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This Perfect Day

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 2,282 ratings · 265 reviews

This Perfect Day (1970), by Ira Levin, is a heroic science fiction novel of a technocratic utopia. It is often compared to Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World.

Mass Market Paperback, 368 pages

Published February 1st 1991 by Bantam (first published 1970)

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Nov 16, 2012 Hazel Benson rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, futuristic-science-fiction

I'm kind of sorry to give this book two stars, because it is a very good story and in it's own way a good addition to the dystopian genre. I've read two other Ira Levin books before this one; 'A Kiss Before Dying' and 'Rosemary's Baby' and enjoyed both of those, and I will go on and read other works of his. My niggles with it are personal ones which I felt were unnecessary and unrealistic. Even dated maybe.

SPOILERS!!

So, for me to explain my problems with this book I have to talk about the story....more I'm kind of sorry to give this book two stars, because it is a very good story and in it's own way a good addition to the dystopian genre. I've read two other Ira Levin books before this one; 'A Kiss Before Dying' and 'Rosemary's Baby' and enjoyed both of those, and I will go on and read other works of his. My niggles with it are personal ones which I felt were unnecessary and unrealistic. Even dated maybe.

SPOILERS!!

So, for me to explain my problems with this book I have to talk about the story. On the whole I enjoyed the tale of an individual questioning the society he lives in and taking steps to escape it and find something else and ultimately better. The journey however doesn't end with escape but on the taking on of the central force which controls the world and the way it works in the first place. All this made for excellent reading! The fact that he didn't want to do it alone but with the woman he loved is also pleasing. However, did he have to rape her? And did she then have to submit to him after? Is this very realistic? She seemed to be apologising for the events which led up to his forceful lustfulness and inevitable forgiving him nothing really, but justifying his very act of savage impulses. I hated it for that. The story then continues as if it never happened and they continue as any couple in love and against society. For this I have a lower rating than what it could have deserved. Maybe, I've missed some point and the rape was necessary to demonstrate his primal nature coming through or something or this sort, but I just thought it was distasteful and sexist. It isn't detailed if anyone who hasn't read it yet but is reading this spoiler, it's just the very fact that the rape took place followed by feminine passivity, compliance and ultimately respect. YUCK!

So there, for anyone that disagrees feel free. I don't care.

Ok, final niggle and that is of the secret group sexual dynamics. The secret meeting were split into couples, or at least that is what they were trying to do. Three pairings of opposite sexes, for which they never did find a mate for sparrow. Snowflake even felt sorry for the fact that she use to freely partake in sexual activities with the other girl Sparrow. So this society is homophobic as well as sexist and they each feel they should only pair up with another of the opposite sex. In a way I don't think this is a problem in the story as they probably believe this is right because their closely monitored society will not see the logic of same gender relations as this doesn't work for breeding, but there is no evidence of anyone falling in love with or displaying attraction towards their own sex and it would happen. There would be gay couples on that island and there would be sexual discovery going on outside of the chemically conditioned family. I felt that the only mention of it in this book was in a negative context or one of mockery.

Anyway, I'm jumping off my pedestal now.
Sorry Mr Levin but I'm sticking with 2 stars!

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Samantha I just read this book for the first time and I couldn't put it down! I was glued to it all day and finished the whole thing in one sitting. The rape s...more
May 08, 2013 10:10pm

Samantha I do have to say one more thing. I don't think the book or the society ("The Family") it describes is homophobic. I got the impression that they were...more
May 08, 2013 10:28pm

Dec 02, 2011 Manny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts

Christ, Marx, Wood and Wei
Led us to this perfect day

Marx, Wood, Wei and Christ
All but Marx were sacrificed

Wood, Wei, Christ and Marx
Gave us lovely schools and parks

Wei, Christ, Marx and Wood
Made us humble, made us good.

- dystopian future world child's bouncing song

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Jan 25, 2008 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Lauren by: my dad

Shelves: fiction

I am not the type of person who rereads books. In fact, I never reread books. Except this one. I pick it up every couple of years. This is A Brave New World but so much better. So much realer. Unfortunately, it is now out of print. But maybe with the author's recent passing, they will bring it back soon. But if you ever see it in a used book store, pick it up and buy it. Don't think. Just walk over to the cash register and buy it. Then go home and read it. You'll thank me.

