Dystopian novels are all the rage these days, so I figured I’d give this one another look… This Perfect Day is Levin’s third novel, following the exquisitely structured and perfectly paced A Kiss Before Dying and the similarly fantastic Rosemary’s Baby. TPD is a longer narrative than either of the first two, and a much more complicated story. While it’s certainly not bad, it doesn’t measure up to the first two, or to Levin’s next, The Stepford Wives. Levin’s sparse, direct prose is always a joy to read, but he’s unable to build suspense as intricately as he does in his other novels.In Levin’s far-future dystopia, human beings around the globe are united as “The Family,” their lives managed for maximum efficiency by supercomputer Uni, in the ultimate nanny state. “Family” members are rendered compliant and complacent though regular pharmaceutical “treatments” .The first half of the novel is a pretty standard individual-versus-the-collective tale, with shades of Brave New World, 1984, Anthem, We, and Logan’s Run. Later, many of Levin’s themes and unique ingredients would be reflected in The Giver and other dystopian stuff.As the plot moves steadily and somewhat predictably toward what would be a trite but acceptable conclusion (if we were reading, say, Anthem or Logan’s Run), the sheer number of pages left signal that Levin has something larger in mind. And indeed, he does have some tricks up his sleeve. Our protagonist and his initially reluctant lover escape Uni’s dominion only to discover that the grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence dividing collectivism from individual liberty. And things get more interesting from there. So, read it if you’re an Ira Levin fan. (If you’re not yet an Ira Levin fan, start with A Kiss Before Dying, Rosemary’s Baby and/or The Stepford Wives, and you will become an Ira Levin fan, unless you are dead and/or functionally illiterate.)Read it if you’re a fan of dystopian stories. You won’t find anything startlingly original here but Levin does a decent job with the standard tropes of the genre, and throws in a few surprises. (e.g., when folks come out from under the stupefaction of their pharmaceutical “treatments”, they get really, really interested in sex- but Levin’s not throwing that in just for titillation.) It’s not a standout, but certainly an important entry in the dystopian canon.You might want to skip it if you’re overly sensitive to the plausibility of science fiction elements. Or, just cut Levin some slack: it was 1970, Levin was not a practiced Sci-Fi scribe, so some of his contrivances are a bit cheesy. Take it as a fable, a cautionary tale about human impulses to improve their societies without considering unintended consequences.This was recently reissues- with Levin’s other novels- in a handsome new trade paperback edition. I remember well the tattered paperback I first read as a preteen, and digging the naked butts on the cover, and the rather explicit (for a 12 year old reading a book published in 1970, at any rate) sex scenes…
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!
What do You think about This Perfect Day (1991)?
"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."
—Jenny (Reading Envy)
How did I never read this book before, or even hear of it? I would put it right up there with Brave New World and 1984 as "must read" classic dystopian books. I had heard of Ira Levin, I've read Rosemary's Baby, but I would never have guessed the same author wrote this.The Unification has created a bleak dystopia, where members happily go about their daily schedule of work, excerise, food cakes, and community TV viewing. Why do they all co-operate? Better living through chemistry - they all receive monthly "treatments" - these contain, among other things, lithium. There are drugs to prevent pregnancy and dampen the sex drive, drugs to stop hair from growing on faces & bodies, and others. Genetics is used to make everyone look alike - the same color hair & eyes & skin, the same body size & shape, the same slightly almond eyes.But what happens when the dose is not quite right, and it's almost time for the next? A few individual members start getting ideas, and wondering what life would be like if they could make some of their own choices. That's our main character, Chip, or Li and a bunch of letters and numbers as is his official "nameber".I would definatley recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction. It's a must read!
—Jane
*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.
—Allison Doyle
