Flatland

A Romance of Many Dimensions

By: Edwin A. Abbott

Narrated by: Sebastian Brown

A masterpiece of classic science fiction.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott, first published in 1884. Written pseudonymously by "A Square", the book used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to comment on the hierarchy of Victorian culture, but the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions.

Physicists and science popularizers Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking have both commented on and postulated about the effects of Flatland. Sagan recreates the thought experiment as a set-up to discussing the possibilities of higher dimensions of the physical universe in both the book and television series Cosmos, whereas Hawking notes the peculiarity of life in two-dimensional space.

A must-listen classic for lovers of science fiction!

Public Domain (P)2021 Books on Deck

Great

An interesting story about what life could be like in a 2D world. Makes you think about what the 4th dimension would be like.

As advertised

This had been on my list for a while, and I’m glad to have finally gotten to it. It did not disappoint. I appreciated the additional biography piece at the end too.

Deep and thought provoking

How would a point view a line? How would a line view a square? How would a square view three dimensional space? Thought provoking and pretty cool that it was originally written in the 1800s.

its strength lies in it being a singularly unique book and handled in a deft manner

A unique book that explores life in many different dimensions. A mathematical fantasy that also skewers the victorian culture.
The book revolves around proposing a simple concept and taking it to its extreme conclusion. There are parts of the imagined fantasy where it breaks down, but rather than try to hide this, the author instead expertly lampshades it and you find yourself quickly overlooking the impossibilities and instead enjoying this strange and exotic land.
The book well illustrated how difficult, almost impossible, it is for us to imagine higher dimensions, while at the same time giving us possible clues as to how to do so.
As far as fiction goes, there is not much story, but I find its strength lies in it being a singularly unique book and handled in a deft manner.