daynpitseleh's review
3.0
I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is an interesting collection of stories that focus on different ideas of utopias. It's a relatively short collection, and I enjoyed some stories more than others, but otherall I think it's a good collection. My favorite stories were Free Love, Delight(R), and Americans on Mars!
This is an interesting collection of stories that focus on different ideas of utopias. It's a relatively short collection, and I enjoyed some stories more than others, but otherall I think it's a good collection. My favorite stories were Free Love, Delight(R), and Americans on Mars!
hayleyfreads's review
5.0
I was inspired to read “Of This New World” after hearing Jennifer’s (Insert Literary Pun Here) Youtube review. This is a gorgeous collection of short stories, unified through the idea of utopia, which Hyde describes in the foreword as paradoxically meaning both “good place” and “no place”.
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We visit Adam and Eve after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, a human colony on Mars, and a Shaker community (to name a few). In each story, the characters are either chasing a utopia or are/ were a part of someone else’s. Hyde presents the idea that a true utopia demands a conviction that verges on a separation from reality. Given the etymological origins of ‘utopia’, I took this to be an interesting commentary that a “good place” can simultaneously be “no place” given that a true utopia only exists in the mind.
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Each story is masterfully written, with some stunning snippets of prose. My favourite story was ‘Shark Fishing’, about wealthy Western environmentalists trying to set up a zero-waste society on an ex-colony (voluntourism, anyone?). It’s a shame how woefully unheard of this collection seems to be - no library or bookshop near me had heard of it, let alone stocked it. I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for whatever Hyde brings out next.
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Do you like reading utopian/ dystopian fiction? Do you think short stories lend themselves well to the genre? 🧐
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We visit Adam and Eve after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, a human colony on Mars, and a Shaker community (to name a few). In each story, the characters are either chasing a utopia or are/ were a part of someone else’s. Hyde presents the idea that a true utopia demands a conviction that verges on a separation from reality. Given the etymological origins of ‘utopia’, I took this to be an interesting commentary that a “good place” can simultaneously be “no place” given that a true utopia only exists in the mind.
.
Each story is masterfully written, with some stunning snippets of prose. My favourite story was ‘Shark Fishing’, about wealthy Western environmentalists trying to set up a zero-waste society on an ex-colony (voluntourism, anyone?). It’s a shame how woefully unheard of this collection seems to be - no library or bookshop near me had heard of it, let alone stocked it. I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for whatever Hyde brings out next.
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Do you like reading utopian/ dystopian fiction? Do you think short stories lend themselves well to the genre? 🧐
_micah_'s review
4.0
A Lovely little assortment of collective living stories and the conflicts that arise within them. I'm excited for Allegra's next books.
pearseanderson's review
4.0
I enjoyed this collection, mostly for the sentences and details and characterization. Each story focuses on utopias and people trying (and failing) to be their best selves. I think everyone agrees that "Shark Fishing" is the best, although I also enjoyed "The Future Consequences of Present," "After the Beginning," and "Ephemera." Some of the arcs struck me as a bit underdeveloped, although I seem to have that problem with many Oberlin professor's writings.
Connection: Allegra is one of the professors in my department at Oberlin College, although I am not sure if she is just visiting or staying.
Connection: Allegra is one of the professors in my department at Oberlin College, although I am not sure if she is just visiting or staying.
chessakat's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of short stories with the concept of utopia at the heart of each. I'm a sucker for a good utopia, so this was a no-brainer for me. The concept is taken more broadly in this collection than I often think of it, which was suprising in a good way. There's a little something for everyone in this collection - from a colony on Mars to survivalists, Garden of Eden to hippie communes, momentary accidental families to almost deserted tropical islands. Read it! It's short and sweet and you won't regret it.
jantine's review against another edition
3.0
The stories in this book are okay. Actually, they're interesting. They only miss the 'body', are too short and focused on interesting ideas to really connect with the characters.
I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
I received a free copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.
quillshott's review against another edition
4.0
The thread of Utopia, that ties everything together here, is such a neat theme to connect chapters in a book of short stories. As is the case with any collection, there were some that soared while others fell flat, but such is the subjective nature of collections. Of This New World, though, has something for everyone: allegory, sci-fi, historical fiction--the prospect of utopia, one that easily tips from idyllic to tragic at the drop of a hat, is quite malleable it turns out.
While I was initially hovering back and forth between rating this 3 or 4 stars, what sealed the deal was Hyde's language. Her prose is threaded with such an expressionist flourish that you can't help but churn through the words like a literary hallucinogen, even if a couple of the stories seemed drab next to the other giants.
While I was initially hovering back and forth between rating this 3 or 4 stars, what sealed the deal was Hyde's language. Her prose is threaded with such an expressionist flourish that you can't help but churn through the words like a literary hallucinogen, even if a couple of the stories seemed drab next to the other giants.
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