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bookinatorus's review against another edition
3.0
As a novel I would not say this is the best book I have ever read.
But as a utopian novel on which we should have a reflexion, I think this book is really great.
In this novel, we follow Julian West a man living in the Boston of 1887. He is preparing his betrothal with Edith, but they cannot live together as workers are striking. One night, he goes to sleep with the help of a mesmerizer. But, he will wake up in 2000.
When he wakes up, he meets the family Leete which took care of him during his long sleep. Julian will see the Boston of 2000, this utopian and socialist (Bellamy was a socialist) society of Boston. As the times go by, Julian sees the downsides of 1887 and the improvement society faced until 2000.
I like the fact that he wakes up and the all his travel to the future was just a dream. It allows Julian to have a smart reflexion of his society and to see what are the problem of his times. Nevertheless, though he wants to tell everyone what he sees, we can see his struggle and drawn the lesson that every revolution, every deep change needs to come on time. This come back to 1887, make this period seem as a dystopia in contrast to Boston of 2000.
Personally, I did not like the love story passage between Edith of the future and Julian, I thought it adds nothing and was even too much.
But as a utopian novel on which we should have a reflexion, I think this book is really great.
In this novel, we follow Julian West a man living in the Boston of 1887. He is preparing his betrothal with Edith, but they cannot live together as workers are striking. One night, he goes to sleep with the help of a mesmerizer. But, he will wake up in 2000.
When he wakes up, he meets the family Leete which took care of him during his long sleep. Julian will see the Boston of 2000, this utopian and socialist (Bellamy was a socialist) society of Boston. As the times go by, Julian sees the downsides of 1887 and the improvement society faced until 2000.
I like the fact that he wakes up and the all his travel to the future was just a dream. It allows Julian to have a smart reflexion of his society and to see what are the problem of his times. Nevertheless, though he wants to tell everyone what he sees, we can see his struggle and drawn the lesson that every revolution, every deep change needs to come on time. This come back to 1887, make this period seem as a dystopia in contrast to Boston of 2000.
Personally, I did not like the love story passage between Edith of the future and Julian, I thought it adds nothing and was even too much.
pedanther's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Suicide, Islamophobia, Grief, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
rnoceros's review against another edition
1.0
I read this for class which automatically adds some sort of dispassion. However this book did not make a very pleasant read. For class we're looking into future in popculture. This book is an example of how the year 2000 was suposed to look like according to 19th century.
I believe Bellamy was aiming this book toward rich folk of the 19th century. He clearly defines his future utopian world by appealing to 19th century logic. Bellamy chose a character from the upper class which I think would appeal to his audience as well as adhere to their point of view while at the same time pointing out the flaws of their society. I am sure that wealthy 19th century people would like to hear all the bad things they have done and why they are destroying society so instead Bellamy gives them a logical, reasonable future that displays their faults as well as what can be done to fix the problems.
This is all very good. No one is poor and everybody is happy (besides me). But I did not enjoy this book since it is almost entirely dialogue and explanatory detail. There was very little action which I enjoy in a book. Altogether I wouldn't recommend this book for people who want an entertaining read. Looking into Bellamy's motivations was a lot more fun.
I believe Bellamy was aiming this book toward rich folk of the 19th century. He clearly defines his future utopian world by appealing to 19th century logic. Bellamy chose a character from the upper class which I think would appeal to his audience as well as adhere to their point of view while at the same time pointing out the flaws of their society. I am sure that wealthy 19th century people would like to hear all the bad things they have done and why they are destroying society so instead Bellamy gives them a logical, reasonable future that displays their faults as well as what can be done to fix the problems.
This is all very good. No one is poor and everybody is happy (besides me). But I did not enjoy this book since it is almost entirely dialogue and explanatory detail. There was very little action which I enjoy in a book. Altogether I wouldn't recommend this book for people who want an entertaining read. Looking into Bellamy's motivations was a lot more fun.
lu2cy_i's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
kbr0209's review against another edition
4.0
I can appreciate what this book probably was at the time it was written. The ending was weird AF though.
joeldrama's review against another edition
4.0
Bellamy's novel forces its reader to look critically at the 19th Century (his present) from the lens of the future. The Utopia he depicts, interestingly, relies upon some sort of revolutionary reform, where the system is radically changed overnight but is focused more on the streamlining of a singular capitalism than any superior arrangement of society
thejadedhippy's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting. I have quite mixed feelings, there are parts of this I hate and parts I quite like.
qstew's review against another edition
3.0
Debit cards! Surround sound speaker systems! Amazon fulfillment centers! Ubiquitous sidewalk awnings!
