Voyage to Kazohinia

by Sándor Szathmári, Inez Kemenes (Translation)

This classic dystopian satire has been compared to the likes of Brave New World, Gulliver's Travels and The Wizard of Oz. Voyage to Kazohinia is a tour de force of twentieth-century literature--and it is here published in English for the first time outside of Hungary. Sándor Szathmári's novel chronicles the travels of a modern Gulliver on the eve of World War II. A shipwrecked English ship's surgeon finds himself on an unknown island whose inhabitants, the Hins, live a technologically advanced existence without emotions, desires, arts, money, or politics. Soon unhappy amid this bleak perfection, Gulliver asks to be admitted to the closed settlement of the Behins, beings with souls and atavistic human traits. He has seen nothing yet. A massively entertaining mix of satire and science fiction, Voyage to Kazohinia has seen half a dozen editions in Hungary in decades since its original publication and remains the country's most popular cult classic.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Classics, Hungary, Hungarian Literature, Literature

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1941

Reviews

[Márta Péterffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valamikor ennek frenetikus hatása volt rám, kevés hasonló könyv volt még. Most visszagondolva négyest kap, de szerettem:)

[Perry Whitford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 20th century Gulliver visits a Brave New World.

Written by an obscure Hungarian in Esparanto, first published in 1941 but not translated into english until 1975, Kazohinia is a unique and fascinating gem of utopian literature. I knew nothing about it when I bought my copy from Oxfam, the cover appealed to me, as did the unknown, eastern European name of the author.

That said, I left it sitting around for a few years before finally reading it. I wish I hadn't been so tardy, as it really is something of a unique achievement by the author. The society he describes is like no other I am aware of, a land without any government or economics, yet characterised by order and plenty, completely free of any crime or suffering.

And it really is the Gulliver who discovers it, a modern day version, a naval doctor shipwrecked while fighting for Britain's 'rightful interests' against the wrongful interests of an Italian state presumptuous enough to think they too can have an empire.

He washes up on an island populated by the Hins, practical and emotionless people who live by the principles of 'kazo' and 'kazi', which could be loosely translated as rightness and wrongness: or more fundamentally, if less intuitively to our way of thinking, as things which either exist in reality or do not. For example, the natural needs of the body are kazo, yet friendship, music, love, and even the concept of beauty, are kazi to the Hins.

The Hins all work for each other because not to do so would entail suffering, yet they only cooperate when there is a tangible benefit, hardly conversing otherwise. Pleasures and relationships are superfluous to them, emotions are without utility and thus simply don't exist.

Gulliver is horrified by the cold and monotonous nature of their lives, and looks for escape amongst their outcasts, the Behins, who they keep enclosed behind walls in a settlement. However, he soon discovers that the Behins are infinitely worse, a truly insane society driven by random, ridiculous monomanias.

The meaningless 'kipu' of the Behins, a tyranny of'accumulated idiocy', is absurdly amusing, yet the second half of the book dedicated to their crazy society is less successful than the first half; not nearly as convincing nor as chilling as the description of the Hins, despite being far more outrageous.

Still, people who make a taboo of eating (which they call 'spirituality'), wear torn clothes and copper cubes on their knees, place yellow pebbles in their armpits and indulge in all manor of senseless rituals can hardly be dull. All their actions satirise our own tendancy to worship symbols, even to the point of conflict, but much of what they do goes beyond the point of silliness.

The society of the Hins is an incredible work of philosophical speculation though, up there with those of Huxley and Orwell. Is it a dystopia or a utopia? It's a profound question. Kazohinia is a world of perfect equality and contentment, but the people never laugh or love, they can't appreciate a sunset or see the point of music.

For that last quality alone, count me out! I don't think that I could live without love either, even if all my physical needs for constantly gratified, but I know I couldn't live without Beethoven or Bob Dylan!

A one-off masterpiece of sorts.