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Sep 10, 2012 Clark Hallman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

I first read This Perfect Day in 1970 after it was recommended to me by my good friends Janice and Betty. It is an anti-conformist story about a future where society and all individuals in it are controlled by Uni, a vast computer. Uni controlls everything including the weather, what jobs and careers people are allowed to pursue, when people are allowed to have sex, whether they are able to have children, where and when they can take vacations, what they can eat, what they can buy, and when they...more

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Dec 05, 2012 Jenny Kensler rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm not writing this review for anyone other than my nerd friends that check my Goodreads page, so don't be surprised by my lack of literary genius...

I'll only spoil the one thing that should be spoiled- and it's the same one thing that everyone references. The main character (Chip) ends up raping the woman he's in love with (Lilac) to prove to her that she's being brainwashed by the government and to get her to trust him. Reading a lackluster book for three days only to discover that you hate t...more

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May 03, 2013 Caitlin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: post-apocalyptic

Review copy provided by Open Road. Originally reviewed at incaseofsurvival.com

The trouble with classics and parents of a genre is that they often use tropes that are very common to the modern reader, or tropes that are outright nauseating due to values dissonance. Even if these things were acceptable and new when the book was written, a modern audience may struggle.
I struggled with this book. It’s not that I’m a girl with no love for the classics and no ability to look beyond the demands or the...more

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May 30, 2011 Vrixton Phillips rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 27, 2007 Caroline rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book illustrates an inevitable future, a Hitler-like vision where the population's behaviour is manipulated and controlled by drugs, conditioning and religious acceptance. Li (Chip) doesn't quite fit in, with his one green eye and a grandparent who shows him the inner workings of the computer that determines their lives, he craves a life of choice.

The novel progresses through his stages of life, allows us to experience the near freedom when he is indoctrinated into a clandestine group who s...more This book illustrates an inevitable future, a Hitler-like vision where the population's behaviour is manipulated and controlled by drugs, conditioning and religious acceptance. Li (Chip) doesn't quite fit in, with his one green eye and a grandparent who shows him the inner workings of the computer that determines their lives, he craves a life of choice.

The novel progresses through his stages of life, allows us to experience the near freedom when he is indoctrinated into a clandestine group who share cigarettes, have unbridled sex and conceive of no more. Chip wants more, and it earns him an increase in his drug regime and a continuation of his dulled existence.

Years later, memories resurface. He's now in his early 30's, unhappy and not quite sure why. He fools the computer and cuts off his 'treatments', and soon he is reawakened.

The story ends well, as well as can be expected for this futuristic world. Chip leads a party to destroy Uni (the supercomputer) and finds that it's programmed by people just like he. He seems to accept, but the reader can sense his yearning to destroy it, and Wei, the Hitler-like mastermind, mistakenly trusts him.

The showdown is a little confusing, though maybe that was me reading it while walking from the train station to work. It seemed hard to picture well, though it was a tense action sequence. Arguably, it could have been polished some more before print, and slowed down. It felt rushed, confusing.

Chip walked away, returned to his wife and young son. It was a good ending, a satisfying ending because the protagonist achieved his goal and in our expectation what he did was right. But was it? Yes, of course it was... however by destroying the supercomputer that controlled these people's lives, he has thrust them into unequivocable chaos. Many would not survive, and as the confusion lulls into a battle for dominance, the weaker is destined for a life of cruel abandonment.

The book is well written and entertaining. However the author relies heavily on 'look', 'looking' and 'looked' to place characters in a busy scene. Given the maturity of the work, this seems a disappointing let-down. He was capable of better than this.

