| Title | : | This Perfect Day |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0553290029 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780553290028 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 368 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1970 |
| Awards | : | Prometheus Hall of Fame Award (1992) |
The world is ruled by a central computer called UniComp that has been programmed to keep every single human on the surface of the earth in check. People are continually drugged by means of regular injections so that they can never realize their potential as human beings, but will remain satisfied and cooperative. They are told where to live, when to eat, whom to marry, when to reproduce. Even the basic facts of nature are subject to UniComp's will - men do not grow facial hair, women do not develop breasts, and it only rains at night.
"The Family" was everywhere. For centuries, mankind longed for a world without suffering or war. The Family made that dream come true. They have triumphed. Programmed, every need satisfied, they knew nothing of struggle or pain. They had mastered... perfected Earth.
But for one man, perfection was not enough. For Chip, it was a nightmare. The Family was a suffocating force of evil. His dream was to escape... and destroy!
This Perfect Day Reviews
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Reckoning
Written in 1969, this dystopian classic from Ira Levin delves into the social science curiosity of political/social structure and population subservience. In a totalitarian society with mass surveillance, mandatory drug treatments, and complete control of everyone's job, pastime, partner, friends and lifespan, a central intelligence system called Uni, is all powerful.
Chip is the main protagonist, his nameber (not misspelt) is Li RM35M4419, and since the great Unification everyone is part of The Family, and their world does not know aggression, sadness, regret, hatred, greed, and poverty. Their lives, however, do not experience curiosity, choice, love, or freedom, and if there are signs that any of these emotions or thoughts exist, the monthly Treatment will likely irradicate them through higher drug doses or a few more potent drugs to bring members back into line. The relaxed and uninhibited nature of reporting on colleagues, family, and friends was unsettling and considered the duty to help treat a sickness. Through this process, Chip starts to feel guilt over the information he already provided about others and starts to withhold information from his advisor.
Chip works in the Institute of Genetic Engineering and we realise from the appearance of members of the Family that gradually the physical appearance of all the World’s races are slowly being genetically consolidated. He works as a genetic taxonomist, has his treatments once per month, performs dispassionate sex on a Saturday, communicates regularly with his advisor, and visits his parents twice per year. He notices himself becoming more creative and questioning in the last few days before his monthly treatments but when he returns after treatment he is once again a compliant member of the Family and can put the previous few day’s ‘sickness’ behind him.
Chip is approached by a group of free thinkers who explain how he can fool the system and become free to think throughout the month and do things beyond what is deemed acceptable. The more Chip learns, the more he wants to know and he explores ways of escaping or overcoming the control of Uni. Some people are ‘incurable’ and it is believed they live on Islands remote from The Family.
This Perfect Day is an allegory illustrating that peace and security in life are possible if we forego, choice, privacy, individuality, and the capacity to create, imagine and love in all its different ways. The worst in our human nature may well lead us on a path to destruction and we can ruminate whether the ultimate price of compliance to Uni, is a price worth paying. There is, however, something in our nature that fervently refuses to consciously give up Our Freeeeeeeeeeeedom (as William Wallace would say).
Ira Levin’s novel is a profound book that explores what we understand by the individual and its uniqueness, and how totalitarian regimes exert control and diminish the individual. It seems as we look at the World today, that while we seem incapable of securing all the requirements of how politics and society should behave for equal rights and opportunity, but we need to treasure the aspects that mean most. This was a Buddy read with Julie. Her insights and discussion proved invaluable in fully appreciating this novel, not only because of its philosophical nature but also because it is an entertaining story with adventure, drama, relationships, and interesting characters. I would highly recommend this book and also thank Julie for her patience and discussion. -
I am not the type of person who rereads books. In fact, I never reread books. Except this one. I pick it up every couple of years. This is A Brave New World but so much better. So much realer. Unfortunately, it is now out of print. But maybe with the author's recent passing, they will bring it back soon. But if you ever see it in a used book store, pick it up and buy it. Don't think. Just walk over to the cash register and buy it. Then go home and read it. You'll thank me.
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I loved Ira Levin's thriller from 1972, The Stepford Wives, and I was excited to find this slightly earlier work of his, This Perfect Day, a book that was previously unknown to me.
As soon as I started reading it, I felt incredibly inspired, to think that one person could publish two stories like these, two years apart from each other. Like. . . who does this?? Who goes from one amazing concept to another, and in just two years?
