Platon Günlükleri

by Peter Ackroyd, Bilgesu Şişman (Translator)

Bunu görüyor musunuz? Yaklaşın, kentliler. Buna kol saati denir. Bunu Köstebek mağarasından getirdim. Dinleyin. Bu işaretlere sayı deniyor. Şu dar metal şeridin nasıl da bir uyum dairesinin etrafında döndüğünü fark ettiniz mi? Bu, zamandır. Dokunmaktan korkmayın. Sihri yeniden canlandırılamaz. Ne amaca mı hizmet ediyordu? Bir evren yaratmıştı! Kenarlardaki sayıları inceleyin... Bunlar harikalar çünkü bir zamanlar dünyanın yapısını temsil ediyorlardı. Bir zamanlar bunun biçiminde modellenmiş koca bir evren vardı...

Kentlileri nasıl rahatsız etmiş olduğunu şimdi anladın mı?

Platon: Çocuklara yolculuğumu birkez dahi anlatmadım. Onları sadece soru sormaya ve cevapları aralarında tartışmaya çağırdım.

Yine o meşhur yolculuğunun bahsini açıyorsun. O halde kendi sorularımızı sormamıza izin var mı? Farz edelim ki Köstebek sakinlerinin önünde durup onlara karanlık ve küçük bir dünyada yaşadıklarını bildirdin? Bir mağarada hapis olduklarını. Sence seni alkışlayıp şükranlarını mı sunarlardı? Bu haberi verdiğin için minnettar olacaklarını mı düşünüyorsun? Hayır. Seni ahmak addedip küçümser ya da sahtekar addedip mahkum ederlerdi.

Demek doğmamışlar şehrini duydunuz. Fakat nerede olduğunu bilmiyorsunuz. Hepimizin gelmiş olduğu şehirdir fakat yeri ilginizi çekmiyor. Varlığınızın derin huzurunu bozabilir. Böyle mi deniyor? Evet mi? Varlığın derin huzuru.

Genres: Fiction, Philosophy, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Literature, Science Fiction, Novels

184 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 1999

About the author

Peter Ackroyd CBE is an English novelist and biographer with a particular interest in the history and culture of London.

Peter Ackroyd's mother worked in the personnel department of an engineering firm, his father having left the family home when Ackroyd was a baby. He was reading newspapers by the age of 5 and, at 9, wrote a play about Guy Fawkes. Reputedly, he first realized he was gay at the age of 7.

Ackroyd was educated at St. Benedict's, Ealing and at Clare College, Cambridge, from which he graduated with a double first in English. In 1972, he was a Mellon Fellow at Yale University in the United States. The result of this fellowship was Ackroyd's Notes for a New Culture, written when he was only 22 and eventually published in 1976. The title, a playful echo of T. S. Eliot's Notes Towards the Definition of Culture (1948), was an early indication of Ackroyd's penchant for creatively exploring and reexamining the works of other London-based writers.

Ackroyd's literary career began with poetry, including such works as London Lickpenny (1973) and The Diversions of Purley (1987). He later moved into fiction and has become an acclaimed author, winning the 1998 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for the biography Thomas More and being shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1987.

Ackroyd worked at The Spectator magazine between 1973 and 1977 and became joint managing editor in 1978. In 1982 he published The Great Fire of London, his first novel. This novel deals with one of Ackroyd's great heroes, Charles Dickens, and is a reworking of Little Dorrit. The novel set the stage for the long sequence of novels Ackroyd has produced since, all of which deal in some way with the complex interaction of time and space, and what Ackroyd calls "the spirit of place". It is also the first in a sequence of novels of London, through which he traces the changing, but curiously consistent nature of the city. Often this theme is explored through the city's artists, and especially its writers.

Ackroyd has always shown a great interest in the city of London, and one of his best known works, London: The Biography, is an extensive and thorough discussion of London through the ages.

His fascination with London literary and artistic figures is also displayed in the sequence of biographies he has produced of Ezra Pound (1980), T. S. Eliot (1984), Charles Dickens (1990), William Blake (1995), Thomas More (1998), Chaucer (2004), William Shakespeare (2005), and J. M. W. Turner. The city itself stands astride all these works, as it does in the fiction.

From 2003 to 2005, Ackroyd wrote a six-book non-fiction series (Voyages Through Time), intended for readers as young as eight. This was his first work for children. The critically acclaimed series is an extensive narrative of key periods in world history.

Early in his career, Ackroyd was nominated a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1984 and, as well as producing fiction, biography and other literary works, is also a regular radio and television broadcaster and book critic.

In the New Year's honours list of 2003, Ackroyd was awarded the CBE.

Reviews

[Genni · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I think about this book, the description that keeps coming to mind is, "Erudite, but not brilliant.". I think that sums it up for me.

Ackroyd uses Plato's allegory of the cave as a kind of skeleton frame for his "plot", namely, that Plato is an orator in the far future and discourses on history. As the novel travels on, Plato discovers that the world as he has taught it was not as he thought, hence his own world is not what he thinks. His journey is really quite funny at times, and not lacking in insights, but truly, more whimsical than profound. All insights afforded from The Plato Paperscould be gained by simply reading The Allegory of the cave itself. Overall, though, a fun read.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of a clever intellectual exercise than a novel, but then that's Ackroyd, author of a biography of Dickens that unabashedly situates itself inside its subject's fertile brain. The Plato Papers is a post-apocalyptic tale that resurrects a rogue Plato to discourse fatuously on the meaning of it all, much of the humor coming from the (mis)use of fragments of humanity's past. Best: taking the works of Edgar Allan Poe as evidence for what life in the 19th century was like, which makes a kind of weird sense, the more you think about it...

[Tweedledum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first came across this book as an audio book and found it both utterly compelling and utterly confusing. Re reading it helped a lot but the book grew and grew on me and I often think about it. Very funny at times and completely mystifying at others.

[Clayton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read more Plato than your average bluffer, and even I got lost in the second half. If Peter Ackroyd isn't going to do anything interesting with such a great premise, can the rest of us borrow it for a while?

Meanwhile, if you really must get a dose of uptight future people misinterpreting the past, stick with A Canticle for Leibowitz or The Glass Bead Game.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty cool story that shows how historians might misjudge or misinterpret our current literary classics in the future. Have we botched up past history this badly?

[Dante · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acrkoyd summons oracular frenzy and a self-indulgent cleverness in equal parts - a very fun wee tome. A. N. Wilson's blurbage that this unpredictable comedy is a 'timeless literary masterpiece' might likely be coherent if expressed through warped temporality of the novel itself, but I think the book's a bit too sparse for any such commendation. There's good reason why Borges never wrote anything over fourteen pages.

[Emma VandenOever · Rating 4 out of 5]

this plato is a lot like jack skellington..

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Condition: Used - Good
Sold by: little-river-books £0.01

The glossary reads like The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary. Cleverness abounds here, lots to ponder on but not so many outloud laughs unless you count 'Gravesend' on page 22 - that was teh funneh. The crux of the idea here reads a lot like the Hitler's yearned for Hollow Earth Theory.

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[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not to be confused with the ancient Plato, this quasi-novel posits a future in which the Orator of London suffers for turning into a philosopher in the--to him lost--tradition of his namesake. Philosophy, you see, is not welcome in the London after the end of time.... If you like Peter Akroyd's _First Light_, "what if..." type science fiction, and/or ancient philosophy, you will love this very sarcastic book. (May provide most enjoyment when consumed in small doses.)

[Keith Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very odd book set in the distant future, but not science fiction by any stretch. There are some clever moments, like how future scholars misinterpret ancient documents such as conflating Charles Darwin with Charles Dickens, but as a novel it almost feels unfinished. Interesting setting, but I kept waiting for the plot to start.

[Michael Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a novel in the conventional sense, "The Plato Papers" is a brilliant satire of how we interpret past civilizations from the point of view of a future scholar attempting to figure us out, and missing by miles and miles. It is a stunningly witty achievement, though if you don't know what's being spoofed, it might be puzzling.

[Shahenshah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most interesting and imaginative Books I have ever read. I think about this Booke often - indeed, one of those rare books which may be deemed 'inexhaustible'. I am intent upon re-reading this Booke.

[Shannon Finck · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fine but belabored joke.

[Иван Иванов · Rating 4 out of 5]

В далечното бъдеще потомците на хората са се издигнали на ново ниво на съществувание, след като са открили, че материалният свят не е истинският. Един учен/чудак/проповедник, възприел името на древногръцкия философ Платон, се опитва да състави картина на нашата епоха по малкото останали свидетелства. Изследванията му сочат, че "Произход на видовете" е лековато художествено произведение от Чарлз Дикенс(!), а Едгар Алан По е исторически хроникьор. А тъй като времето не съществува, нашата епоха може би все още я има някъде като пещера на сенки, която може да бъде посетена.
Много смахната, но приятна за четене книга - малко шега, малко заигравка, малко философия. Състои се от множество малки етюди и напомня с нещо книгите на Улф и Брънър, но е далеч по-четивна. Плюс е малкият й обем - само стотина страници, иначе би станала досадна. Препоръчвам, ако си падате по нестандартни четива.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished this on an airplane, which is oddly fitting. The ending was really disappointing though, and the casual anti-abortion comment threw me out mid-book. However, I do think the concept and the construction of the book is great, taking the concept of Plato's cave and turning it inside out. What I liked the most was reading about The Origin of Species by Mouldwarp novelist Charles Dickens, the famous comedian Sigmund Freud and realizing the many ways we may be misreading the past. Didn't age the best, but a great novel nonetheless.

[Cassidy Brinn]

The oldschool Greek Plato wrote that hoi polloi waste their days away chained up in a cave watching shadows. Only philosophers venture out into the true light. The conceit of this book is that it is written from the perspective of the world of the true light, where only one philosopher (named Plato) summons up the courage to venture down into the cave of shadows.

Turns out, the world of true light is just as rigid and cruel as the cave! Pretty cool set-up, I have never seen anyone combine relativism and Platonism quite like that! The basic idea is a good ol' dialectical maneuver though: Yes there are ideal forms, but they have their limits too.

I wasn't blown away by his depiction of the limits of the true light people. It was all rather vague, full of insinuations rather than good strong choices. The bizarre hints were not developed. Like - babies are born in a baby-making factory outside the city? What? How does that work exactly? Plato's interpretations of the cave people were awesome though. He explores both the perks and the pitfalls of living in/worshipping Time. There are also some hilarious bits, like On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection interpreted as a morbid satirical novel. And Freud interpreted as a vaudevillian jokester, riffing off his straightman Oedipus! Hilarious. Also, the glossary of terms was a clever and poignant spoof of our norms and language.

Overall, the book is more boring than it should have been. Maybe that was just the problem of the constraints he set for himself - the true light people undervalue individuality, so obviously, their characters had to be dull. All the dialogue reads like the beginning of Socratic dialogues, those parts where they chat about what celebration they have just attended and whatnot, the part right before they jump in to the meaty philosophical discussion. Too bad that true light Plato couldn't find anyone more interesting than his own soul to talk to. Oh and a quibble - the true light people of Plato's society are supposedly not subordinate to time. But then they freak out when Plato reveals that the cave people are not from the past, but still exist in London right now. Why's that Ack?

[Ilias · Rating 2 out of 5]

NB: I can’t imagine caring enough about this book to be concerned with spoilers, but. If you’re that sort of person, go read the book first.

I picked up this book at the library book sale, because it had “Plato” in the title, and because it was selling for a dollar.

From the beginning, I was really unsatisfied by it. After the first 50 [of 173] pages, I wrote several notes, attempting to pin down the source of my dissatisfaction.

It’s a book about Plato[our Plato]‘s cave. Only instead of starting from the cave, the story takes place outside the cave, in a place where light comes from the earth itself, and from all its inhabitants. The cave is our own world, and the moral is not that we should lift ourselves from the cave, but that the cave has something to teach the people we will become.

There were some interesting images. I like the idea of light coming from below, and am charmed by the people’s rejection of shadows. The fire in [our] Plato’s cave has been replaced by the sun, which is in actuality set in the ceiling of the cave. This is kind of elegant, even if it does remove all symbolism from the [our] Plato’s shadows.

But the protagonist, Plato, is an “orator.” He has been charged with giving speeches at all of the gates of the city. His topic was “the first ages,” primarily the age of “Mouldwarp.” Mouldwarp, as you might presume, is our own “age.” The theory, as far as I can currently tell, is that every now and again the earth repopulates itself, and that each of these repopulations causes a new age to form.

More

[Fiona Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Plato Papers, Ackroyd’s final novel of the twentieth century, is set in London in circa 3700 A.D., in the fifth age as measured at that time. