Details
Synopsis
In his many works of fiction and biography, Peter Ackroyd usually delves into the past. In this novel, set far in the future, an orator named Plato delivers a series of addresses analyzing the famous "age of Mouldwarp," i.e. the years 1500 to 2300--an era that was characterized by the "cult of webs and nets" that enslaved the population of the world, and that ended with the disappearance of the sun. A New York Times Notable Book for the year 2000.
| Size | | Length: | 173 pages | | Height: | 8.3 in | | Width: | 5.5 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 9.6 oz |
Industry Reviews
"[T]HE PLATO PAPERS is set in the year A.D. 3700, and deftly manages to meld several genres--future history, philosophical dialogue, science fiction, admonitory parable, satire--into one compact, visionary "prophesy."...To me the particular stylistic triumph of Ackroyd's book lies in its perfect emulation of the diction found in English versions of Plato's dialogues--simple, clear and noble, with a philosophic calm suffusing every sentence, as if the speakers were framed against white marble columns with the air perfectly clear and dawn just having broken....As with other poetic fables and visions, THE PLATO PAPERS works by tantalizing, rather than asserting. Much is left to the reader's imagination or to shrewd guesswork....[H]owever you interpret its meaning, THE PLATO PAPERS offers exhilarating, intellectual entertainment.
Dirda
"Plato's findings are often fresh and sometimes chillingly apt....Ackroyd has written his book in the form of Platonic dialogues, and his ear is pitched to the slightly coy, always elegant speeches of the originals. He has also produced a mystery story, and half the fun lies in figuring out what he's up to....Those familiar with Ackroyd's previous books may find THE PLATO PAPERS a refreshing change. All his books are arguably unique, but most share a dense and brooding tone and they are usually about the past. THE PLATO PAPERS centers on the future, and is cheerful, whimsical and short."
Blue
"THE PLATO PAPERS is unlike anything else Peter Ackroyd...has written....One did not expect this book. It is being marketed as a novel. There is, however, no story, characters or plot as such....The most enjoyable section of the book is the opening one, which is replete with jokes--some extremely funny....THE PLATO PAPERS can be enjoyed as a jeu d'esprit, but for students of Ackroyd it is something more."
Sutherland
"[A] serious divertissement, a brilliant fabulation that is the product of a playful, engaged and well-stocked mind....Most of Ackroyd's book is intricately amusing because the satire cuts in so many different directions, simultaneously; some of it is piercingly sad because in the crazed glass of the mirror Ackroyd holds up, we see ourselves--and not just our temporal follies, but our permanent ones."
Boston Globe - Richard Dyer (02/20/2000)
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