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ianbanks's review against another edition
3.0
As a satire of contemporary Britain and the social mores of the time, this is wonderful, with the added sting of historical perspective adding to the bite of the climax. As a novel, though, it is very ordinarily done.
lottpoet's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
marlisenicole's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not entirely sure how this ended up on my to-read list but it did. It’s a 19th century Victorian satire that was sometimes hard to follow due to my lack of full understanding of the Victorian era. What I liked least of all was that it wasn’t a novel or an essay but a strange mashing together of the two. I wanted to get through the essay parts quickly in order to get back to the more intriguing storyline, but when the book was concluded, I found that the story was really just a loose string of events to justify the essay. The last chapter is the most disconcerting of all and it is hard to know if it was earnest or the taking of his satire to the farthest level. Anyway, I’ve read it. I guess I can check a box or something but I feel I may have wasted a few hours of my life with this one.
sammystarbuck's review against another edition
3.0
Welp... All I can say is, I'm glad I don't live in Erewhon. Best case scenario I'd spend all of my time locked up, lol.
ozgold's review against another edition
3.0
A strange Utopia where machines are banned, illness is criminal, and prophets declare animals and plants should only be eaten after dying independently of human action. Fairly enjoyable.
neema_sedai's review against another edition
2.0
Like many others in this review section, I found this novel to really overstay its welcome. I found the story to be rather interesting and fun to follow, its just too bad the story only inhabits half of the novel. The other half seem to be rambling/stream of consciousness about random topics. I understand that it is satirical/a critique on aspects of society, but it was just tiring and uninteresting as a whole. I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone, but I don't necessarily regret reading it. Historically, it is neat to think such a novel was published in the 19th century.
sleeping_while_awake's review against another edition
2.0
Erewhon reminded me of an H.G. Wells story. Compared to The Way of All Flesh by Butler, written about 30 years later, this novel seems rather amateurish.
Erehwon is an undiscovered area in an ambiguous country. The people living there aren't too far behind modern society, but they have a lot of strange customs. The main character happens upon this land by while exploring, and spends time living there and observing.
It's apparent that this type of story was very popular during this time period, in which a white Englishman makes a journey to an undiscovered land and reports about all the strange customs. Luckily, the natives aren't half-naked hunter-gatherers so the modern reader won't need to grimace at the assumptions about race that often plague these types of novels.
There is a non-white sidekick that the main character is just a straight up prude, fancy-pants to. Chowbok was probably rolling his eyes over the pretentiousness of the guy. Of course Chowbok is a good-for-nothing, lying drunk that isn't Christian. Of course.
There isn't a strong plot, nor any strong characters. Butler states in the introduction he's re-written the book, and it's clear what where the original parts and what were the rewrites. The chapters regarding Erewhonian philosophy and religion were more intriguing, and were more reflective of Butler's abilities.
I never realized that the Butlerian Jihad in Dune came out of this book. There's about two chapters in which Butler describes the Erewhonian's fear of machines being sentient, and therefore have stopped scientific progress in that regard. Certainly, Erewhon doesn't make the leap that sentient machines are going to take over the universe in a space opera, but the ideas are the same.
I thought Butler was just a random name, not a reference to Samuel Butler. I guess Butlerian Jihad is a bit easier to say and write than Erewhonian Jihad. In other literature references, there's a planet named Erewhon in the Honor Harrington series by David Weber.
There's a lot of satire in this book. The Erewhonians treat sickness as criminal, and criminal actions as sickness. Rather messed up, but in a way it's not entirely bad, considering that maybe some support and emotional rehabilitation for the criminal minded can be helpful.
Vegetarism and veganism are explored - animals in this land become suicidal if they're not eaten, which I found rather amusing. Not that animals are dying, I myself am a vegetarian, but that the animals are just lost without people eating them.
Another amusing part is the thought that dead spirits haunt Erewhonians, and make women pregnant (without their consent) to allow the spirits to live again. Once the infant is born, the friends and family ridicule it for its wanton depravity, and draw up a contract that leaves the child completely liable for its actions:
Plenty of things in this book are humorous and take a nice jab at Victorian society. However, I was disappointed by Erewhon because Butler is a lot more talented than this effort. Granted, there are interesting, satirical ideas here, but this is his first book, and it shows.