The most memorable part of the book is when Chip forces himself on his mate. It is an act that comes uncomfortably close to rape, and one that I cannot forgive, and yet I can understand it. Chip knows no moral code other than that which Uni has metered out to him. He has not learned through social mores, because there are none for hte person he becomes when left 'untreated'. Him taking the woman without her consent is objectionable. It shocked me, and I struggled to accept it. This act, though understandable, made me distance myself from Chip for the remainder of the novel, and in the final scene I realised that if he died, I would not be overly distressed. I lay the blame on that one pivotal scene where his character showed too great of a flaw for me to be entirely sympathetic.

It's interesting, and I wonder whether Ira did it deliberately to evidence Chip's dilemma... because Chip did show remorse, and a failure to understand what he had done.

The other memorable scene was Chip throwing up after drinking alcohol. He spouted off some loud mouthed theories on how to destroy Uni, to free the family, was sat down, stared dazedly at his hosts and then promptly threw up on their carpet. That it was carpet shocked him the most. I liked that scene, it showed Chip's innocence, his uncouthness and his courage.

All in all, a good read. Put-downable, but enjoyable.(less)

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Ubik The showdown is a little confusing, though maybe that was me reading it while walking from the train station to work. It seemed hard to picture well,...more The showdown is a little confusing, though maybe that was me reading it while walking from the train station to work. It seemed hard to picture well, though it was a tense action sequence. Arguably, it could have been polished some more before print, and slowed down. It felt rushed, confusing.

I felt that way as well...I was reading it while stationary on the couch, but I *was* reading it faster than the rest partly because I seem to always read action sequences faster than normal scenes and partly because it was toward the end and my boyfriend was patiently waiting for us to hang out afterward. Nevertheless, I struggled to figure out what they were doing... Wei was stabbed, he fell down onto one of the pillars/computers/whatever, somehow managed to get up, thought he had control (did the typical enemy pompous exposition scene), Karl came in (I could never tell if he was "OK" with the new life as a programmer or if he too was faking it), and then the next thing, Wei is dead and it was all jumbled from there. And who was Luis? Was he on the inside or the outside?

I was also unclear as to whether Chip did the contact lens thing or if he actually surgically changed his eye. One second he was asking if he could just cover it up and in the next it seemed as if they were talkung full-on surgery. Was that clearer to you perhaps?

Oh, and I never quite understood the thing after Ria was caught. Ria was with Karl and he was the one trying to protect her...how did he get back into the group? I feel like that was just me missing something.

After they got to the base is when I wasnt following it as much because it seemed very unrealistic. I did appreciate that Wei himself made mention of that when he said that they were no longer going to have this form of entertainment because its too risky, but I dont know if I felt that that was enough. Obviously youre talking about THE most anti-U people who make it there...if anyone is going to be tricky and rebel its going to be those people...why would they put themselves at risk like that? At least I would think it would be years and years later that Wei would show someone the real computers and not only months-1 year later (I cant remember the timeline exactly)

Finally, who is Wood? Marx is Karl Marx, Christ is obvious, and even though I dont know my Chinese history, I get the sense of who Wei was, but who on Earth is Wood? I dont know of any political or religious figure named Wood....(less)
Apr 20, 2010 12:28pm

Nova Christ and Marx are real historical figures...Wood and Wei were in the future! This novel is set in the future...remember, it was written in 1970. Als...more
Aug 03, 2012 11:48pm

Aug 07, 2010 Yvensong rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Dystopia readers

Shelves: bookcrossing, dystopias-utopias, sf

3 1/2 Stars

This character-driven dystopia had very good character development and a rather frightening view of a possible future for all of mankind. In the minds of the developers of the society, this was Utopia. In the minds of not such a small group of people in today's world, the world in this novel may appear Utopian. No war, no need for guns, no over-population -- but the price to pay = no freedom of choice, of any kind, ensured by constant injections of drugs.

