The Time Machine
H.G. Wells
It's been a while, but I expect my pace to be picking up soon, and anyway I'm already ahead on average. This book is a classic and is surprisingly short, though it appears to drag in parts. If the book has one major flaw, it's that it seems to have a rather startling absence of plot, or at least excitement therein. Wells's idea of the evolutionary future of man is quite intriguing, as is his implicit commentary on present society, but his attempts to create an interesting plot fall flat. Surely the narrator is on an extraordinary journey, but I for one couldn't get sucked into the plot or even the character. I believe that Wells allows his societal criticism to dominate rather than letting the plot speak for itself; I myself derived the implications of capitalism versus communism well before the narrator took it in hand to do so. Wells's own setting outside of the main narrative has potential for a debate amongst the hearers of the extraordinary tale regarding the implications of evolution. The retreat into the arms of the narrator is disappointing and leaves the reader feeling disjointed and fully outside of the story.
That said, though, I do believe that the book has great value (and as social criticism to boot). The theory that capitalism will ultimately lead to fruitless frivolity is illustrated perfectly by the dilapidated creatures of the Wellsian future, though they themselves are communistic in nature. What I found most interesting throughout the novella was the implicit irony in this assertion. The Eloi are the evolutionary future of capitalists but have no culture and do in fact live as communists. Wells restrains himself from presenting either utopian or dystopian dreams and instead creates a sort of ironic utopia that seems surprisingly plausible in some of its respects.
Some of the book's plot points seem awfully contrived, such as a visit to a museum that simply cannot exist 800,000 years into the future. These points detract from the experience of the book as an immersive journey into the future, but help to present it instead as social commentary. Having just read More's Utopia, it's easier for me to see how this kind of structure can work; however, Wells seems to somewhat uncomfortably straddle the middle ground between strict philosophy and freeform fiction. I would recommend this book as an interesting take on the scientific future of our society but would shy away those looking for true escapist science fiction.
Grade: B
H.G. Wells
It's been a while, but I expect my pace to be picking up soon, and anyway I'm already ahead on average. This book is a classic and is surprisingly short, though it appears to drag in parts. If the book has one major flaw, it's that it seems to have a rather startling absence of plot, or at least excitement therein. Wells's idea of the evolutionary future of man is quite intriguing, as is his implicit commentary on present society, but his attempts to create an interesting plot fall flat. Surely the narrator is on an extraordinary journey, but I for one couldn't get sucked into the plot or even the character. I believe that Wells allows his societal criticism to dominate rather than letting the plot speak for itself; I myself derived the implications of capitalism versus communism well before the narrator took it in hand to do so. Wells's own setting outside of the main narrative has potential for a debate amongst the hearers of the extraordinary tale regarding the implications of evolution. The retreat into the arms of the narrator is disappointing and leaves the reader feeling disjointed and fully outside of the story.
That said, though, I do believe that the book has great value (and as social criticism to boot). The theory that capitalism will ultimately lead to fruitless frivolity is illustrated perfectly by the dilapidated creatures of the Wellsian future, though they themselves are communistic in nature. What I found most interesting throughout the novella was the implicit irony in this assertion. The Eloi are the evolutionary future of capitalists but have no culture and do in fact live as communists. Wells restrains himself from presenting either utopian or dystopian dreams and instead creates a sort of ironic utopia that seems surprisingly plausible in some of its respects.
Some of the book's plot points seem awfully contrived, such as a visit to a museum that simply cannot exist 800,000 years into the future. These points detract from the experience of the book as an immersive journey into the future, but help to present it instead as social commentary. Having just read More's Utopia, it's easier for me to see how this kind of structure can work; however, Wells seems to somewhat uncomfortably straddle the middle ground between strict philosophy and freeform fiction. I would recommend this book as an interesting take on the scientific future of our society but would shy away those looking for true escapist science fiction.
Grade: B
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