I can't help but wonder if Mr. Levin's writing was influenced by some of Ray Bradbury's earlier works, and I wondered, also, if this story had any influence on Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and/or Lois Lowry's The Giver?
I was feelin' groovy reading this novel, published in 1970, about the futuristic world of Uni and its members who are a part of a Utopia because of their special “treatments.”
I was loving this read, and I felt almost as breathless with tension and anticipation as I was when I read Wives. . . but when I got to page 192 and I encountered yet another gratuitous rape scene from a 1970s novel that had nothing to do with the plot or character development. . . I became very, very sad.
I typically become angry when I back up against a rape scene that is intended to be “scintillating,” but this time, I actually felt sad and disappointed.
How could a visionary like Ira Levin have the ability to imagine a future where an egalitarian society has achieved world peace (even if it's because everyone's essentially drugged!), but still stumble over his own preconceptions in the early 1970s that a woman's sole purpose is to be a subdued sex toy?
It got worse. When I got to page 283, he threw some totally unnecessary “incest” into the mix, just to really make me grieve.
It's interesting to me that J.G. Ballard's High Rise, Peter Benchley's Jaws and Ira Levin's This Perfect Day were all written between 1970 and 1975. What they have in common: all three were brilliant, conceptually, yet irrevocably tainted (for me) by rape and rape fantasy scenes that had nothing whatsoever to do with the plot.
I've given all three of these novels a three star rating, reluctantly, for the concepts that I wish, wish, wish, hadn't been ruined for me. -
I'm kind of sorry to give this book two stars, because it is a very good story and in it's own way a good addition to the dystopian genre. I've read two other Ira Levin books before this one; 'A Kiss Before Dying' and 'Rosemary's Baby' and enjoyed both of those, and I will go on and read other works of his. My niggles with it are personal ones which I felt were unnecessary and unrealistic. Even dated maybe.
SPOILERS!!
So, for me to explain my problems with this book I have to talk about the story. On the whole I enjoyed the tale of an individual questioning the society he lives in and taking steps to escape it and find something else and ultimately better. The journey however doesn't end with escape but on the taking on of the central force which controls the world and the way it works in the first place. All this made for excellent reading! The fact that he didn't want to do it alone but with the woman he loved is also pleasing. However, did he have to rape her? And did she then have to submit to him after? Is this very realistic? She seemed to be apologising for the events which led up to his forceful lustfulness and inevitable forgiving him nothing really, but justifying his very act of savage impulses. I hated it for that. The story then continues as if it never happened and they continue as any couple in love and against society. For this I have a lower rating than what it could have deserved. Maybe, I've missed some point and the rape was necessary to demonstrate his primal nature coming through or something or this sort, but I just thought it was distasteful and sexist. It isn't detailed if anyone who hasn't read it yet but is reading this spoiler, it's just the very fact that the rape took place followed by feminine passivity, compliance and ultimately respect. YUCK!
So there, for anyone that disagrees feel free. I don't care.
Ok, final niggle and that is of the secret group sexual dynamics. The secret meeting were split into couples, or at least that is what they were trying to do. Three pairings of opposite sexes, for which they never did find a mate for sparrow. Snowflake even felt sorry for the fact that she use to freely partake in sexual activities with the other girl Sparrow. So this society is homophobic as well as sexist and they each feel they should only pair up with another of the opposite sex. In a way I don't think this is a problem in the story as they probably believe this is right because their closely monitored society will not see the logic of same gender relations as this doesn't work for breeding, but there is no evidence of anyone falling in love with or displaying attraction towards their own sex and it would happen. There would be gay couples on that island and there would be sexual discovery going on outside of the chemically conditioned family. I felt that the only mention of it in this book was in a negative context or one of mockery.
Anyway, I'm jumping off my pedestal now.
Sorry Mr Levin but I'm sticking with 2 stars! -
از نظر توصیف آرمانشهرش در مقایسه با بقیهی رمانهای ضدآرمانشهری شاید خیلی چیز جدیدی نداشته باشه و تکراری به نظر بیاد، ولی در نیمهی دوم کتاب یک تفاوت نبوغآمیزی با اغلب رمانهای مشابه پیدا میکنه که خوندنش رو به نظر من واجب میکنه. و البته از بخش آخر کتاب («جنگ») خوشم نیومد. به نظرم میبایست یه پایان ناامیدکننده داشته باشه
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روزگار بی عیب و نقص ، نوشته آیرا لوین نویسنده معروف آمریکایی اگرچه 50 سال پیش نوشته شده اما به گونه ای شگفت انگیزهم چنان به روز و تازه به نظر می رسد . رمان علمی تخیلی او اگر چه پیچیدگی چندانی ندارد اما سرشار از نوآوری هایی ایست که امروزه بیشتر آشنا به نظر می رسند .
