ of 250 or a Ph.D. in rocket science. If you're like me and have neither, it's still a great novel. It just won't make full sense until you understand Bob's philosophy of neurological model agnosticism and quantum mechanics.

James Joyce + Quantum Physics + Homer = A Joyous Read

In speaking about this book, Wilson said "Like Ulysses, it's a parallel to Homer's Odyssey but it's all from the point of view of quantum mechanics; there isn't one universe, but many," Wilson said. "Schrodinger said that the only way to understand quantum physics is in terms of the Upanishads, with the concept of unity, that everything, no matter how different it seems, it's all aspects of one hidden thing we don't see. "I think the dominant tendency in physics is to say that we shouldn't ask questions about the objective universe. All we can talk meaningfully about is the experimental universe, which involves us. Any method of observing imposes upon the thing the structure you're observing It through; your eye, your microscope, whatever. You can't leave the observer out." In the book, Wilson uses the fundamental ideas in Quantum Mechanics, and Joyce's literary techniques, to craft a complex and subtle story that expands beyond the scope of the normal novel. He creates a world that is made of both fact and fancy, blending them so that the reader's certainty about reality begins to erode. While it is true that it lacks a standard narrative quality, it more than makes up for it with the lovingly detailed segments that, ultimately, fit together into an illuminant masterpiece that I found to be deeply satisfying. One could argue that this work is analogous to Pointillism. Each part is a dot that, when seen as a whole, creates an amazing, funny, and beautiful picture.

everyone should read this

Trying to write a review about this book without trying to sound too grandiose is quite difficult. What's it about? Well, it's about everything... how we view life, politics, social interaction, sex, religion etc. Is it any good? This question is asking for a subjective judgement, but if you are the kind of person who likes original and unique philosophical views delivered in a creative style that will entertain, humor and sometimes scare you, than yeah it is good. In my estimation, the book is beyond creative. As far as his writing style, the man is brilliant. Every page blasts away at your preconceived notions of what writing, thinking, living should be and gives the reader an invigorated new sense of life's unlimited possibilities. Why this author is not listed among the upper echelon of literary dignataries is beyond me. I mean seriously, most "classic" novels are deemed as such because they have captured an audience because of their timeless content, advanced writing style, indvidualistic voice and perhaps inspirational,universal message. This being the case, I cannot think of a better way to describe this book.

Flossing is the answer

Outstanding. I could give this book a million stars and still be a side-ways eight shy of doing it justice. As always, Wilson (who any intelligent person would rank in the greatest minds of the 20th century), never ceases to amaze. Your mind will open a little more and more importantly, you'll laugh your ass off. I have read this book 12 times, and I get something new out of it each time. It is impossible to use words to describe Wilson's talent for writing. He makes previously arcane topics not only accessable, but romantic. I almost cried the other day when reading a poem about "The Cat" by Cecil Adams [the straight dope]. That's how good this book is. It will change your life. This book however does require some knowledge of history, economics, and literature. No knowledge of quantum mechanics is needed.I think the best part about this book is the chapter on "OCCULT TECHNOLOGY". That being said, The story herein is set in a variety of parallel universes in which most of the politicians are theives and most of the theologians are maniacs. These universes have nothing in common with our own world of course. Of course. ;-)

The carnival of weirdness continues

Robert Anton Wilson, the "last Scientific shaman of our age" provides us with a guide to illumination in this series of three books that are one book. Each volume here collected is a different view of the same world, a ride through the most radical theories of modern physics. Many characters from the Illuminatus! Trilogy reappear, including Simon Moon and the midget Markoff Chaney. They all take slightly different forms, except for Chaney, who appears as the ever constant Random Factor. And when Ulyses return to Ithyca, we get a peak at what Wilson's imagination is capable of. The book may be slightly perverse. But then, he's writing about the state of the human race. I assume that it is only Wilson's positivity that keeps him from writing us all into a novel that would make Sade cringe. The point here is to enjoy, observe, and learn. Readers of Illuminatus! will certainly enjoy this book. Moralists, of course, will weep in their beds. But that's the best part of all...