In earnest, I did find myself taken aback by some of Bellamy's technologically-innovative prophecies - namely those listed above - but for the most part this book presents nothing unique as pertains to a utopian novel.
Depending on your sociopolitical leanings and preconceptions, the ideas presented in this book will either tickle you pink something fierce or lead you to see red (with the blood of the proletariat). I, personally, thought the futuristic picture painted herein was one of perfection, though such is the nature of utopias.
The arrival to the structure of the respective society is one of dubious incident; the notion that an entire nation of people would shrug off the nationalizing of all industry without even mild cause for alarm is beyond preposterous.
As a treatise on socioeconomic revolution, I found it to be a fantastic work with some truly inventive approaches to many of the issues which plagued late-19th century society. As a story? Couldn't have been more trite, overwrought, or formulaic.
This "novel" is a thinly veiled attempt to convey Bellamy's political agenda in the form of an overextended borderline-science fiction allegory. Tremendously little happens as pertains to any semblance of a plot, and what does transpire is entire presumable by the reader simply based on the tone created at the outset. A solid 50-60% of the book is one character explaining the intricacies of the hypothetical 20th century to the narrator. There is an all too derivative romantic subplot, and no part of it even appealed to the romantic glutton in me for lack of depth.
I won't by any means attempt to fault Bellamy for his attempts at predicting the speech patterns or dialect of the real-world 20th century, though towards the beginning of the novel the narrator states that 2000s speech is more similar to the 1880s than that of the 1700s - a very bold assumption for someone of his position to make.
Perhaps my biggest issue with the book is how flat the ending fell. Without spoiling anything explicitly, Bellamy tries one final "gotcha" at the end that was entirely unneeded and foreseeable. On the whole I enjoyed the ideas he proposed in the story and can certainly respect his decision to utilize a constructed future world as the delivery for the ideas. In some ways, he does a good job of guessing how we nowadays might have improved life for the masses; in others - some might say for the most part - he missed the mark catastrophically.
As an avenue for ideas, it is a passable work. As a story, it just BARELY qualifies - guy goes to sleep in 1887, wakes up in a utopic 2000. He freaks out, but quickly learns how great things are now through a series of personalized lectures from a doctor.
Wicked.
In earnest, I did find myself taken aback by some of Bellamy's technologically-innovative prophecies - namely those listed above - but for the most part this book presents nothing unique as pertains to a utopian novel.
Depending on your sociopolitical leanings and preconceptions, the ideas presented in this book will either tickle you pink something fierce or lead you to see red (with the blood of the proletariat). I, personally, thought the futuristic picture painted herein was one of perfection, though such is the nature of utopias.
The arrival to the structure of the respective society is one of dubious incident; the notion that an entire nation of people would shrug off the nationalizing of all industry without even mild cause for alarm is beyond preposterous.
As a treatise on socioeconomic revolution, I found it to be a fantastic work with some truly inventive approaches to many of the issues which plagued late-19th century society. As a story? Couldn't have been more trite, overwrought, or formulaic.
This "novel" is a thinly veiled attempt to convey Bellamy's political agenda in the form of an overextended borderline-science fiction allegory. Tremendously little happens as pertains to any semblance of a plot, and what does transpire is entire presumable by the reader simply based on the tone created at the outset. A solid 50-60% of the book is one character explaining the intricacies of the hypothetical 20th century to the narrator. There is an all too derivative romantic subplot, and no part of it even appealed to the romantic glutton in me for lack of depth.
I won't by any means attempt to fault Bellamy for his attempts at predicting the speech patterns or dialect of the real-world 20th century, though towards the beginning of the novel the narrator states that 2000s speech is more similar to the 1880s than that of the 1700s - a very bold assumption for someone of his position to make.
Perhaps my biggest issue with the book is how flat the ending fell. Without spoiling anything explicitly, Bellamy tries one final "gotcha" at the end that was entirely unneeded and foreseeable. On the whole I enjoyed the ideas he proposed in the story and can certainly respect his decision to utilize a constructed future world as the delivery for the ideas. In some ways, he does a good job of guessing how we nowadays might have improved life for the masses; in others - some might say for the most part - he missed the mark catastrophically.
As an avenue for ideas, it is a passable work. As a story, it just BARELY qualifies - guy goes to sleep in 1887, wakes up in a utopic 2000. He freaks out, but quickly learns how great things are now through a series of personalized lectures from a doctor.
Wicked.