The Sleeper Awakes by H. G. WELLS

By early_cat

Rating: 3.5/5 When the Sleeper Wakes is basically about a guy who falls asleep and then wakes up over 200 years later, only to find out his bank money has basically compounded into “richest man in the world” territory. I liked the whole Victorian guy suddenly dropped into a totally different reality thing, and it kept pulling me in. I did have moments where the descriptions were hard to picture, but overall it does a good job pointing out how ugly unchecked capitalism can get. Graham’s seeing people with power “fix” homelessness in the worst way—by using forced labor and making life even harder for anyone already struggling. And the poor get mocked for how they look, which always felt extra cruel, especially since they’re not exactly able to buy nice clothes when they can barely make it day to day. Then there’s this revolutionary leader Graham runs into who, once he actually gets power, just turns around and recreates the same oppressive system he supposedly wanted to tear down. It makes the whole corruption/power cycle feel pretty bleak. The book also digs into what industrialization really does to people—how society gets sorted into layers and how easily humans get treated like they don’t matter. I will say, like Wells admitted, parts of it—mostly near the end—feel rushed. And that ending really sticks with me. Is it actually a win, or is it just another kind of loss? I kind of like that it stays ambiguous, though. If the people who already have everything keep chasing more wealth and power, what chance do the poor even have to come out on top?