[Jonas · Rating 5 out of 5]

First thing to note: this isn't really a dystopian book. Not at all, I think it's a mistake to label it such and cast it in the same category as 1984 and Brave New World. This book allows us to take a glance inside ourselves and our own society. And it's quite funny, really a masterclass of satire.
The book has our shipwrecked narrator land in "Kazohinia," an island inhabited by a people who call themselves Hins. They have no government, no money, no art, but nonetheless have a seemingly perfect existence grounded in reality. The narrator spends the first half of the book among these people as he attempts to learn their ways and integrate to heir society.
The second portion of the book the narrator finds himself among the Behins, a group who believes in insane, non-existent things, operating on arbitrary made-up rules and deeming them vital to existence. It is in the contrast between these two groups that the author teases the brain. One starts to realize that attributes of our own society or religion have no more basis in reality than that of actions taken by the Behins. I'll avoid giving specific examples, as the parallels are most effective if you deduce them personally.
My biggest complaints would be the narrator sometimes avoids asking questions that might've been harder for the author to answer, and sometimes the satirical allusions are too on the nose.
People don't know about this book, and those who do don't seem to give it enough credit. The ideas in this book have really stuck with me; it has me reconsidering my actions or ideals in ways I had never before considered. In this way, its satire is perfect, accomplishing its goal with exactness.
Additionally, this English translation is fantastic, with only a few minor errors. This novel is well worth your time; only beware, as you may realize beliefs you cling to are far more tenuous than you thought.

[Tamas Kalman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clearly one of my favorite dystopian novels, and I’m still shocked at how little known this book is compared to “Brave New World.” Unfortunately, the English translation can’t be compared to the Hungarian edition, and it’s probably even harder to understand the different systems described in the book if you haven’t lived in a country that flipped political systems faster than the changing seasons, making people feel like lab rats.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've become increasingly disenchanted with the concept of dystopian literature. Perhaps now was a poor moment to take on the challenge of helping the rediscovery of a would-be contender for lost classic in the genre, Kazohinia, which unsuccessfully attempts to update Gulliver's Travels for the 20th century.

The title nation is split into competing societies, one communist and one capitalist (a descriptive dichotomy which, like much of Szathmari's logic, is a fallacy; the opposite of communism isn't capitalism but democracy). Gulliver initially finds himself among the communists, whose life has been so rigidly defined by the state that it is unthinkable to consider either a past or anything but what the state has ingrained in the population. Gulliver views it as a utopia, an inexplicable and increasingly frustrating one, on the mere basis that he can't figure out how it functions. And then he ends up among the chaotic capitalists, whose bizarre insistence on specialized terms for everything confuses Gulliver beyond all reason. So he eventually sets sail back for home.

The willing suspension of disbelief is necessary to make any of this work, at any level. The central conceit, of Gulliver himself once more representing the social satire, is itself unnecessary and baffling the more you think about it. This is a man who has already experienced, well, Gulliver's Travels; if anyone is prepared to quickly grasp the unusual, it's this guy. (It's Blair Witch Syndrome; recall the popular found-footage movie about a bunch of idiots who go off looking for a witch and then...freak out when they find one.)

But transporting the whole concept from its original timeframe to the very dawn of a world where only obscure aboriginal tribes can live in total isolation from everyone else...It just doesn't work, if you realize what's being asked of you at all. The communists may want to restart history (as they tried very hard to do in China, for instance; but even this wasn't really new tactics, as the nutty Akhenaten attempted the same thing in ancient Egypt) and pretend nothing else existed before their revolutions, but they will always live in the real world. Szathmari's biggest goof is actually listing a Russian among the great writers this communist society can't possibly comprehend.

The funny thing is, the ideas behind this story are probably more fascinating than the story itself. Szathmari himself grew disenchanted with communism, but he was in a unique position to sort of watch history unfold from the sidelines. His vantage point was from a world where it was the Italians were the signal aggressors of WWII. Americans, and a great many other peoples, will always consider the Nazis or the Japanese (and if you are American, both) for that role. Szathmari further confuses the Italians in question as apparently the Catholics among them. I don't know if there were bad Catholics who participated in the tyranny run rampant, but the Vatican itself has long attempted to disentangle itself from the false charges that it approved of the Nazis. Again, this might be a matter of my ignorance, or Szathmari's distorted perspective (he later has the British lumping the French, of all people, as likely opponents in the coming war), I don't know.

What I do know is that nothing about this worked for me, and I couldn't even read it on the merit of its storytelling, as it was hopelessly lost in its efforts to duplicate Jonathan Swift. And somehow eating babies in the process, a world that would theoretically have to swallow all this as some sort of sage warning. I have to assume it reads very differently in its original Hungarian context. Maybe some future edition can explain that.

[Timár_Krisztina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Klasszikus magyar disztópia a harmincas évekből. Mondhatnám, fura, hogy alig ismeri valaki, ha nem láttam volna az általam olvasott kiadásban a hetvenes évekbeli utószót. Nagyon csúnyán találva érezhette magát az a rendszer, mert az utószó nagyon körültekintően igyekszik magyarázni a bizonyítványt. Szóval kiadták persze, olvashatták is, de a népszerűsítés elmaradt.

Részletes értékelés a blogon:
https://gyujtogeto-alkoto.blog.hu/202...

[Krisz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ez aztán fricska a társadalomnak! A behinek leírása már kicsit sok volt nekem, ennek a fele, kétharmada is elég plasztikus lett volna, de üsse kő.
Ritka kis kincs e könyv, miért nem kötelező olvasmány?

[Örs Máté · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kevés könyvek egyike, amelyekre ha lehetne, hat csillagot adnék.

[Patrick St-Amand · Rating 4 out of 5]

**4.25 stars***

A unique blend of satire and fiction with dashes of sci-fi thrown in. Two socities co-exist on the same island : a utopian yet cold society along with an animalistic people with confusing and imbecilic rites. Stuck in the middle is the Author playing his best Gulliver. The second half while very intetesting can be quite confusing in describing the incomprehensible ways of living of the debased sidenif the island and would have perhaps benefited from some trimming.

The biting satire is not limited to Kazohinia i think. The Author is an overly patriotic British citizen and I'm sure the final chapter is a criticism of the English attitude of the time in which they believed themselves the epitome of civilization (the ship's admiral even claims perfection raising themselves above all others). Overall a thoroughly enjoyable read that forces you to think on it's philosophical musings.

[Alta]

A dystopian novel in the tradition of Gulliver's Travels written by a Hungarian writer in 1935 and published in 1941 . Written in the voice of a British narrator (called "Gulliver"), the novel can also be read as a satire. Excellent.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unreliable narrator writes about his ordeal in a strange land without enough substance to give the reader any opportunity to meaningully contemplate any of it.

[Carol McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satire of every aspect of pre ww2 life, especially well to do England.

[Lynn B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Move over “1984” and “Brave New World”, a new work of Dystopian literature has been brought to American readers. I was unsure as to what to expect from Sandor Szathmari’s work, and what I found was a very enjoyable story. Szathmari creates a world unlike one we have ever known. Many times as I was reading, the story questioned things I had thought I’d known a lot about. Although the story is set in a world different from our own, connections can be drawn, satirizing our own modern world and what it has become. Overall, a very enjoyable read which I recommend to fans of Dystopian literature and curious readers alike!

[Dwight]

From the post on my blog:

How to review a novel I greatly admired but didn’t necessarily click with? Instead of avoiding any write-up, as I did with Job by Joseph Roth, I’ll attempt to lay out both why I admired it and my problems with it. Published in Hungarian in 1941, Voyage to Kazohinia at first glance to be a (then) modern-day Gulliver’s Travels. The story begins with Gulliver, a British ship’s surgeon, volunteering to be transferred to the ship Invincible during the 1935 tensions between Britain and Italy over the Italian invasion of Ethiopia). While headed to Shanghai to protect British interests (including culture and civilization as well as trade), the Invincible is attacked and sunk somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Gulliver survives and washes up on the island of Kazonhinia.

Gulliver first encounters what looks to be the utopia of the Hins on Kaonhinia. Everything among the Hins is perfectly ordered. They teach Gulliver the language and the guiding concept of their society: kazo.

Kazo is pure reason that perceives with mathematical clarity, in a straight line, when and how it must act—so that the individual, through society, reaches the greatest possible well-being and comfort.

That is, to be Kazo is to organize work, rest, sleep, sport, food, and our attitude toward our fellow human beings so we can produce the maximum possible, but without damaging our health through unnecessary strain. … We must not forget, kazo is not individualistic but communal in sense: what is not kazo for someone else is not kazo for me, either. … [M]ost remarkable, as we shall see later, kazo has no emotional resonance. (pages 44-45)

The lack of “emotional resonance” is important—the Hins have no emotions. The basis for everything is objectivity, subjectivity does not exist. As Gulliver intuits early on, “behind this terrible perfection there was no substance.” (page 32) Everything is provided for in the Hins world. Food is available when you want and however much you want. You can work wherever you want, as long as it is kazo. Whoever needs something the most, such as shelter or clothing, determines who gets it. Many concepts we desire or enjoy—love, family, music, art, beauty—and societal tools—money, government, private property, stealing, character—don’t exist among the Hins. It’s an example of a perfect society, but it comes at the cost of its humanity. Or as Gulliver puts it later, “Life here does not take place, it only is.” (page 115)

Here are a few of the substantive points on Hin society and Gulliver’s interaction with it that I found interesting:

Kazo and its opposite, kazi (disharmony), are the only concepts among the Hins. Everything else is based on physical existence. This includes history—there is only the present.

Education is highly utilitarian and stripped of taboos. Gulliver visits a class of children learning about the body—instead of studying diagrams, the kids are looking at dissected corpses.

The Hins see Gulliver’s description of Britain as only a zero-sum game. There are winners and losers, but at no time (in their view) does society benefit from this arrangement. Because the concept of government is foreign to them, they even see crime and punishment equally—the only difference between the actions resides in the timing of the violence.

The Hins view the goal of medicine as the eradication of pain instead of maintaining life, a very important difference in defining a successful outcome (especially if you’re the person about to be euthanized).

Gulliver attempts to define and give examples of the human soul, what drives someone to create things or express themselves in certain ways. The Hins see this as an imbalance.

Gulliver admires their technological advances but the absence of purpose and loss of interpersonal relationships, especially with a woman he likes (she only cares about sex and relationships from a physical standpoint), causes him to request moving to where the other society, the Behins, are sequestered. There Gulliver finds the extreme opposite of the Hins. The Behins ignore physical realities. They fight over symbols (and their desecration) and imaginary ideas. The funniest contrast to the Hins has to do with food and sex. The convoluted Behin reasoning leads to food prostitutes—women that charge money to let men see them eat. Gulliver has gone from a land where contradictions don't exist to a land where everything is a contradiction. Szathmári has constructed the novel so that satire oozes from the page during the Behin section. A few (and only a few) examples:

While among the Hins Gulliver repeats British ideals over and over again, only to have the Hins fail to understand any of his points. At times the Hins reactions and arguments look ludicrous since they completely ignore non-physical concepts. The explanations and defenses raised by the Behins mimic Gulliver’s arguments because of their complete reliance on concepts (even though they are at odds with reality). Or to put it another way, Gulliver responds to the Hins with ideals while relying on common sense in response to the Behins. With this approach, Gulliver highlights the blurring of and contradictions between the two (ideals, common sense) . That his arguments to the Behins sound very much like arguments he heard from the Hins' rebuttals only adds to the humor.

The importance of words is at odds in both societies. The Hins find words of little use beyond their utilitarian purpose—“a word is not reality” is a common refrain. With the Behins, though, words have no fixed meaning. At first it appears that Behin words mean the opposite of what we expect, but there are exceptions to that rule, then exceptions to the exceptions, and so on until it’s not worth trying to figure out what a word means. Except…it’s extremely important, possibly life or death, which purpose of the word is understood when used among the Behins.

