Looking Backward

Name: Looking Backward
Rating: 3.313 (4 reviews)
ISBN: 9781513273372

By Edward Bellamy & Mint Editions

Publisher Description

When Julian West, an aristocrat from the late 19th century, falls into a hypnotic sleep and awakes in the 20th century, he is surprised to find an ideal society. Originally published in 1888, Looking Backward is a utopian novel written by Edward Bellamy. With the address of social problems such as war, poverty, unemployment, and miserable working conditions, Looking Backward depicts an ideal, necessary, and attainable society that has not yet been achieved in modern-day America.

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Looking Backward Reviews

3.0

Daniel Clemence

Created 13 days ago

“There is a sub-genre of books that could be called Ideology Fiction. Ideology Fiction is what I would call IdeoFi. If I were to do a PhD in literature, it would be outlining the IdeoFi genre. Enough of my made-up compound noun! I am not a scholar, and no one would ever repeat this term. So, Ideology Fiction is literature: a story, novel or poem with significant ideological themes throughout the novel. This is not simply just political themes. These are such a part of the novel as to direct the fate of the novel in its views. 1984 could be seen as Ideology Fiction because its political themes make up a significant part of the book. A better candidate would be Atlas Shrugged because the character construction depended on the direct comparison of characters to the ideology of rugged individualism and capitalism. Antagonists are characters that oppose capitalism and rugged individuals; protagonists support these views. The Ragged Trouser Philanthropists is an example of Leftist Ideology Fiction. Looking Backward is definitely Ideology Fiction. Edward Bellamy, arguing from a Leftist perspective, wrote Looking Backward 2000- 1887 as a means to outline Leftist political views. A lot of the story is based around a dialogue between the protagonist and Dr Leete. The main focus of the novel is how to create a utopian society. The novel is a back-and-forth discussion of how society should function. Edward Bellamy looks at different parts of society, including the economy, the function of money, the functions of government and how society should look. It certainly has some weird views on society that I don’t actually agree. Dr Leete argues that soldiers shouldn’t be able to vote, and that governments should heavily control the international money markets to control international trade. The novel argues for lower-density towns which are more spread-out. I wouldn’t know how Bellamy would have thought about suburban sprawl. The novel also says some interesting things about Jesus and Christianity, which reflects Bellamy’s background as being a son of a Calvinist Baptist preacher. This novel is certainly not for everyone. It does not have a strong plot; the characters don’t develop, and there isn’t a descriptive setting. The novel is a later version of the Socratic method found in philosophy, such as Plato. This is not found in modern books, but I think this novel uses it. As a result, I would definitely not recommend this book for anyone. However, I do like the amount of information used in the book, and I do think this is a good explanation of Leftist ideas.”

Limited character growth One-dimensional Nonlinear narrative Well-structured Original Takes getting used to

Jeremy

Created 9 months ago

juniper

Created almost 6 years ago

“DNF - this is barely a novel. It's a manifesto with a pretty girl thrown in. And somehow Bellamy couldn't conceive of a socialist utopia where women have equal rights.”

osledybazo

Created about 11 years ago

About Edward Bellamy

Edward Bellamy (1850-1898) was an American author, journalist, and activist. He was a Nationalist, and his work inspired the establishment of many Nationalist clubs throughout the United States. Bellamy’s most popular work, Looking Backward, was one of the bestsellers of his time, and inspired political action from the readers. The year before he died, Bellamy published a sequel to Looking Backward called Equality that addressed issues overlooked in the original novel. Throughout his prolific career, Edward Bellamy used his talent to advocate for social justice and inspire political change.