Reviews

A utopia by Thomas More

eleanorflovver's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

honestly this was way better than i was expecting. i really like the core thesis of utopia as a "no-place" but after that he just goes a bit off the rails?? like how much of this is allegory and how much of this is just renaissance sandpit-scaping? honestly he gets points for reviving the platonic dialogue and expands on some of his points well, but he's also so grounded in convention that a lot of the time he seems to miss the point. case in point: the slavery. like bro you can't just start with the revolutionary thesis that perfection exists only as a hypothesis which would go on to be the foundation of utopian drama and pastiche for centuries and then go "but in this hypothetical we have slaves". like no. in this allegory, slavery should represent the cost of a façade of perfection, not.be a part of it. but anyway. it's read, it's cited and i can submit my paper with a lighter conscience but a heavy heart.

taybot's review against another edition

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4.0

A satirically optimistic socialism from the 16th century. He's criticizing Catholics with a sarcastic communism of monasteries, but you can interpret it to criticize any movement that assumes to have a perfect solution in mind

harleyrae's review against another edition

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2.0

I had a very hard time with this book. I found it be very wordy and slow, there was time while reading/listening to this that i'd start to zone out, it happened many times. This book was just unable to hold my attention at all, I was very bored while reading it.

tjgillis's review against another edition

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3.0

Int

k_shanahan's review against another edition

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5.0

I love this book so much because I disagree with so much of it. It allows for such interesting debates about whether Utopia could ever possibly exist. The writing flows so nicely and I love the almost 'story-within-a-story' layout.

lucazani11's review against another edition

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3.0

similar to machiavelli, christian ideal renaissance world

aoibheann's review against another edition

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Was reading it for college but it was so boring I'm so sorry Mr more

votesforwomen's review against another edition

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1.0

A satirical work declaring that if Plato and Marx could just shake hands under a Christian banner, the world would be perfect.

mysteriesandhistories's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.0

Hard to review a pillar of English thought and literature 😍 Thomas More knew how to write and it’s fascinating to hear his ‘voice’ coming down through the ages.