Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

By: Edwin Abbott

Narrated by: Alan Munro

Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions, for which the novella is still popular amongst mathematics, physics, and computer science students. Several films have been made from the story, including a feature film in 2007 called Flatland. Other efforts have been short or experimental films, including one narrated by Dudley Moore and a short film with Martin Sheen titled Flatland: The Movie.

Public Domain (P)2012 Trout Lake Media

Thinking out of the box

Exceeded my expectations. Brilliantly fleshed out and interesting. While some of the language is dated, it is poetic and remains completely relevant to our times. You could read and enjoy this as a simple sci fi vignette but it's hard to miss the analogies. Challenges all of us as individuals and society members to think beyond your little world and embrace others who do the same.

Simply an extraordinary Genius ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Given this was written sometime before 1884, before modern physics revelations, and based only on mathematics and an insightful imagination; I find myself shattered between giving a standing ovation, and watching my ego rolling and crying in agony, after he realized the extent our ignorance.. the drama.. the richness in perception, and depth in describing the variance yielded from different perspectives.. absolutely amazing! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

excellent read

An excellent read the book captures your attention from beginning to end take moment and escape to this different space

Odd Book

Read it as part of the 1k books to read before you die recommendations. Not much plot. If you are expecting plot to happen... well, you get a few minutes of semi-plot where someone in the 2 dimension realizes there is a 3rd and gets thrown in jail.

Good Book

The story itself was very interesting and I really enjoyed it. The narrator slightly detracted from the experience, but for the price I would still recommend it.

Trippy but a great brain teaser

It was confusing at first but the book does a great job demonstrating these weird and abstract ideas.

awful narrater and recording - great story

narrater has a very deep voice and reads at very uneven speed, constant pauses.
that plus the old outdated vocabulary make it hard to follow and enjoy the story.
i wished there was a more modern adaptation of this almost 200 year old masterpiece...

A canonical book read tediously

This book is a must read for people who are wrestling with concepts that are outside of their world... and will likely remain outside of their possible experiences. Physicalist atheists come to mind... but limited field thinking can happen to anyone about anything that has a metaphysical or presently unknown component. The material in the book is enjoyable, but it is by its nature tedious. Unfortunately, it was narrated tediously and acted poorly. It was like Munro didn't bother to read ahead. He frequently ended sentences before they actually ended. That being said, it's a short book, and I enjoyed going through it again. The ideas are worth the pain.

Great Story, Terrible Narrator

What made the experience of listening to Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions the most enjoyable?

The story is fantastic! I love stories which expand the imagination and encourage the reader to consider the world from different perspectives.

What other book might you compare Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions to and why?

It may seem strange, but I couldn't help thinking of Lewis' "The Great Divorce" because both books encourage on to stretch the imagination and consider possibilities from perspectives not usually presented. It's as if the authors have found new scenic overlooks which offer the viewer a new and greater perspective.

Would you be willing to try another one of Alan Munro’s performances?

His voice is pleasant, but I found it frustrating to hear him say "thirty-two" or "thirty-three" when he should have said, "three squared" and "three cubed". He didn't know how to read mathematical notation.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Great story, but I'd try a different narrator.

Good point, outside the box thinking

A bit wordy, but altogether a good way to look at the world and things not understood