The absurdity of many of the Behin customs highlights the arbitrary nature of much of what we do. The rationality in their irrationality can be eerie at times such as in their forced degeneration of students, a logical step in trying to mold a model (irrational) citizen.

The importance of concepts between the two societies stresses how they each view their place in the culture. I went into detail on the Hins only concept, that of kazo/kazi. While the Behins had many concepts, birku proves to be a central tenet. Gulliver, unable to receive a definition of birku, posits it was the unifying reason for every bad thing that happened to the Behins. In their view, bad outcomes were not related for their own stupidity or poor choices but to the arbitrary nature of bikru.

The inevitable question arises of where we lie on the continuum between the hyper-rationality of the Hins and the irrationality of the Behins, especially in comparison to Szathmári’s time. I’m not sure I like the answer.

As for things that didn’t click for me about the novel, the most basic resides in not being a huge fan of utopian or dystopian literature. I know the “it’s not you, it’s me” defense is a poor excuse. Even with that hurdle to overcome, I found the novel engaging and many issues still relevant today. My main problem in the story occurs near the end when the Hins explain the Behins behavior as a genetic mutation. I found that jarring, mostly because it shows that the Hins do have a sense of history and the past isn’t imaginary to them. Granted it’s a concept they see as based on concrete evidence (or so I assume), but it still raises some inner contradictions.

After his rescue, Gulliver blithely carries on in his pre-wreck behavior, having learned nothing, a more active participant in the “dialogue of the deaf” than he realized. As Gulliver’s guide among the Hins points out, you never recognize that we don’t really see ourselves, individually or collectively, from within. We have to travel outside ourselves in order to understand. Fortunately Szathmári gives the reader plenty to contemplate in order to avoid Gulliver’s fate.

(Additional links on the novel follow in the post on my blog)

[Dani Dányi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ez a könyv nagyon, nagyon jó. Ezen belül: egy hosszú műfaji hagyományt folytat és épít, ami a szerző elmondása alapján Swift és Voltaire, valamint Madách Imre munkásságát viszi tovább. Szinte magától értetődő hát, hogy a főhős Gulliver (igen, ugyanaz a hajóorvos Gulliver) modern(-ebb) kori utazásának naplójában olvassuk a kazohiniai kalandot. ugyanakkor feltűnő, hogy mennyi későbbi nagy mű rokonítható Szathmári mesterművéhez: Huxley Szép új világa éppúgy, mint Orwell 1984-e (vagy talán méginkább az Állatfarm) hasonló beállítottságú és színvonalú, későbbi szerzemények. Mi az, ami különválasztja ezektől a gigászi párhuzamos alkotásoktól a Kazohíniát? Erre az volna talán a legkézenfekvőbb válasz, hogy míg az említett elő- és utófutárok világszerte közkézen forognak, addig Szathmári műve borzasztóan elszigetelt, annak ellenére, hogy a kortársai (Babits, Karinthy) még mesterműként üdvözölték a készülő kéziratot. Kissé emlékeztet engem a helyzet a (szegről-végről szintén szatirista, parodista) Flann O'Brien szerencsétlen történelmi körülmények között visszhangtalanságba született mesterműve, az Úszikkétmadáron helyzetére, melyről az ír szerző a következőt írta: „Az 1939-es évben megjelent egy különös, Úszikkétmadáron címet viselő könyv. Adolf Hitler komoly ellenérzéssel viseltetett ezzel a művel szemben, tulajdonképpen olyannyira rühellte, hogy megindította a Második Világháborút csak azért, hogy megtorpedózza. A sors kegyetlen, ugyanakkor némi bájt nem nélkülöző iróniája révén a könyv túlélte a háborút, míg Hitler nem.” Szathmári könyvét első kiadásában 1941-ben elkapkodják, az újrakiadást pedig a háborús körülmények akadályozzák – utána is különféle rendszerek különféle szempontok szerint cenzúrázzák, egészen a közelmúltig. Nagy öröm számomra rátalálni is, mert a magyar irodalom kánonjából számomra elfogadhatatlan módon hiányzik. Marginális. Kult-könyv.
Szeretném felhívni a magyarul (vagy angolul, vagy eszperantóul stb.) olvasó közönség figyelmét erre a méltatlanul mellőzött könyvre: kiváló társadalmi szatíra, nyelvezete modern és élvezhető, meglátásai mit sem vesztettek érvényükből, és olyan éles, metsző irónia hatja át minden gondolatmenetét, hogy az ember nem tudja, nevessen-e, vagy inkább sírjon. Olvassátok el!

