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mbenzz's review against another edition
3.0
I was all over the place with this book. In the beginning, I was completely into it, then I became bored, then I was annoyed, and almost DNF'd it, but I really wanted to see how it ended, so I kept at it. Then it got exciting again! Then it felt all over the place and left me with no closure.
What happened to the world? What happened to the Family? How did people cope? What happened to Chip and Lilac and Jan and Julia? To Kyle? We never find out.
I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it. Chip is not the most likable guy out there, and reading almost 400 pages of his thoughts became tiresome.
I will say, what I thought was most inappropriate about this story was NOT the infamous rape scene. That I actually understood. Mr. Levin had just spent more than half of the book telling us how members of the Family have a completely different attitude toward sex than we do. To them, it's no big deal. They're all so drugged that it really doesn't register as more than a way to pass the time, so I understood why Lilac forgave him so easily after the fact (as she was still under the influence of her meds) and why Chip felt so bad about it afterward (because he was not and understood the what he had done). It really just wasn't that big a deal to her. Now, in OUR lives and OUR society, yes, it's a VERY big deal. But most of us don't have different sexual partners every single week and have sex only on Saturdays because we're told to.
We also don't encourage our children of 12 and 13 years old to have as much sex as they want with as many different partners whenever they want. THAT, I had a problem with. There was no reason for it. Why make them so young? Why not introduce them to sex at 15 or 16 at the earliest?
Anyway, that was my only gripe.
I'm glad I finally read this, as it's been on my TBR list for years, but I didn't love it nearly as much as I thought I would. 'The Stepford Wives' is one of my favorite books, but I think this one just went on a little longer than my interest could stand.
What happened to the world? What happened to the Family? How did people cope? What happened to Chip and Lilac and Jan and Julia? To Kyle? We never find out.
I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it. Chip is not the most likable guy out there, and reading almost 400 pages of his thoughts became tiresome.
I will say, what I thought was most inappropriate about this story was NOT the infamous rape scene. That I actually understood. Mr. Levin had just spent more than half of the book telling us how members of the Family have a completely different attitude toward sex than we do. To them, it's no big deal. They're all so drugged that it really doesn't register as more than a way to pass the time, so I understood why Lilac forgave him so easily after the fact (as she was still under the influence of her meds) and why Chip felt so bad about it afterward (because he was not and understood the what he had done). It really just wasn't that big a deal to her. Now, in OUR lives and OUR society, yes, it's a VERY big deal. But most of us don't have different sexual partners every single week and have sex only on Saturdays because we're told to.
We also don't encourage our children of 12 and 13 years old to have as much sex as they want with as many different partners whenever they want. THAT, I had a problem with. There was no reason for it. Why make them so young? Why not introduce them to sex at 15 or 16 at the earliest?
Anyway, that was my only gripe.
I'm glad I finally read this, as it's been on my TBR list for years, but I didn't love it nearly as much as I thought I would. 'The Stepford Wives' is one of my favorite books, but I think this one just went on a little longer than my interest could stand.
cemoses's review against another edition
2.0
I was very disappointed. I would have thought a book about a world being controlled by a computer who makes suggestions to people(like goodreads) would be better. Also I liked Ira Levin but this was not very good.
nicknicknicknickismyname's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
agarocks's review against another edition
2.0
The main character isn't very symphatetic, but I still liked the book until the rape scene. It was very distasteful and poorly written, awful moment in characterization of both characters. After reading it I completly lost interest in the rest of the book...
bookjerm's review against another edition
2.0
A non violent utopian society run by an omnipotent computer called Uni. If not for the mediocre writing/plotting, this could have been interesting. The concept was intriguing. Part 1 was hard to get through--so much was going on, and barely anything was explained. I hate when I have to struggle to figure out where/when I am. Add to that the simple style of the writing--he said and she saids galore!--and it makes for a very rough start. The plot, however, does pick up in Part 2, with some interesting character developments, that makes for a more interesting read. In the end, this one was just ok for me. It was a quick, mediocre read. Watch the movie equilibrium. I enjoyed that more than I enjoyed this, and they share quite a few similarities.
gggggggg_g's review against another edition
4.0
Another take on the classic dystopian novel. I'd probably place this behind "We," the forgotten Russian progenitor of the genre, then "1984" and "Brave New World," which I still think is hot garbage. What I liked about "This Perfect Day," is that Chip, the main character, suffers repeated failures and must make the conscious decision to do better in the future. And I must admit, he had me fooled until the last few pages. The ending could've gone either way and I would've been satisfied. Solid, quick little read.
sillyduckie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Confinement, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Toxic friendship, and Violence
mark0's review against another edition
3.0
A superb dystopian adventure with some intriguing twists.
The book is let down by its problematic treatment of women. I wonder if Levin ever offered a justification for this - something along the lines of true freedom necessarily risking violent excesses - but it's unnecessary and disappointing to be stumbling over this in a otherwise great story.
The book is let down by its problematic treatment of women. I wonder if Levin ever offered a justification for this - something along the lines of true freedom necessarily risking violent excesses - but it's unnecessary and disappointing to be stumbling over this in a otherwise great story.