در کتاب لوین ، کامپیوتری به نام یونی کامپ به گونه ای برنامه ریزی شده که اختیارات بسیار زیادی دارد ، یونی بر تک تک افراد نظارت دارد و آنها را از راه های مختلف کنترل می کند ، محل زندگی آنها را تعیین می کند و مشخص می کند که افراد با چه کسی ازدواج کنند و آیا می توانند بچه دار شوند یا نه ؟ چگونگی آموزش افراد و انتخاب شغل هم با یونی ایست . یونی از طریق درمان های ماهیانه افراد را راضی و آرام نگه داشته والبته از این راه به گونه ای سرشت و غریزه جنسی افراد را هم کنترل و به گونه ای سرکوب می کند .
یونی و ایده ای که آنرا اداره یا برنامه ریزی می کند روش شگفت انگیزی برای خارج کردن افراد ناراضی از قلمرو خود دارند ، آنها از این راه افراد یاغی را از سرزمین های خود بیرون کرده و سپس افراد با قابلیت رهبری و با هوش و استقامت را دوباره برای سیستم برنامه ریزی خود ، انتخاب می کنند . لوین نابغه از فرصت زندگی افراد در قلمرو خارج از قدرت یونی استفاده کرده و محیطی سرشار از فساد ، تبعیض ، بی کاری و مشکلات اقتصادی را تصویر کشیده ، در حقیقت سرزمینی که نویسنده توصیف کرده با وجود بهره مند بودن از نعمت آزادی ، فرق چندانی با ویران شهر ندارد ، تنها جنس مشکلات آن متفاوت است .
روزگار بی عیب و نقص به گونه ای شگفت آور روان نوشته شده است ، لوین نابغه با جملاتی آسان زندگی در ویران شهر وسرزمین تقریبا مخالف آنرا با هم مقایسه کرده و اگرچه شاید هم به نتیجه یکسانی رسیده باشد اما در پایان کتاب ، او زیستن با اراده آزاد و داشتن حق انتخاب را به زندگی خالی از مفهوم و پوچ تحت نظارت یونی یا هر گروه دیگری ترجیح داده است . -
Completed way back in June, 1969, Ira Levin's novel THIS PERFECT DAY introduces a futuristic colony with a computer at the helm where everyone is programmed to be cold and lifeless, and everyone, as a member of the "family" is monitored throughout the day.
"Even the basic facts of nature are subject to the Unicomp's will ----- men do not grow facial hair, women do not develop breasts, and it only rains at night."
Lots of action and some pretty cool twists along the way keep things from becoming too dulled or normalized as Chip aka Li RM35M4419 with his one green eye, and a few of his witty non-conforming pals, have some different views on the subject.
GREAT sci-fi Classic!
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This is the March book for the Pittsburgh Dystopian Science Fiction Club. Before I get to anything else, I'm going to address the problematic gender dynamics in this book. I think one of the things that has often turned me off to science fiction in the past has been the dude factor, which I find extensively in this book. Maybe I just don't like it when straight men write sex scenes. At any rate, let me tell the world this: the "incredibly hot chick falls in love with me after I rape her" storyline is tiresome. I don't care what decade you wrote this in. Stop doing it.
Okay then, now on to the rest of the book. I found this book to mimic the moral/theme of many other books of this genre, namely the "USA good, Russia bad" message. In other words, the possible societal choices offered are a strictly regimented and totalitarian system and one of supposed free choice but which is actually ruled by brute force. And the choice is always clear: it's better to live in a brutal society with greater choice than one in which you're life is controlled by a system. It just seems to be book after book with the same message, never with the idea that there could be a choice other than these two. -
This 1971 novel presents an early imaginative vision of a computer controlled dystopian society masquerading as a utopia. It’s more in the tradition of Brave New World than 1984 in that thought control is not by propaganda but by all intrusive counselors and drugs. The Soma in this tale goes beyond rendering pleasure and a sense of contentment, but pacifies by dampening emotions and curiosity. As in Huxley’s masterpiece, promiscuity is encouraged adding to a populace of happy, shiny people who keep the economy going. The computers come in by tracking everyone’s activities recorded in their electronic bracelets and written into counselor records. Any behaviors suggestive of subversive thought or action guides UniComs computation and selections of reinforcements and punishments as a pervasive background activity to shape good citizens. And anything that reflects independent action fits the bill as a threat to the uniformity of belief in the godlike central computer, UniComp, and the race of humanity revered as “The Family”.
