In "Looking Backward: 2000-1887" by Edward Bellamy, the protagonist, Julian West, falls into a hypnotic sleep in 1887 and wakes up in the year 2000. He finds himself in a socialist utopia where all social hierarchies and injustices have been abolished. Through dialogue with the people of the future, Julian learns about the reformed society and the advancements made over the past century. The book serves as a utopian manifesto wrapped in a thinly plotted Victorian romance novel, providing a glimpse into a potential future society and reflecting Bellamy's social beliefs.
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Has Romance?
There is a notable romantic subplot primarily focusing on Julian West and Dr. Leete's daughter, but it is not the central focus of the narrative.
From The Publisher:
It is the year 2000-and full employment, material abundance and social harmony can be found everywhere. This is the America to which Julian West, a young Bostonian, awakens after more than a century of sleep. West's initial sense of wonder, his gradual acceptance of the new order and a new love, and Bellamy's wonderful prophetic inventions - electric lighting, shopping malls, credit cards, electronic broadcasting - ensured the mass popularity of this 1888 novel. But however rich in fantasy and romance, Looking Backward is a passionate attach on the social ills of nineteenth-century industrialism and a plea for social reform and moral renewal. In her introduction, Cecelia Tichi discusses how the novel echoes the anguish and hopes of its own age while it embodies a sustaining myth of the American literary tradition-that man's perfectibility is attainable in the New World.
Ratings (2)
It Was OK (2) |
Reader Stats (5):
Read It (2) | |
Want To Read (2) | |
Not Interested (1) |
1 comment(s)
This is not the easiest of books to read, I felt, not only due to the format, with lots of long paragraphs and the lack of a clear/distinct plot narrative for the most place but also because of the rather long winded descriptions of the supposed future the main character (Julian West) finds himself in, the year 2000 of the future (the book having been written and published in the 1880s). I found it a bit hard to get my head around some of the supposed concepts of the social and political landscape that West finds himself in. I would have, personally, preferred to have read him doing more in terms of walking around the city and discussing things with others, rather than the majority of the text consisting of him being in the house of Doctor Leete, listening to the changes that have taken place in society, how things work. I'd have liked more in terms of descriptions of landscapes and things, I suppose. Its not uninteresting but it did feel a bit overly bland, to me. I am easily distracted and I do struggle to read, certainly long-ish reads, so when I saw this was under 200 pages, I thought I may as well give it a go. Its an ok read.
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Looking Backward: 2000-1887?
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