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A review by theaceofpages
Utopia by أحمد خالد توفيق, Ahmed Khaled Towfik
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Let me start off by saying that this is not an easy read. This book is a gritty, depressing and at times rather disgusting book that looks at the break down of society. But all these features - all the terrible things about the book - are exactly what makes the book so successful.
Set in the year 2023, Egypt is divided into the rich and the poor. There is no more middle class. The rich live in a fenced off and heavily guarded utopia. The poor live in squalor, although some are bussed into Utopia everyday to do jobs for the wealthy. Although we may not be quite here yet, the author paints a grim and believable image of our future. I can definitely see things sliding into such extreme divisions in the future with war, climate change and all the other problems that humans are creating and facing.
This book follows two points of view - one of a rich boy who snuck off to explore the world because he's bored and because he can, and that of his guide. We get to see the similarities and differences of the two worlds and how much disdain they have for each other. Some of the imagery resonated with me as some of the descriptions very much remind me of some of the poorer areas that already exists and how people live in them. Both of these characters are pretty terrible, but I definitely feel more hatred towards our rich snob He learns nothing during his time exploring the darker world outside Utopia and remains just as entitled and violent as ever.
Did I love this book? Yes. As can be seen by the rating. But I also hated it just as much. Be warned if you choose to read it. It shows a dark and broken down society with very little light. But it is very well written and definitely worth reading if you can stomach it.
Set in the year 2023, Egypt is divided into the rich and the poor. There is no more middle class. The rich live in a fenced off and heavily guarded utopia. The poor live in squalor, although some are bussed into Utopia everyday to do jobs for the wealthy. Although we may not be quite here yet, the author paints a grim and believable image of our future. I can definitely see things sliding into such extreme divisions in the future with war, climate change and all the other problems that humans are creating and facing.
This book follows two points of view - one of a rich boy who snuck off to explore the world because he's bored and because he can, and that of his guide. We get to see the similarities and differences of the two worlds and how much disdain they have for each other. Some of the imagery resonated with me as some of the descriptions very much remind me of some of the poorer areas that already exists and how people live in them. Both of these characters are pretty terrible, but I definitely feel more hatred towards our rich snob He learns nothing during his time exploring the darker world outside Utopia and remains just as entitled and violent as ever.
Did I love this book? Yes. As can be seen by the rating. But I also hated it just as much. Be warned if you choose to read it. It shows a dark and broken down society with very little light. But it is very well written and definitely worth reading if you can stomach it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Death and Sexual assault