нудьга.
дочитала її суто з дослідницького інтересу - раптом колись знадобиться.
але справді, нудьга смертна. неймовірно надумане й нелогічне.
і нараторка, чорт, якийсь андроїд, а не жінка. закохана панянка двадцяти восьми приблизно років, яка примудряється думати про свого чоловіка тільки тоді, коли він є, а решту часу - суто про революцію. він узагалі з закоханими панянками спілкувався, перш ніж це написати?
добре, що сюжет завершується після першого повстання (але з передмови ясно, що буде ще друге - і ще багато, але то вже інша історія. цікаво, лондон був перший, хто вигадав хід із перед- чи післямовою з точки зору подоланої антиутопії?), бо такого самого штучного опису другого повстання я би вже не витримала.

If you could imagine Karl Marx and Upton Sinclair sitting down to write a parody of 1984, you're pretty close to this novel.

I knew it would be political, but to even call it a novel is generous (that said, London has this really cool "found footage" thing he does with footnotes and a separate narrator that is reminiscent of the Dune series, particularly the sequels).

Rather dry, rather bland, a bit of a slog to get through in the middle half, but it was valuable to get a psychoanalytical peak into Jack London's head.

"You [capitalists] want opportunity to plunder your fellowmen in your own small way, yet you hypnotise yourselves into thinking you want freedom. You are piggish and acquisitive, but the magic of your phrases leads you to believe that you are patriotic."

This book was pretty wild. Written in the POV of a woman who marries a revolutionary and then gets involved with a political revolution.

I'm honestly surprised that this isn't listed among some great political books because although it is certainly propaganda I would be willing to put this among the likes of 1984 or Brave New World.

As can be shown from the quotes I shared this book strongly shows workers rights and also is vehemently against the Oligrachy that exist[ed] in the US at this time it was written. Many lessons that we've long forgotten from the first labor movement can be relearning through this book.

I highly recommend it.

#SelfTaughtPolitics

Do I feel bad for pausing yet another book? Of course. But I need to read some more for the Book Riot challenge so...

Non credo ci siano parole per descrivere un capolavoro simile. London con questo libro ha creato un mondo, il Tallone di Ferro è stato il seme che ha generato opere distopiche del calibro di Noi, il Mondo Nuovo o 1984, per citare i più famosi. Libro estremamente innovativo per l’epoca (scritto nel 1908, ma sembra anticipare avvenimenti di decenni dopo, e ancora ora è, a parer mio, più che attuale), non poteva esistere un capostipite più degno per il genere della distopia.

Gli avvenimenti sono sconcertanti, è un continuo crescendo di tensione inserito in una cornice ancora più grande e interessante che non solo rappresenta la giustificazione ed il significato del libro stesso, ma dimostra anche l’originalità dell’autore. Le tematiche che tratta, per quanto possano sembrare ostiche o difficili da comprendere, sono proposte in una maniera così dinamica ed intelligente che durante la lettura non pesano proprio, né tantomeno tolgono spazio alla narrazione, che è invece coinvolgente ed estremamente tesa, tanto da culminare in una sequenza finale tanto inaspettata quanto assurda.

Similar to my opinion on Atlas Shrugged though ideologically opposite, this book has flat characters and a confusing plot. The switching between first-person and primary document was a poor choice for the narrative.

Did you know Jack London was a socialist?

I did not, and I found out in this book. Being labeled as the first dystopian book, this book was not what I expected it to be.