Reviews

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott

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roberta_takya's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.75

saritaroth's review against another edition

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4.0

This novella is in a genre that few books can claim: the mathematical dystopian satire. At first, I all but gave up on the book about six chapters in; my fourteen-year-old daughter, however, was reading it simultaneously and urged me to continue reading it. And I am glad I did.

Flatland centers around the life of the protagonist, A. Square, who is, you guessed it, a square. He spends the first half of the book describing life in Flatland, a two-dimensional world comprised of different-shaped beings. The world is like any other world in that it has societal norms and a caste system. The shape's societal position is based on its number of sides. For example, servants are typically Triangles while aristocrats' sides tend to number in the hundreds or more.

Mr. Square lives a pretty normal existence. He has a wife, children, grandchildren. It all changes, however, when Sphere appears from Spaceland. Sphere teaches Mr. Square all about another world and his eyes are opened to a whole a new set of possibilities.

Although the book starts out slow, with A. Square's lengthy descriptions of Flatland and interactions between the shapes who live there, it definitely picks up once Sphere shows up. In addition, the scenes near the end of the book exhibit a sense of fear toward the Council presiding over the society that is palpable. I find myself sympathizing with Mr. Square at his desire to spread the new knowledge that he has learned when the other members of society are unwilling to receive it. I would highly recommend the book; if you find yourself bogged down by the overwhelmingly thorough descriptions in the first half of the book, keep soldiering on. I think, in the end, you will be satisfied.

sunhelen's review against another edition

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informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

char_a_lot_te's review against another edition

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challenging funny informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

maybe a more controversial 5 star ratings, but if you can get past the seemingly really outdated political views you would realise that this book will simultaneously dimensionally mindfuck you and also give you a poignant allegory of the time Abbott was in and also the times we live in now