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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
He could smell her--it wasn't his imagination; she actually smelled of flowers--and he could look at her dark cheek and neck and the chest of her coveralls pushed taut by two mobile round protrusions. They were breasts. They were definitely breasts.
Ira Levin's This Perfect Day is anything but--it's a lousy day of reading, a poorly plotted sexist mess. That he wrote this novel prior to [b:The Stepford Wives|52350|The Stepford Wives|Ira Levin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554371721l/52350._SY75_.jpg|1534281], a few years after [b:Rosemary's Baby|228296|Rosemary's Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1)|Ira Levin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878603l/228296._SY75_.jpg|883024], is puzzling: he proved he was more than adept prior and subsequently, but what was he thinking here?
Levin rehashes [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575509280l/5129._SY75_.jpg|3204877] and fails to improve on any aspect of it. This is a dystopia which, in the end, does not really make sense. The actions of the protagonist are repellant (just read more than a handful of negative reviews below to confirm) and most of his foulness is not critical to the plot. Breasts are described every time a female character enters the story. Whether or not these women possess a pancreas, a liver, or, possibly, a brain, is unclear. This is the kind of crappy science fiction writing of the 60s and 70s one would hope Levin would avoid.
So, Dear Reader, avoid this novel. Levin was writing some very good material at around the same time, but not within these covers.
Ira Levin's This Perfect Day is anything but--it's a lousy day of reading, a poorly plotted sexist mess. That he wrote this novel prior to [b:The Stepford Wives|52350|The Stepford Wives|Ira Levin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554371721l/52350._SY75_.jpg|1534281], a few years after [b:Rosemary's Baby|228296|Rosemary's Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1)|Ira Levin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327878603l/228296._SY75_.jpg|883024], is puzzling: he proved he was more than adept prior and subsequently, but what was he thinking here?
Levin rehashes [b:Brave New World|5129|Brave New World|Aldous Huxley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575509280l/5129._SY75_.jpg|3204877] and fails to improve on any aspect of it. This is a dystopia which, in the end, does not really make sense. The actions of the protagonist are repellant (just read more than a handful of negative reviews below to confirm) and most of his foulness is not critical to the plot. Breasts are described every time a female character enters the story. Whether or not these women possess a pancreas, a liver, or, possibly, a brain, is unclear. This is the kind of crappy science fiction writing of the 60s and 70s one would hope Levin would avoid.
So, Dear Reader, avoid this novel. Levin was writing some very good material at around the same time, but not within these covers.
Review copy provided by Open Road. Originally reviewed at incaseofsurvival.com
The trouble with classics and parents of a genre is that they often use tropes that are very common to the modern reader, or tropes that are outright nauseating due to values dissonance. Even if these things were acceptable and new when the book was written, a modern audience may struggle.
I struggled with this book. It’s not that I’m a girl with no love for the classics and no ability to look beyond the demands or the era in which a book was written- I’m probably one of the few people who reads classic literature for fun.
I just… really stuggled with this one.
It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just I’ve seen this concept a dozen times before. Admittedly, by books written later, but a lot of these later books deal with concept with more complexity.
And I was seriously bothered by the undercurrent of misogyny in this book. In the 70′s sci fi was very much a boys club, no girls allowed, and this book reeks of it. I am very unappreciative of the rape means love, trope, people, and that’s the point I gave up. There may have been good, in-story and in-character reasons, with all our characters being emotional fuck ups due to the way the world has worked – after they’ve been freed from the drugs, everyone little more than children, having never had the painful experiences of adulthood – but it’s one of the things I just can’t stomach. You may do better.
The writing is fairly simplistic, which actually works very well for the world and story. The characters are believable if not especially complex.
I’m sure it’s brilliant. These things usually are. But in this case, I just couldn’t do it.
Despite my inability to finish it, I’d suggest you at least give it a try, like you should try reading all the original books from a genre. You may not be able to appreciate them, but you can at least see where these books get their tropes.
The trouble with classics and parents of a genre is that they often use tropes that are very common to the modern reader, or tropes that are outright nauseating due to values dissonance. Even if these things were acceptable and new when the book was written, a modern audience may struggle.
I struggled with this book. It’s not that I’m a girl with no love for the classics and no ability to look beyond the demands or the era in which a book was written- I’m probably one of the few people who reads classic literature for fun.
I just… really stuggled with this one.
It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just I’ve seen this concept a dozen times before. Admittedly, by books written later, but a lot of these later books deal with concept with more complexity.