There was only factor in this...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Dystopian novels are all the rage these days, so I figured I’d give this one another look…

This Perfect Day is Levin’s third novel, following the exquisitely structured and perfectly paced A Kiss Before Dying and the similarly fantastic Rosemary’s Baby. TPD is a longer narrative than either of the first two, and a much more complicated story. While it’s certainly not bad, it doesn’t measure up to the first two, or to Levin’s next, The Stepford Wives. Levin’s sparse, direct prose is always a joy...more Dystopian novels are all the rage these days, so I figured I’d give this one another look…

This Perfect Day is Levin’s third novel, following the exquisitely structured and perfectly paced A Kiss Before Dying and the similarly fantastic Rosemary’s Baby. TPD is a longer narrative than either of the first two, and a much more complicated story. While it’s certainly not bad, it doesn’t measure up to the first two, or to Levin’s next, The Stepford Wives. Levin’s sparse, direct prose is always a joy to read, but he’s unable to build suspense as intricately as he does in his other novels.

In Levin’s far-future dystopia, human beings around the globe are united as “The Family,” their lives managed for maximum efficiency by supercomputer Uni, in the ultimate nanny state. “Family” members are rendered compliant and complacent though regular pharmaceutical “treatments” .

The first half of the novel is a pretty standard individual-versus-the-collective tale, with shades of Brave New World, 1984, Anthem, We, and Logan’s Run. Later, many of Levin’s themes and unique ingredients would be reflected in The Giver and other dystopian stuff.

As the plot moves steadily and somewhat predictably toward what would be a trite but acceptable conclusion (if we were reading, say, Anthem or Logan’s Run), the sheer number of pages left signal that Levin has something larger in mind. And indeed, he does have some tricks up his sleeve. Our protagonist and his initially reluctant lover escape Uni’s dominion only to discover that the grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence dividing collectivism from individual liberty. And things get more interesting from there.

So, read it if you’re an Ira Levin fan. (If you’re not yet an Ira Levin fan, start with A Kiss Before Dying, Rosemary’s Baby and/or The Stepford Wives, and you will become an Ira Levin fan, unless you are dead and/or functionally illiterate.)

Read it if you’re a fan of dystopian stories. You won’t find anything startlingly original here but Levin does a decent job with the standard tropes of the genre, and throws in a few surprises. (e.g., when folks come out from under the stupefaction of their pharmaceutical “treatments”, they get really, really interested in sex- but Levin’s not throwing that in just for titillation.) It’s not a standout, but certainly an important entry in the dystopian canon.

You might want to skip it if you’re overly sensitive to the plausibility of science fiction elements. Or, just cut Levin some slack: it was 1970, Levin was not a practiced Sci-Fi scribe, so some of his contrivances are a bit cheesy. Take it as a fable, a cautionary tale about human impulses to improve their societies without considering unintended consequences.

This was recently reissues- with Levin’s other novels- in a handsome new trade paperback edition. I remember well the tattered paperback I first read as a preteen, and digging the naked butts on the cover, and the rather explicit (for a 12 year old reading a book published in 1970, at any rate) sex scenes…
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Dec 28, 2012 Josephine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: For that long plane ride when you want to be absorbed but not require concentration.

Entertaining, fast and easy read. The action proceeds at a thrilling pace. I enjoyed following the protagonist from his constrained, innocent childhood through to the explosive end. Then having put it down, I promptly forgot most of it, until just then when I read a plot summary in order to write this review. Not a book that lingers the way Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood (which I read directly after this book) does. I think I was looking to care more about the characters - they are some...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Evan Hammerman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Actually I first read this book years ago (I arbitrarily put the date of the partial eclipse of the sun that I got to see because it was a Saturday) right after it came out.

I am writing about it now because I just reread it.

I have to write about this book in two parts. The first time I read it, I was amazed. A massive computer running the world! The word "kill" being treated like we treat the word "fuck"! People having "namebers" instead of names! It made me think that there are things going on...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Nova rated it 5 of 5 stars

Although this book has been compared to Brave New World et cetera...It is first and foremost a thoughtful and engaging thriller laced with humour. While I was reading this at the tender age of fourteen, I couldn't help but visualize the scenes so clearly...Ira Levin taught me the importance of dialogue and having fleshed out characters. I must have read this book over fifty times since it came out because I love imagining I was there...What would I do? Would I have the strength of Chip? In these...more

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May 24, 2012 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Christ, Marx, Wood and Wei

Led us to this perfect day.

Marx, Wei, Wood and Christ,

All but Wei were sacrificed.

