Review of 'Herland: A Lost Feminist Utopian Novel' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
So, having read more of Charlotte Gilman's wikipedia page I must subsequently rewrite my review a little bit and lower the rating a bit further.
Apparently Charlotte Perkins Gilman was pretty racist by modern standards. Unfortunately by the standards of the time not so much. But that certainly explains why, unlike their sexist assumptions, the character's colonialist attitudes went relatively un-examined.
Otherwise I thought it was a pretty solid addition to the scientists go adventuring sort of genre. At least it's now over a hundred years old, which certainly isn't an excuse that all colonialist feminist science adventures can use. The fact that this book is decidedly written from some sort of feminist perspective really set it apart from any other science adventure novels that I have read that is not contemporary with me. If you enjoy Dracula, Frankenstein, Jules Verne or Brave New World you might as well give …
So, having read more of Charlotte Gilman's wikipedia page I must subsequently rewrite my review a little bit and lower the rating a bit further.
Apparently Charlotte Perkins Gilman was pretty racist by modern standards. Unfortunately by the standards of the time not so much. But that certainly explains why, unlike their sexist assumptions, the character's colonialist attitudes went relatively un-examined.
Otherwise I thought it was a pretty solid addition to the scientists go adventuring sort of genre. At least it's now over a hundred years old, which certainly isn't an excuse that all colonialist feminist science adventures can use. The fact that this book is decidedly written from some sort of feminist perspective really set it apart from any other science adventure novels that I have read that is not contemporary with me. If you enjoy Dracula, Frankenstein, Jules Verne or Brave New World you might as well give this one a go.