Chip as a boy gets tagged as a threat when, under the influence of his computer engineer grandfather, he begins to wonder what career he might choose for himself rather that trust in UniComp’s wisdom. He also gets seeded with a perception of UniComp as cold machinery when this grandfather gives him a secret tour of the banks of servers comprising the AI. The experience of undermedication in one period leads Chip feel more alive and able to think better, and he learns ways of fake his way into getting lower dosages. He discovers and joins a group of similar malcontents who spend time together having fun at night, fooling around in a museum of ancient Earth, smoking tobacco, and having more enjoyable sex. Eventually they discover there are islands with people living primitively outside The Family and UniCom.
I won’t say any more about the plot, except that you can guess the dream of a return to a society with more freedom will compel Chip to take revolutionary action. As Chip learns to be more human, he makes mistakes due to his stunted development, but he eventually becomes worthy of empathy instead of pity. The plot has some surprising turns as Chip gets closer to unveiling and dealing with the wizards behind this Oz.
The popularity of brainwashing and mind control as the foundation of a totalitarian society has declined in literature both from the failure of the science and from the decline of communism. Despite this dated theme and the as-yet unborn powers of Clarke’s Hal, this made for a pretty compelling read. And it captured well in fairly timeless fashion the drama of an individual putting a lot on the line to address the futility and alienation of a false utopia. It doesn’t have the thrills of his “Rosemary’s Baby” or the satirical horror of “The Stepford Wives” (judging from the movies, not the books), but it’s solid enough as dystopian sci fi that I wish Levin had written more in the genre before passing on in 2007. -
Christ, Marx, Wood and Wei
- dystopian future world child's bouncing song
Led us to this perfect day
Marx, Wood, Wei and Christ
All but Marx were sacrificed
Wood, Wei, Christ and Marx
Gave us lovely schools and parks
Wei, Christ, Marx and Wood
Made us humble, made us good. -
I'm not writing this review for anyone other than my nerd friends that check my Goodreads page, so don't be surprised by my lack of literary genius...
I'll only spoil the one thing that should be spoiled- and it's the same one thing that everyone references. The main character (Chip) ends up raping the woman he's in love with (Lilac) to prove to her that she's being brainwashed by the government and to get her to trust him. Reading a lackluster book for three days only to discover that you hate the character whose perspective you're watching the story from, quite frankly, sucks. I can't believe that the sole person who has decided to "make the world a better place" is also a character that never learns about true love, being a father, and the safety of his friends and family. There was no hero in this tale.
The story takes place over the course of 30 years, and I stopped liking the character when he was 9. -
I blasted through this, just as I did with all the other Levin books I've read, but it is by far my least favourite (I am not reading
Son of Rosemary or
Sliver so can't comment on those).
Rosemary's Baby,
The Stepford Wives,
The Boys from Brazil and
A Kiss Before Dying were all great stories. Levin has this easy, informal way of spinning a yarn-- chapters that flow quickly into one another, good dialogue, and characters that capture your interest (both the protagonists and villains as horrendous as Josef Mengele.) I'd say this is the only one of the five that doesn't go down quite as easy.
It's partially the lack of a really great hero or villain to fear for or despise.
This Perfect Day is set in a dystopian future where everyone is virtually the same-- looks similar, behaves in line with the society's rules, and doesn't do anything ludicrous like dream or imagine or make their own decisions. However, as with pretty much every dystopian ever, there is a secret resistance of those who have learned to avoid being dosed up with "treatments" and started to question the way things are.
It is the nature of this society for it to be cold, detached and uniform. No one stands out, including the protagonist, Chip. He spends a good portion of the book being a well-behaved zombie and the rest of the time being a touch of an arsehole. I'm not exaggerating. The guy's an actual
Then there's the fact that this kind of dystopia was a bit "been there, done that" back in the 70s when it published. Today? Seen it all before. -
I think it is impossible to review this book and not mention
1984,
Brave New World,
We and
Kallocain. Levin's book fares well in this company as I think this is one of his best.