[Bálint Kuli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nagy bajban vagyok ennek a könyvnek az értékelésével. Mielőtt elolvastam rengeteg jó véleményt hallottam róla így elég magasak voltak az elvárásaim. A könyv első felében nagyjából azt kaptam amire számítottam, a hinek leírása, az ötlet kifejezetten tetszett. Ezen a ponton nagyon vártam a behinek feltűnését és a fordulatot, csavart. Azonban egy olyan fordulatot kaptam, amire abszolút nem számítottam. A behinekről szóló rész nekem teljesen kettétörte a könyvet, illetve a lelkesedésemet. Több ponton is komolyan elgondolkodtam hogy abbahagyom, vagy átlapozok pár fejezetet. Borzasztóan hosszú a behinek leírása, és nekem nagyon-nagyon fárasztó volt. Biztosan én vagyok a "bivak", de én teljesen öncélúnak éreztem. Többször is vannak a főszereplőnek olyan kiszólásai melyek szerint nem akarja fárasztani, untatni az olvasót, mégis megteszi. A behinek őrültségei közben nagyon lassan halad a történet, folyamatosan az volt az érzésem hogy újra és újra ugyan azt olvasom, ami miatt kiszámíthatóvá is vált az egész.

Ha csak az első felét nézem a könyvnek az nálam 5 csillag, a második fele viszont majdnem hogy értékelhetetlen. (annak ellenére is hogy nyilvánvalóan parodizál a szerző) Így nekem csak 3-as.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange fantasy novel from Hungary which takes the character of Lemuel Gulliver from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and sends him to a land in the Indian Ocean called Kazohinia. What follows in Sandor Szathmari's Voyage to Kazohinia runs the gamut from interesting to ironic to -- yes -- boring. It reminded me of another similar philosophical novel by Herman Melville called Mardi, which I gritted my teeth and read to the end despite waves of ennui.

[Istvan Kis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utópia és disztópia, végén egy társadalmilag analóg fejtegetéssel. Érdekes megközelítés, az író kifejezetten jelezte, hogy nem szépirodalmi művet szeretne publikálni mérnökként, de mégis valami hasonlót rakott össze. Sok helyen esik túlzásokba, de ez érzésem szerint egyértelmű szándék is. A kazi világ borzasztóan frusztrált és idegesített helyenként, de a kazo sem egyértelműen követendő, az élet sója veszne el vele mai tudásunk alapján, persze ezzel se ért egyet mindenki. Olyan regény ez, ami minden olvasót gondolkodásra késztet mélyebb kérdesek mentén is, finoman fúr egyre lejjebb és lejjebb. Szerettem.

[Michael Samerdyke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not quite my thing.

From the blub on the back, I thought this would be a dystopian novel. The first chapter was hilarious, a cynical view of the crises of the mid-1930s.

Then the hero arrived in Kazohinia, and everyone explained everything to him, and he explained everything to the reader, and I couldn't really find any narrative drive in the book. The book seems to be a straightforward utopia, or a satire on modern man in the vein of Gulliver's travels, but to me it needs suspense and urgency. I got to the halfway point, and I had to give up.