Wood, Wei, Christ and Marx,

Gave us lovely schools and parks.

Wei, Christ, Marx and Wood,

Made us humble, made us good.

This amazing book starts off with this eerie chant, which is taught to very young children in school. The story is set in a seemingly perfect global society whose genesis is fuzzy. The story is a strong character-driven one, a glimpse into the future of what could be if the g...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Allison Doyle rated it 5 of 5 stars

*sigh* I love this book. I recommend this book to people when they ask me for a sci-fi suggestion & I'm assuming they've read the ABC's (that's Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke) and perhaps haven't been introduced to Levin. This is oft-compared to "1984" and "Brave New World" -- and I could rave about "Brave New World," especially since this was originally published in the 1970s so it wasn't breaking into the same future-predicting, but for some reason, this story & Chip (the main character)...more

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May 26, 2011 Patrick Gibson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

This is a cult classic (1970’s) apparently out of print for a long time. I first read about this novel in a recent magazine praising the fact it was now available in the e format. I looked a little further and found this novel universally praised to the highest degree. So high, in fact, I grabbed my Kindle and hit ‘buy now.’

While overshadowed by more popular dystopia novels like 1984 and Brave New World, I think this book is the most powerful of its genre. As the novel begins, the entire human...more

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Feb 04, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Kara

This book was good and an easy read. It is a futuristic story but I would not label it as sci-fi. The author has a nice "voice"- the language isn't forced and the story flows comfortably.
What keeps this book from getting higher ratings from me is the story itself. It is interesting and well-crafted but not especially original. In all fairness, it very well may have been original when it was written in 1970, and perhaps I could be more judicious in rating the book by researching when this kind o...more

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Dec 03, 2011 S.B. Lerner rated it 5 of 5 stars

My son is taking a class on utopian/dystopian literature, and I think that influenced my decision to read this novella, as well as the fact that I've enjoyed other Ira Levin's, like Rosemary's Baby and A Kiss Before Dying. They are quick, easy reading, totally absorbing. This one stars "Chip" as in "Chip off the old block," which is the hope of his grandfather, part of the dying breed who helped create Uni, the powerful computer that runs the world and keeps everyone drugged just enough not to c...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Elvis Brown rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this one.

Written in the 60's so there's a good smattering of sex written in that naive, slightly misogynistic way that was common then. (see the digression below)

The book jaunts along to a not-so-surprising ending that was nevertheless enjoyable.

What I really like were the descriptions of Uni and the well thought out world of Uni complete with songs and aphorisms. Reminiscent of both Brave New World and 1984. If you like dystopian novels and want to fill in a few historical blanks then...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Gordon Houghton rated it 2 of 5 stars

This Perfect Day is a difficult book to review: ordinarily, I would have given it three stars, but in the context of Levin's other novels, it's neither as tight nor as beautifully structured, and the plot is quite transparent, with only a couple of surprising (and improbable) twists. I liked it, and wanted to love it, and kept reading to the end; but it pales in comparison to the gripping narratives he's created elsewhere. The dystopian future is not particularly original either, nor is it fully...more

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May 01, 2013 Reemawi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maybe I shouldn't like this book as much as I did because it features a rape scene, but I simply can't say that that one scene affected my feeling about the book as a whole. This book is much more than that one scene.

In any other kind of setting, a rape would've affected everything else, but seeing as how we're talking about a world in which there is no struggle or even the concept of struggle, and by default no concept of rape, because emotions and behavior are suppressed from the moment a per...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Ivan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’ll admit right up front that I’m not a fan of dystopian fiction. However, I am a fan of Ira Levin (both his novels and his plays). “This Perfect Day” was published in 1970 – after his play “Dr Cook’s Garden” (1967) and before his novels “The Stepford Wives” (1972) and “The Boys from Brazil” (1978). I site these three works because they too deal with issues of creating the “perfect” society through euthanasia, genetic engineering or cloning.