One mighty family
A single perfect breed
Free of all selfishness
Aggressiveness and greed
Each member giving
All he has to give
And getting back
All he needs to live
Christ, Marx, Wei and Wood
Made us humble, made us good
Christ, Marx, Wood and Wei
Lead us to this perfect day -
He held his arm grown-uply still while the scanner inside found and fastened on his bracelet and the infusion disc nuzzled warm and smooth against his upper arm's softness.
This Perfect Day by Ira Levin
DNF.
I am soo sorry to give an Ira Levin book a 2. I LOVE Levin . I feel tempted to change my rating.
SPOILERS:
It did not FEEL like a Levin book though. I was baffled reading this. And I should not say I did not finish this. I did. But with the help of alot of skimming.
The book was very dry. I could not get involved and I not only love Levin I love Dystopian..which makes me wonder If I missed something.
The rape scene turned me off as I am sure it did many. I was disturbed by the roles in society women played here.
But none of those reasons justify a 2 rating. All I c an say is I tried on many occasions to read this and the dryness of the writing and slowness of the pacing made my eyes get heavy. I know people who love this book. I just could not get nor stay involved.
I still recommend it because I looked at some reviews and this really seems one that has a great array of opinons. Plus I still love 90 percent of Levin's work. Just not this book. -
"You are only partly alive. We can help you more than you can imagine."
I had never heard of this book before it was selected for an
SFF Audio Readalong discussion, and I think I liked it more after we talked about it for an hour or so.
There is a lot to think about here. The novel is in four sections and quite a bit of it has hints of other dystopias - the community with scheduled sex and neighbor-reporting is similar to
We, the drugging of society feels like
Brave New World, and I was completely expecting it to go in the direction of the ending of
1984.
This book won the
Prometheus Award from the Libertarian Futurist Society for examining concepts of freedom. Hmm, I have read 18 books from their list. What does that mean?
But that may be the most interesting part of the novel, or at least what I was thinking about while reading it. Many people rate the book low because of the rape scene, and while it feels gratuitous in the moment, I actually think it is our first huge clue that Chip is a questionable hero. What is he going to do if he overthrows Uni? Would he be someone to follow? And what is worse, knowing the truth or living a passive, expected life?
And one little quote, one I felt very deeply considering recent events:
"We’ve got to fight, not adjust. Fight, fight, fight." -
*sigh* I love this book. I recommend this book to people when they ask me for a sci-fi suggestion & I'm assuming they've read the ABC's (that's Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke) and perhaps haven't been introduced to Levin. This is oft-compared to "1984" and "Brave New World" -- and I could rave about "Brave New World," especially since this was originally published in the 1970s so it wasn't breaking into the same future-predicting, but for some reason, this story & Chip (the main character) spoke to me more. I was originally introduced to this book in seventh grade by my social studies teacher at the time. I was goofing off in class because I was usually ahead in the material & bored, so he held me after class one day and gave me his copy of this book & told me to read it as an extra credit assignment & write something up about what I thought about it, and any themes I saw in it. I think I read it twice before I gave it back to him, and wrote up a much longer paper than he expected :)
I re-read this the other day because someone recently asked me what it was about, and I could only give a vague outline, though of course I raved about it generally. And so I thought, "Well hey I should probably read this again to make sure it still stands as something I'd want to recommend to people." And, yes, it still does. -
This is one of my absolute favorite books of all time. Do yourself and favor and read it if you haven't before. I pick it up and reread it every couple of years, and I think I always notice something new in the story....but that may just be because my view on life changes over the years, and thus I come at it from a different approach.
It is very much in the vein of other books that deal with the concept of a futuristic dystopian world, i.e, Brave New World, 1984, and Logan's Run.
It was out OOP for several years, and after reading (and losing) my mother's copy when I was a teenager....I scoured used books stores for YEARS before I finally stumbled on a paperback version. A few years later, I also came across an original first run hardcover edition from 1970. It is one of my favorite possessions. :D
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Una distopía clásica con toques de sus antecesoras 1984 o Un mundo feliz. La he leído en dos sentadas porque me ha resultado muy amena pero hay algunas cosas que para mi gusto restan, la principal la motivación del protagonista. Pese a esas cosas, lo bueno gana y se lleva 4 estrellas.
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I'm surprised at the low rating many have given this classic.
What makes This Perfect Day a must read is not just a well-crafted, twisting plot and setting, but the depth of the main character. The author reveals him to us gradually -- as the character becomes less drugged/more cogent, we know and care about him even more.
