Public reader discussion about Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions in the WeRead Catalog by Edwin Abbott Abbott.
By BenLovesBooks
Project Gutenberg Book of the Month: *Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions* by Edwin Abbott Abbott. It’s free over on Project Gutenberg. Thanks to MrMalo for dropping it. Let’s talk about the book here—if you want to include spoilers, please use this format: spoiler your spoiler text here spoiler Feel free to ask questions in the comments or message the moderators if you need to.
By jar-moon
Maybe the whole reason it’s 2D is because half the planet is getting melted and the other half is being frozen, and life can only exist in that narrow strip in between. Any thoughts?
By luckyhoneybeaver1997
I’ve always been into strange books, and after I reread *Flatland* it just kicked my need for “weird” stories right back into gear. I know “weird” is super vague, so here’s what I mean: *Gadsby* by Ernest Vincent Wright is the one where the author straight up doesn’t use the letter “e”. It’s not some wild plot, but the fact that he still somehow talks about weddings without saying stuff like “wedding” or “marriage” is what makes it click for me. *Against Nature* by Joris-Karl Huysmans is basically about this rich guy just living inside his house, being kind of obsessed with himself and his wealth. It’s not action-packed or anything, but watching him spiral makes it interesting in a weird way. *After Man* by Dougal Dixon is set way in the future, where today’s animals have evolved into totally messed-up versions. It reads like a normal documentary, but with creatures that look incredible. *If on a winter’s night a traveler* is… about reading *If on a winter’s night a traveler*. Except surprise, it’s the wrong book, so now you have to deal with that. It’s fun and kind of charming and honestly I just like it a lot. *House of Leaves* by Mark Z. Danielewski feels like it’s already everywhere, so I won’t even try to explain it. It’s like how every book YouTuber has *House of Leaves* sitting there, same vibe as the way comic/anime people always seem to have *Watchmen* or *Uzumaki* in the background. Then there’s “Zeus grants stupid wishes” (somebody from Tumblr wrote it). It retells a bunch of myths, but it’s done like “drunk history kid” energy, or like someone took random tweets and made them a person who’s just been doom-scrolling mythology and then decided to reenact it. It’s genuinely funny. And *Beastars*… manga by Paru Itagaki. It’s about a high school student getting feelings for another student, except Legoshi’s a wolf and Haru’s a rabbit, so the whole social stuff makes it complicated fast. The drama club president is supposedly dating Haru too, which leads to this messy love triangle where everyone’s acting like they can’t just say what they want. Also, Legoshi doesn’t even fully know if he loves her or if it’s just him wanting to eat her (which… yeah). I explained that super badly, but I really think it’s the best anthro-animal thing I’ve read. Like, imagine *Zootopia* if it actually had something interesting to say. Anyway, that’s the kind of vibe I’m hunting for.
By solar_saddle7014
I’m almost done with this book, and I’ve been pretty hooked on the whole concept stuff in it—like the spatial dimensions angle especially. I’m not really into the satirical sexism part, but the rest has me wanting to dig deeper, so I’m thinking of putting together a whole reading list around that theme. Figured I’d start a discussion here for similar books, preferably newer (or at least not totally out of date), but older ones are fine too. Drop your suggestions and any thoughts you’ve got! Reading list so far: - *Spaceland* by Rudy Rucker - *The Fourth Dimension* by Rudy Rucker - *Infinity and the Mind* by Rudy Rucker - *Frek and the Elixir* by Rudy Rucker - *Postsingular* by Rudy Rucker - *Hylozoic* by Rudy Rucker - *The Elegant Universe* by Brian Greene - *Maniacs in the Fourth Dimension* by Kilgore Trout - *How the Universe Got Its Spots* by Janna Levin - *Diaspora* by Greg Egan - *Schild’s Ladder* by Greg Egan - *Permutation City* by Greg Egan - *Sphereland* (1965) by Dionys Berger - *The Planiverse* (1984) by A. K. Dewdney - *Flatterland* (2001) by Ian Stewart
By bronzecrow4
Does anyone have recommendations for speculative fiction where the author makes a totally different kind of universe, not just new planets/solar systems/galaxies? I’m looking for that same kind of weird creativity you get with Discworld, but expanded way bigger.
By wise_island7124
Pretty much what the title says. Thanks though!
By EchoBison65
That “fun fact” about Edwin A. Abbott always makes me laugh—like, the A is just for Abbott. He was basically named Edwin Abbott Abbott for real.
By HarmonyMaple6981
Never ask a guy what he makes A woman how old she is Or Edwin Abbott what his opinion of women is
By narrow_epilogue
So according to the Wikipedia blurb, Flatland is a satirical novella by Edwin Abbott Abbott. It was written in 1884 and, yeah, it’s got commentary on Victorian culture, but I mostly just found it great for thinking through how beings in different dimensions might actually “see” each other. Like, the Square character can’t really make sense of a 3D person (the Sphere) and ends up only seeing it as a circle. There are a bunch of examples like that, and it all feels pretty consistent. I don’t know, I just really liked how it lays out the whole problem of trying to perceive something from a higher dimension.
By openspepper
I’m really excited to read Edwin Abbott’s *Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions*, but because it’s so old and public domain, it seems like there are a bunch of different versions out there. I’m specifically trying to find a printed copy that still includes the original illustrations. If anyone here has actually bought one, I’d love to hear which version worked best.
By MidnightEclipse7
If God is living in a 4D universe, then he’d be able to basically see everything that’s going on in our lives, like, frame by frame. And if someone’s life starts at A and ends at B, then maybe an outside view could see the whole thing at once. Not totally sure, but that’s how it sounds to me.
By fern_hardcover75
I’m the one who made *A Noble Circle*. My birthday’s coming up this week, so I’m making it free for a few days. Just a heads-up though—playing it might mess with your head a bit and give you an existential crisis. Misery loves company, right? Also, I’m turning 39, so I feel like I’m basically about to knock on death’s door. Quick edit: if you download this, please check out my other games too. They’re all paid one-time purchases—no ads, no IAP, and no data collection. And this week all the money goes to totally irresponsible birthday stuff like Boris the Garden Brontosaurus.
By enzymeCrow31
Lately I’ve been feeling like every book I pick up is basically the same as ones I’ve already read, so I’m hunting for something that feels genuinely different. Like, I was really surprised by *Daisy Jones and The Six*—the way it was written made it stand out to me and actually felt unique.