Set far in the future the entire world is under the...more
I’ll admit right up front that I’m not a fan of dystopian fiction. However, I am a fan of Ira Levin (both his novels and his plays). “This Perfect Day” was published in 1970 – after his play “Dr Cook’s Garden” (1967) and before his novels “The Stepford Wives” (1972) and “The Boys from Brazil” (1978). I site these three works because they too deal with issues of creating the “perfect” society through euthanasia, genetic engineering or cloning.

Set far in the future the entire world is under the control of Uni – a computer programed with a mix of philosophical dogma based on Christianity and Marxism among others. Everyone is drugged with a lithium cocktail to ensure domestic harmony. No one ever gets too angry, horny or overjoyed, and everyone is equal. Docility is the objective. A society where no one lives past the age of sixty-two (the optimum age to die); everyone eats and drinks the same things, look basically the same (everyone’s complexion is the same and all are approximately the same height and weight) and has passionless sex once a week (hetero only). All needs are provided – shelter, food, and healthcare. All members of the family are classified to determine their vocation, and a pre-determined few are allowed to have children.

Anyone with a reasonable degree of intelligence will be able to guess where this story is headed. Yes, rebellion. Our hero “Chip” would rather think for himself, express himself…feel more. I’m not going to reveal more.

Of the four works mentioned above, “This Perfect Day” is my least favourite. It lacks the tight construction of the aforementioned works. The author falls into the narrative trap of needless reiteration; belabouring his points to the brink of tedium. I say brink because just when you’re ready to hurl the book across the room, its forward momentum kicks in again. Now, that sounds harsh…though I didn’t love the book, I did find the story interesting and thought provoking. So, is it worth reading? Certainly; especially to those who don’t mind protracted narratives, the redundant expression of ideas or who simply fancy dystopian stories.
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Dec 10, 2011 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I first read This Perfect Day sometime around my Junior High School years. I've read it a few times since then, and just had to pick it up at least once more. This book is a classic - check that - this book is THE CLASSIC of this genre.

Imagine a world where society is drugged into compliance, manners, and unity. In fact, everyone is genetically engineered and a computer controls who has children, what job you have, where you live, and even when you die. Imagine not being able to imagine freedom,...more

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Aug 08, 2010 Heather Crews rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my absolute favorite books of all time. Do yourself and favor and read it if you haven't before. I pick it up and reread it every couple of years, and I think I always notice something new in the story....but that may just be because my view on life changes over the years, and thus I come at it from a different approach.
It is very much in the vein of other books that deal with the concept of a futuristic dystopian world, i.e, Brave New World, 1984, and Logan's Run.
It was out OOP...more

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May 20, 2012 Rae M. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: net-galley, ebook, science-fiction, dystopia, classics, speculative-fiction, american-lit, adult-fiction, male-authors, favorites-all-time, 05-stars, contemporary-literature, must-reads, read-in-2012, review-or-comment

This should probably be the dystopia classic, it's a lot more gripping than 1984. Plus, there's something more disturbing about being content with your dystopia instead of fearing it--like it is here and in Brave New World. They have a lot of similarities, but the plot overall is entirely different. I think everything is far more controlled in this novel, everything has a specific day, they only eat one kind of food, etc etc.

This novel is truly brilliant. I think the best thing is how well craf...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Doug rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a book that should make you think. Written in the late 1960's, the subject material applies just as well to our society in the 2000's. The book speaks to a utopia and the possible downsides to such. It also hit a note with me regarding our recent trends about things we are doing right now with national security and the terrorist threat. I see a great loss of personal freedoms occurring right now in the U.S. in the name of keeping us safe from personal harm. What are we giving away with t...more

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Aug 07, 2009 Tim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dystopia for a younger crowd. People who rave about this less-than-perfect book smack of piousness. The author is a master of suspense who took a decent crack at sci-fi writing - and that's it. As a group, sci-fi readers aren't particularly discerning, and rarely flinch at the gaping plot holes of the novels that they adore. I've now read all of Levin's titles, and I enjoyed his sly suggestion in this one that neither side of the conflict makes a convincing case for supremacy. But all the hue-an...more

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May 18, 2013 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Sci-Fi Newbies, Dystopian Fans

Shelves: 2013-challenge

Can the perfect utopia in fact be the ultimate dystopia?

This is the question explored by Ira Levin, the author of many famous works of literature and science-fiction including Rosemary's Baby and the Stepford Wives. Published in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and Second Wave Feminism, This Perfect Day captures the themes of the 1960s, including resistance to authority, what makes happiness, who defines equality, and what does freedom truly look like?

There is t...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Angela Holland rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, distopia-armegeddon, sci-fiction

After reading The Hunger Games I decided to re-read a few of my favorite future society, sci-fi stories.

This Perfect Day was written in 1966 by Ira Levin who also wrote Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives . In 1992 in received the Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame for science fiction.

The story takes place in a future where everyone on earth has been unified in peace and love under the control of an all-knowing computer, Uni. Every decision for members is made for them, what type of job th...more

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May 01, 2011 Joshua rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've heard it compared to Brave New World (which I recently read) and 1984 (which I have not read for a long time), favorably and unfavorably. Almost everyone links this one by Ira Levin with the other two older, more-classic works, and sometimes with Fahrenheit 451 (I haven't read that in a long time) and We (I've never read it). I can see the comparison, but I can't help but respond favorably. Either because it's written simplistically or in spite of it (and I, incidentally, find it the former...more I've heard it compared to Brave New World (which I recently read) and 1984 (which I have not read for a long time), favorably and unfavorably. Almost everyone links this one by Ira Levin with the other two older, more-classic works, and sometimes with Fahrenheit 451 (I haven't read that in a long time) and We (I've never read it). I can see the comparison, but I can't help but respond favorably. Either because it's written simplistically or in spite of it (and I, incidentally, find it the former), This Perfect Day is superior to both.

Perhaps, in the end, it's simply that it came along later. Both 1984 and Brave New World are excellent, and both successfully predicated current, twenty-first century trends. We have cameras everywhere, and our privacy is compromised as it is in 1984; and who couldn't have compared Brave New World's "soma" to its real-life counterparts: Zoloft, Ambien, Prozac? But both of these novels were written immediately before or after the Second World War; in, really, a time where another "world" existed. It reflects the apprehension of the mounting change already underway.

In This Perfect Day, the world is controlled with a mind for efficiency and "happiness" - unsustainable happiness - and it's controlled by computers, or more specifically, one computer - UniComp.

OK, it's kind of dated. It reeks of a seventies-vision of the future. But there is still something in it, as we go forward; as companies are looking to implement "achievement-based performance", with turning the act of efficiency into a game, this "gamification" of society, augmented-reality that encourages producers and consumers alike to act in the companies' interest - of their own free will; against, perhaps, their own. A society that takes honor and loyalty and rids it of meaning - by forcing the hand of the would-be honorable. It treats people and activities as commodities - as we sit on Facebook "friend"ing each other, as we go to Foursquare to let people know we had our sixteenth cappuccino this week.

The members (of the "Family") are drugged to be docile and community-minded; the members go to monthly treatments that are fine-tuned to keep them in line with what society (i.e. UniComp) want from them. Not unlike ritalin for unruly kids, really.

As for the novel itself: there are a few twists. The beginning is slow but hardly unbearable; like taking the medication yourself, you slowly awaken to the possibilities the groups have; it leads you to liberty, than to a new place of honor among the would-be saviors of the human race; and finally, it has you fighting back alongside Chip, to potentially rid yourself of a gentle monster that knows best for you.

I'm reminded of the ending to Brave New World, the quote that stays with me. "I claim the right to be unhappy."

I would say this should be required reading for high school students, but then, I would be acting as their own UniComp, wouldn't I?

An amazing book that has the potential to change the docility we might all assume, voluntarily or otherwise. (less)

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About Ira Levin

Levin graduated from the Horace Mann School and New York University, where he majored in philosophy and English.

After college, he wrote training films and scripts for television.

Levin's first produced play was No Time for Sergeants (adapted from Mac Hyman's novel), a comedy about a hillbilly drafted into the United States Air Force that launched the career of Andy Griffith. The play was turned int...more

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