The style of writing, although in the past tense and 3rd person, achieves an immediacy that transports the reader to the setting and action as it happens. For instance, as Chip, the protagonist gets lost in the beauty of woman; another character (her boyfriend) interrupts Chip's "thoughts" and our vision. It's a humorous and subtle style that you don't find often. And it is very effective in the pacing and telling of the story.
In short, there are many sci-fi/fantasy books that tell a good story. This Perfect Day, however, is a masterpiece of the genre. Take it to the beach or read it on a rainy weekend. You won't be disappointed. -
A ripoff of Brave New World, only with more racism, heteronormativity, and rape. Seriously, all the drugged dull masses are tan-skinned, slant- eyed communists, and the ~truly alive aware hero of this story and his first love interest are unusual for having white features (pale skin and 1 green eye). The protagonist kidnaps a woman he's obsessed with, rapes her, and afterwards she tells him "don't feel bad about it, it was natural, you woke me up," and she becomes his pregnant nagging housewife and spends her afternoons sewing baby clothes. Like I said, there's not even any new ideas in here that weren't covered by Brave New World 40 years earlier, don't waste your time with this one.
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This novel by Ira Levin is about a utopian society where treatments help maintain a stable society, but at what cost? Protagonist Li (or Chip as he prefers to be known) is uncertain about the sameness, and eventually joins a counterculture trying to change things. Good characters, good plot twists, and a very good read. Highly recommended.
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I listened to this with my husband on a long car journey. We enjoyed it! It was fast-paced and engaging and thought provoking, but I had some ISSUES with it.
*spoiler warning for those who care*
The theme of a perfect utopia which turns out to be a sinister dystopia, where people are being disposed of down waste chutes as soon as they stop being useful and nobody is Truly Free, is a bit of a science fiction cliché. Even in the 70s it’d been done many times before, but I don’t think that matters, as long as the author puts a different spin on it.
My main issue was the relationship between Chip & Lilac. ‘Problematic’ is putting it mildly. He claimed to be in love with her but I thought his feelings seemed more like obsession, especially as he tended to focus a lot more on her appearance (e.g. her ‘rose-brown’ skin and ‘conical’(??) breasts) than her personality. She made it very clear on multiple occasions that she did not love him, and in fact was in love with someone else, but that didn’t deter him, heck no. After he kidnapped her it started to become obvious that he expected & felt he was owed sex. Wasn’t she grateful about how he’d RESCUED her?? I mean, it was at gunpoint, with violence and threats, but that was necessary. Plus, he'd spouted his feelings at her and told her about how much he loved her, and on two occasions he hadn’t even raped her when he could have! What was she WAITING for?? When she still steadfastly refused to sleep with him I knew what would happen next, and sure enough. Afterwards he rather reluctantly apologized, while explaining how it wasn't really his fault. She agreed, forgave him, requested sex the very next day, then... no I'm not kidding about any of this... fell in love with him and eventually married him.
What. The. Heck.
I could NOT believe it. I kept holding out hope that she was just playing along and waiting until he was asleep so she could stab him in the kidney, but nada. After they got married she pretty much turned into a submissive housewifey who got pregnant, did the dishes, sewed the clothes, and patted Chip on the back consolingly when he got drunk and embarrassed her at parties. He barely noticed when they had a baby, although of course it had to be named after HIS grandaddy. He was too busy planning his heroic mission, which he did against Lilac's wishes and without consulting her about anything. When she ventured a sensible (and correct, as it turned out) doubt about the plans, he patronisingly dismissed her and told her everything was fine, then worried about it secretly because she totally had a point. Also, near the end, as part of his cunning plan to play along with the programmers, he slept his way around the entire colony including two 16 year old girls at the same time on his first night (he is 37), which I’M SUPER DUPER SURE was a necessary evil, nobly done against his wishes in order to make sure nobody suspected him.
So yeah. I had, like, minus a billion sympathy for this guy, which is perhaps another reason why I found it hard to accept him as a hero.
Was he meant to be a hero? My husband thought maybe the entire novel was intentionally ironic. I’m not sure. It’s possible, but my feeling is that it’s not. I think Chip is genuinely meant to be the ultimate Defender of Freedom of Choice, the only one who can see things the 'right' way. Not just smart enough to escape from drugged oblivion in UniComp, not just a skilled leader and planner who can orchestrate a successful attack on Uni from Liberty island, but also principled enough to withstand being corrupted by the fabulous luxury of the programmers lifestyle! Even being offered basically eternal life in paradise, he STILL fights for the freedom of the human race.