And I was seriously bothered by the undercurrent of misogyny in this book. In the 70′s sci fi was very much a boys club, no girls allowed, and this book reeks of it. I am very unappreciative of the rape means love, trope, people, and that’s the point I gave up. There may have been good, in-story and in-character reasons, with all our characters being emotional fuck ups due to the way the world has worked – after they’ve been freed from the drugs, everyone little more than children, having never had the painful experiences of adulthood – but it’s one of the things I just can’t stomach. You may do better.
The writing is fairly simplistic, which actually works very well for the world and story. The characters are believable if not especially complex.
I’m sure it’s brilliant. These things usually are. But in this case, I just couldn’t do it.
Despite my inability to finish it, I’d suggest you at least give it a try, like you should try reading all the original books from a genre. You may not be able to appreciate them, but you can at least see where these books get their tropes.
A highly relevant story, despite its age. An excellent read.
A highly relevant story, despite its age, about the dangers of technocracy. An excellent read. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I won't go into details but it does highlight the deviousness of humans even in an environment of total control.
A highly relevant story, despite its age, about the dangers of technocracy. An excellent read. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I won't go into details but it does highlight the deviousness of humans even in an environment of total control.
Mom's Robots... not really but it sort of reminds of it.
dark
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
*****SPOILERS*****
Release Date: February 1st, 1991
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: ☘️☘️☘️
What I Liked:
1. The first half of the book.
2. The story was an interesting one.
What I Didn't Like:
1. I swear it felt like this book was NEVER going to end.
Overall Thoughts: I love a good book about a type of dystopian life. This book started out so wonderfully and I was eager to hear what would happen to Chip. Once Chip leaves The Family is where the party ends. It begins to get so slow and boring. You no longer care about Chip and his way of life but more about checking how many pages were left in this book. Days are regulated with sex once a week, allowed to drink Coke & wine, and they are given shots to level them out to behave. I guess I don't understand why would you give caffeine to people you don't want to be all hyper. I suppose corporations got to corporate. My whole thoughts at the ending was "Is this over yet??????"
Final Thoughts: Oh Christ and way … . Not the best Ira Levin book I have ever read and not the worse. I do admire how diverse he is as an author. I will continue of my reading of his books
I'm just over here singing Lou Reeds "Perfect Day"
Release Date: February 1st, 1991
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: ☘️☘️☘️
What I Liked:
1. The first half of the book.
2. The story was an interesting one.
What I Didn't Like:
1. I swear it felt like this book was NEVER going to end.
Overall Thoughts: I love a good book about a type of dystopian life. This book started out so wonderfully and I was eager to hear what would happen to Chip. Once Chip leaves The Family is where the party ends. It begins to get so slow and boring. You no longer care about Chip and his way of life but more about checking how many pages were left in this book. Days are regulated with sex once a week, allowed to drink Coke & wine, and they are given shots to level them out to behave. I guess I don't understand why would you give caffeine to people you don't want to be all hyper. I suppose corporations got to corporate. My whole thoughts at the ending was "Is this over yet??????"
Final Thoughts: Oh Christ and way … . Not the best Ira Levin book I have ever read and not the worse. I do admire how diverse he is as an author. I will continue of my reading of his books
I'm just over here singing Lou Reeds "Perfect Day"
Una distopía clásica con toques de sus antecesoras 1984 o Un mundo feliz. La he leído en dos sentadas porque me ha resultado muy amena pero hay algunas cosas que para mi gusto restan, la principal la motivación del protagonista. Pese a esas cosas, lo bueno gana y se lleva 4 estrellas.
I read this book because I have been watching the TV series Travelers, and it's the book that Grace gives Trevor. So I guess it's doubly nerdy to read a nerdy book because a character in a sci-fi show gives it to another character.
The book was written in the late 1960s and as such it's a period piece of dystopian imagination. Better than Brave New World, with hints of Gattaca... it seems likely to me that the Warshowskis had read this before writing the Matrix, too.
As many other reviewers state: the gender dynamics are very odd and there is (at least one) very problematic scene from a 21st century perspective. It is strangely disconcerting to see 1969 morals projected into the future so convincingly.
The book was written in the late 1960s and as such it's a period piece of dystopian imagination. Better than Brave New World, with hints of Gattaca... it seems likely to me that the Warshowskis had read this before writing the Matrix, too.
As many other reviewers state: the gender dynamics are very odd and there is (at least one) very problematic scene from a 21st century perspective. It is strangely disconcerting to see 1969 morals projected into the future so convincingly.
I'm not going to pretend I agree with or enjoy all themes and concepts in this book (the gender dynamics have not aged well, if they were even considered acceptable in 1969), and I'm not going to pretend that the writing was very artistic or anything, but I enjoyed reading this book A LOT.