The Man Inside

The Man Inside is a dream-like allegorical novel by W. Watts Biggers, published in 1968 by Ballantine Books as a paperback original. At the time, because of the author's name and the tale of a quest for higher consciousness, some readers believed the novel had been written under a pseudonym by Alan Watts. Along with a description of the characters, the story was only briefly described on the back cover as "Strange, hallucinatory, following its own inner logic down unexpected paths, The Man Inside is a novel of startling originality, a journey towards wisdom--like Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf--that culminates in revelation." However, the opening page blurb elaborated; The Man Inside is a novel of startling originality. It could be read as a parody of the Horatio Alger story--the orphan boy whose struggles lead him down and down until success comes at the bottom. Or a Kafkaesque pursuit of Purpose. the ceaseless quest for the meaning of life--always baffled by the cruel traps of mankind. Or a journey toward wisdom--in the manner of Hermann Hesse--that culminates oddly: satori achieved inside a robot. But such suggestions can give only a faint indication of the strange and haunting powers of The Man Inside. The rest the reader must discover for himself. Hardcover reprint In 1999, The Man Inside was reissued by Bamberger Books as a hardcover. The hardback edition prompted an Epinions review by morganna53 who was familiar with the earlier paperback: It concerns Caro, a young man who is dropped off, by a mysterious old man, at an exclusive boys' school. He has no memory of his past, although he is, upon physical examination, at least twelve years old, nor is he able to remember many things that are taught to him. With the help of the school nurse, who practices a controversial form of mental and physical therapy, he improves somewhat, but he feels the need to leave when he begins to have sexual feelings (which the therapy promotes) for her. From there, Caro is guided by only one thing: A search for purpose.