Utopia (Penguin Classics) | Thomas More

Utopia (Penguin Classics) | Thomas More | Utopia: 'a place that does not exist'

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Utopia (Penguin Cl...

	Utopia (Penguin Classics) Thomas More Penguin Classics, 2003 - 176 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Revised introduction; new chronology and further reading

Translated with an Introduction by Paul Turner.

A Surprising Saint

I suspect this translation is a paraphrase of the original Latin. Nevertheless, it has the virtue of being lively and very readable. More is a Catholic saint, which makes much of what he says in Utopia very surprising indeed. The Tudor functionary who persecuted Protestant heretics advocates religious toleration, married priests, the abolition of private property and the pursuit of scientific knowledge as an end in itself. His criticism of society is breathtaking when one considers that there was no freedom of conscience or opinion in his time. The tone throughout is pleasantly witty, as More himself was. For those who can read old books, Utopia is well worth the effort.

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Utopia: 'a place that does not exist'

I first read this book in my impressionable and idealistic youth (some time in the second half of the last century). I've read it a couple of times since then and still enjoy the way that the book can be read as either a satire (my current preferred reading) or as a description of an ideal society.

This is a very short book and well worth reading - even for those of us without Latin who can only read it in translation.

Recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

An Intellectually Fun and Stimulating Read

More exhibits intellectual creativity in the classic Utopia, originally written in Latin. It is a narrative on a non-existent, ideal society. The book Utopia includes the Utopian alphabet, a poem in Utopian and then translated into English, lines on the island of Utopia by the poet laureate, More's letters to Peter Gilles, Gilles's letter to Busleiden, Book 1, and Book 2.

The alphabet and poems at the beginning immediately display the creative and structured thought of More, introduce the island of Utopia, and display the humorous wit of More that will continue to make you chuckle throughout the course of the book.

The letters serve as the background to the authoring of books 1 and 2. It adds a sense of reality to them by describing where the subject matter for the books comes from and creating a pretend internal debate about whether or not a book on Utopia should be written by More at all. More's considerations in that staged internal debate are highly enjoyable to any avid reader.

The real fun to this book is how More uses plays on words, he comments on or uses writings of other classic authors, and he parallels or completely contradicts happenings and/or beliefs his own real life holds. For instance, book 1 weaves together completely fictional characters and situations together with real people, situations, and history that have impacted him in reality (This is the same concept of adding truth to falsehood to make falsehood more believable as is displayed in The DaVinci Code). More's talent is further displayed as he is able to discuss social governance issues in the entertaining and more relatable format of dialogue.

Book 2 describes in depth the structure of the Utopian society. It handles everything from governance within Utopia and relations with societies outside of Utopia to the handling of religion and the growth of morals in society members. While More presents some thought provoking concepts and ideas in this book, he clearly states that they are all based on the assumption that there's no such thing as greed, fear of want, or vanity in Utopia (pg 61).

This particular edition of Utopia comes with a short bio of both author and translator. It also includes a time line of More's life, a helpful introduction, further reading suggestions, a note on the text and translation, an appendix, a glossary, and a multitude of footnotes. If you are not already well versed in Latin, the writings of Greek and Latin philosophers, and English history, than I highly recommend you soak in all this added information from the translator and book editor that is included in this edition both before and while you read Utopia.

My only complaint of this edition is that I don't like flipping back and forth between the text of the novel and the notes in the back. I wish they had put the notes at the bottom of the page. Other than that, I really enjoyed this edition of Utopia and applaud More's witty creativity.

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Good food for thought if you can get past the writing

I read this book out of curiousity mostly. Considering it was written several hundred years ago, it was a challenge to get over the dry writing. There isn't a story here as much as a listing of daily practices and customs in Utopia. Some silly, some almost ingenious.

The underlying theme is an example of a perfect society; but at aprice - personal freedoms. What I also found interesting was that a few of the ideals contridicted themselves throughout the novel. Everyone is equal, except for the non-king rulers. If this is a perfect society, why would there be crime in the first place? War is bad and nonsense, except when Utopian government finds merit in it. Everyone seeks out knowledge, but they need permission to gain it.

I found the writing very dry (most likely due to the period it was written) and almost like reading a text book. A good read however. Makes you think about personal freedoms versus a perfect society.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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