If you want to read Butler, read The Way of All Flesh, and then come back for this later. Unless you're looking for something similar to H.G. Wells, then this is a good selection
Erehwon is an undiscovered area in an ambiguous country. The people living there aren't too far behind modern society, but they have a lot of strange customs. The main character happens upon this land by while exploring, and spends time living there and observing.
It's apparent that this type of story was very popular during this time period, in which a white Englishman makes a journey to an undiscovered land and reports about all the strange customs. Luckily, the natives aren't half-naked hunter-gatherers so the modern reader won't need to grimace at the assumptions about race that often plague these types of novels.
There is a non-white sidekick that the main character is just a straight up prude, fancy-pants to. Chowbok was probably rolling his eyes over the pretentiousness of the guy. Of course Chowbok is a good-for-nothing, lying drunk that isn't Christian. Of course.
There isn't a strong plot, nor any strong characters. Butler states in the introduction he's re-written the book, and it's clear what where the original parts and what were the rewrites. The chapters regarding Erewhonian philosophy and religion were more intriguing, and were more reflective of Butler's abilities.
I never realized that the Butlerian Jihad in Dune came out of this book. There's about two chapters in which Butler describes the Erewhonian's fear of machines being sentient, and therefore have stopped scientific progress in that regard. Certainly, Erewhon doesn't make the leap that sentient machines are going to take over the universe in a space opera, but the ideas are the same.
I thought Butler was just a random name, not a reference to Samuel Butler. I guess Butlerian Jihad is a bit easier to say and write than Erewhonian Jihad. In other literature references, there's a planet named Erewhon in the Honor Harrington series by David Weber.
There's a lot of satire in this book. The Erewhonians treat sickness as criminal, and criminal actions as sickness. Rather messed up, but in a way it's not entirely bad, considering that maybe some support and emotional rehabilitation for the criminal minded can be helpful.
Vegetarism and veganism are explored - animals in this land become suicidal if they're not eaten, which I found rather amusing. Not that animals are dying, I myself am a vegetarian, but that the animals are just lost without people eating them.
Another amusing part is the thought that dead spirits haunt Erewhonians, and make women pregnant (without their consent) to allow the spirits to live again. Once the infant is born, the friends and family ridicule it for its wanton depravity, and draw up a contract that leaves the child completely liable for its actions:
"...acknowledges that he is responsible for all physical blemishes and deficiencies which may render him answerable to the laws of his country; that his parents have nothing whatever to do with any of these things; and that they have a right to kill him at once if they be so minded, though he entreats them to show their marvellous goodness and clemency by sparing his life."
Plenty of things in this book are humorous and take a nice jab at Victorian society. However, I was disappointed by Erewhon because Butler is a lot more talented than this effort. Granted, there are interesting, satirical ideas here, but this is his first book, and it shows.
If you want to read Butler, read The Way of All Flesh, and then come back for this later. Unless you're looking for something similar to H.G. Wells, then this is a good selection
skyler_c's review against another edition
2.0
Victorian era read, hard to get through. Most things are supposed to be critique on the Victorian times, but some of it went over my head (the machines and Ydgrunites specifically). It takes time, but several chapters were worth it.
Animals and Vegetables chapters were a wonderful comparison to moral issues. I found it a literary delight in the very heavy handed book. The sick vs crime comparison made its point, but it wasn't very interestingly made. He also struggled to remain in character as a religious person. It was funny to find him arguing against his own religion when he was supposed to be proselyting to the foreigners.
While he was critiquing the unborn and unreason concepts, I find them interesting perspectives that are worth our time thinking about (and the way he talked about them made me side with them over him many times).
Overall a dense book I pushed myself to finish while reading various utopian novels. Not worth it unless you are really interested in Victorian ideals and politics as critiqued by this one man.
Animals and Vegetables chapters were a wonderful comparison to moral issues. I found it a literary delight in the very heavy handed book. The sick vs crime comparison made its point, but it wasn't very interestingly made. He also struggled to remain in character as a religious person. It was funny to find him arguing against his own religion when he was supposed to be proselyting to the foreigners.
While he was critiquing the unborn and unreason concepts, I find them interesting perspectives that are worth our time thinking about (and the way he talked about them made me side with them over him many times).
Overall a dense book I pushed myself to finish while reading various utopian novels. Not worth it unless you are really interested in Victorian ideals and politics as critiqued by this one man.
booksafterten's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jcariwa's review against another edition
3.0
Helped me get through the London commute. Was not overly thrilled by it though