Darcy's Utopia

by Fay Weldon

A provocative view of modern society weaved into a tale of explosive love and, perhaps, even, black magic. Scandalous Eleanor Darcy, wild young wife of a world-famous economist, sketches her vision of Utopia to two journalists, Hugo Vansitart and Valarie Jones. In glorious detail, she describes an earthly paradise of peace, love and technological progress where sex is plentiful and money does not exist. Such is Eleanor's charisma that, to their own astonishment, Hugo and Valerie abandon their families and set up home together om a Holiday Inn.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Feminism, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Literature, British Literature

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Fay Weldon CBE was an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrayed contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon

Reviews

[Mandy]

I struggled to get going with this one - for the oddest reason really - I didn't like the font. I've never had that issue arise with a book before. Anyway, I dipped into the book here and there to see if I could overcome that by getting drawn into the story, but the characters seemed narcistic; I didn't particularly want to get to know them, so I gave up.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Fay Weldon, but struggled through this book.

[Helen Meads · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit dated and not very engaging, so I’m not altogether sure why I finished it. Feminism has become more nuanced since this was first published in 1990 and humour more sophisticated.

[Steve Lawless · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witty, intelligent. Women are the lead characters and men their drones. A short but entertaining read. I shall be reading more Fay Weldon on the strength of this.

[Nickelini · Rating 1 out of 5]

Past its Best Before Date. Read something else by the author instead.

[Dan Seitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weldon likes women as a destructive force (self- or otherwise) but this misses the mark. Eleanor Darcy is fundamentally a smug bore and we spend far more time with her than the far more interesting Valerie.

[Marianne Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Fay Weldon as a rule, but I had a hard time with this book. Admired the concept and all the stylistic flourish, her acid observations still there - but it really sagged, plot-wise, and I found it difficult to sustain my attention. Not the best gateway into her work.

[Halli Villegas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book - lots to think about, but fun too. will read it again and give it as a gift.

[Robert Wechsler]

Clever, well written, but there is a looseness about the novel that led me to stop halfway through.

[kimbosoup · Rating 4 out of 5]

honestly so based

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate everyone in this book except Rhoda

[Karen Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a re read for me. First read years ago. Felt a bit preachy. Some good characters.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly enjoyable read. While at time it lagged the story generally engaged. Elements of so many different ideas woven together, sometimes the real felt almost fantastical and at times I really wasn't sure what realm I was in. While the characters weren't necessarily like able they were complete and whole and real.

[Clarice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Darcy's Utopia ended up on my '2017 clear-out pile' but was one of the more entertaining reads over the past six months. (This says a lot about my rather constrained, clear-out-focussed reading list.)

A full review will be coming up at some point, when I can be bothered to think of something to say about the book ... or find the time to write it down.

In the mean time, my initial verdict: Fay Weldon proved to be not as annoying a writer as some of the other authors, I had the misfortune of making acquaintances with recently.

The story charts the ascent and decline of Weldon's heroine, Eleanor Darcy. For the most part, Darcy's story is relayed through a series of interviews she gives to two journalists, Hugo Vansitart and Valerie Jones. Vansitart and Jones in turn hook up with one another for the duration of their research of Eleanor's life story.

More here: https://readaroundtheclock.blogspot.c...

[Manny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The running joke is "the masculine gender includes the feminine, and the singular the plural". Apart from that, I'm afraid that I can't remember a thing about it. Not one of Fay Weldon's more successful efforts.

[Saya]

Didn't finish it; not because I hated it but got distracted. Which gives you some idea of how absorbing it was.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant book

[Marian Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but not my favorite Weldon.

[Madeleine · Rating 3 out of 5]

" Het utopia van Darcy"