Yes, a world in which a mundane Square is our protagonist, where class is derived from one's number of sides and where one's woman is but a flat line, perceived simply as a mere dot near invisible; Flatland is not just an account of the perceptibility of dimensionality, but a satire of the inequality that pervaded Victorian England. Featuring a visit from and to other dimensions, our Square learns the nature of the very sinews of reality, to the point at which the sky is the limit of his imagination . . . To the point of imagining a Fourth, Fifth or even a Sixth dimension, he refuses to be dissuaded in his upward geometric spiral, whatever the consequences. This piece of Math-Fi is a very entertaining -if a little primitive read- that is sure to bring new perspectives and make maths fun again. I only wish I'd read it when studying the subject at school!
The book is set in a two-dimensional world of Flatland, a place where ones social status is inferred from their shape, from a lowly Isosceles Triangle through to the Perfect Circle, whose 'sides' are so small as to be imperceptible. In the first half of the novella, the Square demonstrates the geography and compass of the world via wind direction and how their society operates in terms of the government, (controlled by circular priestly beings) and the histories of the land, (such as their brief use of colour and how the Bill allowing its use was quashed.) Flatland rings with a discord of Fascism in this respect, which feeds into the ideologies of the society, particularly in how it views women, which ultimately resonates eerily with the contemporary society during which the book was written. The first half essentially reads like an academic paper akin to the writing seen in H. G. Wells' The War of The Worlds, which is written in the style of a journalist.
The second half sees the book enter the more personal story of Square, who dreams of Lineland (a place of only one dimension,) frustrated by the inhabitant's incredulity at the notion of there being two dimensions to Space. In this sense, the novel is very philosophical and focuses on Solipsism (where one believes reality to exist only in the mind- meaning you are the universe) to a small extent: Within the Square's descriptions rings a visual description, very similar to the writings of philosopher Bertrand Russell, whose Problems of Philosophy I read a short while ago. The book is short overall at less than 85 pages, but contained within is an interesting read as educational as it is entertaining. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who struggles with maths (particularly shape and space) and to anyone who has trouble with direction; it really helps you to visualise what life would be like without the third dimension and brings back fond memories, of when I played Paper Mario.
The only real problem is the writing style which -being over a century old- has naturally been surpassed several times over by the far more intimate writings of contemporary authors. There are also times when Flatland -excuse the pun- appears flat, especially within the dialogue where a heated argument might take place and someone -rather than go for the snappy 'fuck off'- will of course take us through a rather impotent-sounding squeal of "'...no more will I endure thy mockeries'... And saying these words I precipitated myself upon him." It doesn't really work does it? But it's forgivable given the time period and the maths is interesting (something I never thought I'd hear myself say!)
Overall, Flatland is an insightful read of great prescience and will be sure to entertain even the most resilient 'mathsophobe.' And for those of you SF fans into Cyberpunk, Flatland will be a highly-informative progenitor read, bringing the metaphysical into SF probably for the first time. I hope this review's been useful to you and before I go, please check below to see the link to the Dover-Thrift website (also on Amazon, where I bought the book) because their copy is unbelievably cheap and of a pretty high-quality as well, I might add!
Thanks for reading!
Dover-Thrift Edition
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