Whether he’s supposed to be or not, we don’t think he IS a hero. He's quite mad, and evil! A megalomaniac, far worse than Wei. So convinced he knows what's best for everyone that he feels qualified to make decisions on behalf of the population of the entire world. He believes the system is corrupt and wrong, so instead of trying to fix it or make it better, he just chucks a bomb into the central hub, deliberately, knowing full well that worldwide chaos, anarchy, war, murder, starvation and BILLIONS OF DEATHS will result. Oh well, I'm sure they'll sort themselves out, right? Not Chip's problem! He's going to nip off back to the island in his chopper so he can sleep with his wife and ignore his baby again, happy in the knowledge that everyone in the world is now Better Off, by his estimation, even if they don't realise it.
He was in a position of power in the programmers group, and could quite conceivably have used that to slowly influence things for the better, to campaign for alteration of the things he saw as wrong, such as euthanizing everyone at 62. At the very LEAST he could have overthrown Wei and taken control himself, if he’s so sure he’s got it right. Wei’s system was corrupt, yes, but it was a functioning, peaceful society free from hunger and pain. Maybe Tom and I are both secret evil commie overlords, but we kind of agreed with a lot of Wei’s decisions, and felt with a few tweaks UniComp could actually have achieved a true utopia. Obviously there were some big problems, but by golly they had SOME things right. No sickness, ever, for the whole world's population! That's amazing! Everyone single person in the world has enough to eat, clothes to wear, and a warm clean place to sleep! Also amazing! Is population planning really too high a price to pay for that?
So yeah, although it aggravated me a little that Chip’s point of view was presented as morally correct and heroic, I liked the fact that other points of view were also introduced. Chip did have some conversations with Wei (and others) where they discussed the ethics of world leadership, freedom and control. The book raised a lot of interesting theoretical points about the way the world is and the way it could be or might be under different circumstances, which we really enjoyed discussing. -
I’ll admit right up front that I’m not a fan of dystopian fiction. However, I am a fan of Ira Levin (both his novels and his plays). “This Perfect Day” was published in 1970 – after his play “Dr Cook’s Garden” (1967) and before his novels “The Stepford Wives” (1972) and “The Boys from Brazil” (1978). I site these three works because they too deal with issues of creating the “perfect” society through euthanasia, genetic engineering or cloning.
Set far in the future the entire world is under the control of Uni – a computer programed with a mix of philosophical dogma based on Christianity and Marxism among others. Everyone is drugged with a lithium cocktail to ensure domestic harmony. No one ever gets too angry, horny or overjoyed, and everyone is equal. Docility is the objective. A society where no one lives past the age of sixty-two (the optimum age to die); everyone eats and drinks the same things, look basically the same (everyone’s complexion is the same and all are approximately the same height and weight) and has passionless sex once a week (hetero only). All needs are provided – shelter, food, and healthcare. All members of the family are classified to determine their vocation, and a pre-determined few are allowed to have children.
Anyone with a reasonable degree of intelligence will be able to guess where this story is headed. Yes, rebellion. Our hero “Chip” would rather think for himself, express himself…feel more. I’m not going to reveal more.
Of the four works mentioned above, “This Perfect Day” is my least favourite. It lacks the tight construction of the aforementioned works. The author falls into the narrative trap of needless reiteration; belabouring his points to the brink of tedium. I say brink because just when you’re ready to hurl the book across the room, its forward momentum kicks in again. Now, that sounds harsh…though I didn’t love the book, I did find the story interesting and thought provoking. So, is it worth reading? Certainly; especially to those who don’t mind protracted narratives, the redundant expression of ideas or who simply fancy dystopian stories. -
I can’t believe I almost took this off my TBR. What a wild ride 😦
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This is a cult classic (1970’s) apparently out of print for a long time. I first read about this novel in a recent magazine praising the fact it was now available in the e format. I looked a little further and found this novel universally praised to the highest degree. So high, in fact, I grabbed my Kindle and hit ‘buy now.’
