Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

Going to give this one a big YIKES. I'm sure this book was really groundbreaking in 1880, with the rudimentary explanation of alternate dimensions being before its time. That's the only merit I can give this book; it hasn't aged well.

There's no real story, let alone the so-called “Romance of Many Dimensions.” The promised humour was nowhere to be found and the scientific and mathematic logic was lacking, even for a layman of the 21st century. When I wasn't scratching my head at inconsistencies and broken logic, I was rolling my eyes at the misogyny, classism and racism (shapism?)

The author took barely any time explaining the mathematical or scientific rules of the world and instead focused solely on the society of Flatland. He went out of his way to tell readers that he wasn't about to explain how the world works; how they can walk or communicate, what they eat or how their language works. However the author found it important to spend chapters (yes, chapters) explaining that the women in Flatland are mindless, yet somehow overly emotional, beings that could accidentally kill you by walking into you at the wrong angle, and who must use separate doors and hum while they walk.

Promised to be a fun, humourous science fiction classic, got a 2-dimensional dystopian with heavy incel vibes. If you're interested in learning about spatial dimensions, find a 10 minute Youtube video on it and skip this tragedy.