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A review by sharonleavy
Erewhon by Samuel Butler
3.0
This book was thrown up in a reading challenge, and that's the only reason I read it. I'd never heard of it before - which is unsurprising given that it's a Utopian novel from the 19th century.
In the beginning, I have to say I really enjoyed it. The protagonist initially had a fairly mundane existence, looking after animals in a remote part of his homeland with a gruff companion. He ached to explore lands beyond his own, so set off on a risky adventure alone. The language and descriptions used in the exploration chapters were captivating - I thoroughly enjoyed reading of the vast landscape and his treacherous journey to Erewhon.
When he arrived in Erewhon (an anagram of Nowhere) it all went a bit snoozeworthy I'm afraid. What could have been an amazing adventure turned, essentially, into a man landing in a town, writing about the town, and then leaving. It is, as many other reviewers have pointed out, a satire on many European customs and traditions. Illness is punished, crime is pitied. The Erewhonians are desperately afraid of machinery, therefore anything considered a machine is banned. This is shown when the character arrives and his watch is instantly confiscated. He is imprisoned when he arrives. Much fuss is made of his "light hair", which holds him in good stead and prevents him from being kept in prison.
He writes very lengthy chapters on all the Erewhonian customs and traditions, their thoughts and opinions, and their treatment of various classes of society. I found myself speed-reading many of these chapters because I just found it so boring, and the language was hard to get to grips with sometimes. There's a chapter near the end about vegetables and plants that I read thinking "what on earth is this about" the whole way through (albeit in slightly more flowery language).
The end is a bit confusing, he and his Erewhonian love fly off in a balloon (why is that allowed? Would that not be considered a machine?!)and then when they eventually get back to England, none of his mates are excited to see him because they thought he was dead long ago, so he decides to figure out a way of going back to Erewhon.
I definitely wouldn't read this again, but I am glad I gave it a go and managed to finish it, because it's so far removed from anything I'd pick up. Three stars for the first half of the book.
Apparently there's a sequel - but I definitely will not be reading it.
In the beginning, I have to say I really enjoyed it. The protagonist initially had a fairly mundane existence, looking after animals in a remote part of his homeland with a gruff companion. He ached to explore lands beyond his own, so set off on a risky adventure alone. The language and descriptions used in the exploration chapters were captivating - I thoroughly enjoyed reading of the vast landscape and his treacherous journey to Erewhon.
When he arrived in Erewhon (an anagram of Nowhere) it all went a bit snoozeworthy I'm afraid. What could have been an amazing adventure turned, essentially, into a man landing in a town, writing about the town, and then leaving. It is, as many other reviewers have pointed out, a satire on many European customs and traditions. Illness is punished, crime is pitied. The Erewhonians are desperately afraid of machinery, therefore anything considered a machine is banned. This is shown when the character arrives and his watch is instantly confiscated. He is imprisoned when he arrives. Much fuss is made of his "light hair", which holds him in good stead and prevents him from being kept in prison.
He writes very lengthy chapters on all the Erewhonian customs and traditions, their thoughts and opinions, and their treatment of various classes of society. I found myself speed-reading many of these chapters because I just found it so boring, and the language was hard to get to grips with sometimes. There's a chapter near the end about vegetables and plants that I read thinking "what on earth is this about" the whole way through (albeit in slightly more flowery language).
The end is a bit confusing, he and his Erewhonian love fly off in a balloon (why is that allowed? Would that not be considered a machine?!)and then when they eventually get back to England, none of his mates are excited to see him because they thought he was dead long ago, so he decides to figure out a way of going back to Erewhon.
I definitely wouldn't read this again, but I am glad I gave it a go and managed to finish it, because it's so far removed from anything I'd pick up. Three stars for the first half of the book.
Apparently there's a sequel - but I definitely will not be reading it.