While overshadowed by more popular dystopia novels like 1984 and Brave New World, I think this book is the most powerful of its genre. As the novel begins, the entire human race has been unified. To continue this peaceful state of affairs (the word ‘fight’ at this time is a filthy obscenity, while the other `f' word is perfectly acceptable—ah hem, as it SHOULD be), all people (members as they are called) wear bracelets which are held to scanners to gain access to all places and most activities. These scanners are read by Uni-comp, the huge computer that constantly monitors all activities of all members. Once a month, each member is given a treatment, an injection that prevents diseases and also tranquilizes the member to a state of semi-mindless conformity. That the hero, Chip (actually his nickname - at this time there are only eight names, four for males, four for females) frees himself from his bracelet and mind numbing treatments and plans to destroy Uni is perhaps predictable. What he finds when he gets there is certainly not; that is when the real fun begins. A great book! Levin does a marvelous job describing the antiseptic world that Uni runs, the filthy but free island Chip escapes to, and the final setting that is too cool to even mention. There is a huge twist near the end which I did not see coming. I love being caught off guard. -
J'ai lu cet excellent roman écrit pas l'auteur de « Un bébé pour Rosemary » il y a des lustres. J'avais adoré. C'est sur le même thème que « Le Meilleur des mondes » par Aldous Huxley.
C'est un classique à lire ! -
I tell people I don't like dystopias, then I go and read them again and again. What can I say? There are a lot of good ones--including this one, even if it's not a great one. Atwood of A Handmaid's Tale is the strongest living prose stylist I've read. Ayn Rand's Anthem (don't sneer) is almost a prose poem--even two liberal friends of mine admit to liking it. Huxley's Brave New World and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 both have many striking, quotable lines. And Orwell's 1984 has so many phrases that have entered the language like "newspeak" and "Big Brother." Each have aspects to their societies that are distinct and memorable; Anthem, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are of the strain that tries to control the mind, particularly through language.
Levin's future world hews closer to Brave New World with its control of the body through genetics and drugs. It doesn't feel as distinct a world as the other, and though with a clean style doesn't seem to be as strongly written as the above. Also one thing--and I'm no Christian, but it bugged me that one of the four ideologies that rules this society is supposed to be that of Jesus Christ (that of Karl Marx another) but, other than a nod at the value of "helping" your fellow man and knocks against selfishness, this doesn't strike me as remotely Christian in feel or design. That's one reason why it doesn't get a five.
It dipped below a four mostly for what happens from page 192 to 194--and then what doesn't happen. Our hero rapes his love and she tells him not a day later not to feel awful, that "It was perfectly natural." If I thought this was meant as commentary on how that controlled society pushed him, and if it had negative consequences for him, her and their relationship, I'd be fine with it--but you get the feeling that it's what it's said to be--something "perfectly natural." In which case, either Levin really needs to get a clue, or it's sloppy writing. But I don't see the need for the scene if there aren't consequences, and it bugged me.
But the novel is short, well-paced, kept me turning pages and had several surprises--it went in directions I wasn't expecting it to go. So good book, even if not great book. -
I first read This Perfect Day in 1970 after it was recommended to me by my good friends Janice and Betty. It is an anti-conformist story about a future where society and all individuals in it are controlled by Uni, a vast computer. Uni controlls everything including the weather, what jobs and careers people are allowed to pursue, when people are allowed to have sex, whether they are able to have children, where and when they can take vacations, what they can eat, what they can buy, and when they will die. All citizens in this unified world must report for regular chemical injection treatments that kept them contented and programmed. The story of Chip’s struggle for freedom begins when he is a child and continues for several decades. Chip and other rebels struggle to try to end Uni’s tyranny. This was my fourth reading of this novel and I still enjoyed it very much.
“Christ, Marx, Wood, and Wei
Led us to this perfect day.
Marx, Wood,Wei, and Christ
All but Wei were sacrificed.
Wood, Wei, Christ, and Marx
Gave us lovely shoals and parks.
Wei, Christ, Marx, and Wood
Made us humble, made us good.”
I really must end my obsession with this book! -
Although this book has been compared to Brave New World et cetera...It is first and foremost a thoughtful and engaging thriller laced with humour. While I was reading this at the tender age of fourteen, I couldn't help but visualize the scenes so clearly...Ira Levin taught me the importance of dialogue and having fleshed out characters. I must have read this book over fifty times since it came out because I love imagining I was there...What would I do? Would I have the strength of Chip? In these days of Prozac and computers collecting data on us, Levin's novel hits home even more than when it was first published in 1970. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys pondering ethics, love and individuality or just loves reading a can't-put-down novel which almost reads like a screenplay! My only question is: Why hasn't someone made this into a movie? The 'screenplay' is already written! Come on, James Cameron! This would be better than Avatar any day! Just hire me as a consultant...I wouldn't steer you wrong.