[Brant · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book starts out interesting enough, but then crumbles into absolute nonsense and absurdity in the second half - which I think is the point. But even knowing that, I almost quit reading this several times just because it stalls for pages without any seeming benefit or payoff. I may have gotten too bogged down in the unfamiliar words of the titular nation’s language to appreciate this novel’s broader political commentary, but overall this was a tedious read that ultimately fell flat for me.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this book a 1 star rating in terms of readability. Absolutely torturous!!
The themes though are important and really the writing is meant to give the feeling of the characters experience so 5 stars in achieving that.
I didn't realise that this title is a sci-fi/dystopian classic when I picked it up. Glad to have it under my belt but maybe stick with "Gulliver's Travels" if you haven't read that.

[Terry Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I loved this book, especially upon reaching the ending. There were times that I thought it could have been shorter and I found myself frustrated with the lack for forward motion. However, upon finishing the book, I’m not sure if I would have edited it down.

I all to often found myself shaking my head at the ridiculous circumstances and then finding its equivalent within our society. There is plenty of humor in the novel, but much of it I found more sad because its closeness to reality.

It is a wonderful satire that my mind keeps going back to weeks after I finished the book.

[Fastidiously Facetious · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started humorously and initially piqued my interest, but it soon slowed to a plodding grind because there’s no real story here. It’s just page after page of describing the strange world but there’s not really a plot. I couldn’t finish it.

[Michael O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read but hard. The future of mankind as automatons or ruled by constructs built of illogic and fantasy. The satire was laboured but the message was clear. Written in 1935 in Hungary.

[Rosemary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lunatics running the asylum

[Tomika · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ertem en, h. tarsadalom kritika, de a kotet masodik fele, annnnyira gaz, es olvashatatlan, h. oldalakat ugrottam at, mert semmi ertelme nem volt.....

[Charles Theiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long and slow as hell, a bit repetitive in places, but damn was it worth it.

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still marveling that this novel was off my radar until I happened across a free copy of the book. Classic dystopian literature is one of "my things," and the ones I find most interesting are those from non-English-speaking countries. Still, I was a little wary about reading this, since lately I've been in a slump with older, especially translated, novels. I also highly did not enjoy Gulliver's Travels this past summer (sadface after the genius of Swift's "A Modest Proposal"), and Voyage to Kazohinia is written as Gulliver's 20th-century travels. Well...I can't believe Kazohinia wasn't published in English before, because it really does rival other classics like 1984 and Anthem in terms of its dystopian awesomeness.

Voyage to Kazohinia is divided into two parts. In the first, Gulliver arrives among the Hins. Their world could be considered utopian, but they lack a lot of the things that make us humans happy (and also angsty and unstable). Pointed jab at communism here? Maybe. It's an ideal world in many ways (so what communism just wants to be), but, like Gulliver, most of us wouldn't actually want to live there. Gulliver's navigation of this strange people is hilarious all the way through, so, except for some parts that include way too much explanatory dialogue, it's highly enjoyable.

Gulliver eventually decides to move in with the Behins, otherwise known as the "insane" Hins. Here the story ceases to be hilarious and is really rather sad. Gulliver fails to see what is obvious to the reader, that the beliefs and idiosyncrasies of the Behins mirror those of our own society. Meanwhile, the Behins appear so illogical that I generally felt like (metaphorically) banging my head against the wall. But, there were still some really funny parts, like when feeding women food becomes symbolic of prostitution. Don't ask, just go read the book.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure I can finish this. in fairness, I'm only 55 pages in. but intriguing concepts like kazo are, instead of explored, treated as one-dimensional stereotypes conforming to the majority's already-held beliefs. is 'whomever needs something more gets it' necessarily coupled to lack of individuality? as someone who's read Perdido Street Station I'd answer a resounding no. (and will forever be grateful to the author for posing the question) yet here it's accepted as true for no reason I can yet intuit.

ie what on earth is the point of writing a book about something everyone already thinks?

I don't know, I'm going to keep trying. maybe I'm wrong.

[Alexander Abnos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting for all the reasons you can read just by Googling. I definitely thought about this book, and the concepts explored within, a lot while reading it. I think that's probably a good thing. But it can be a little bit of a slog at times, especially in the latter 1/3rd of the book when the protagonist is among the Behins. I went whole chapters without having any idea what was going on.

Still, though. Potentially worth reading.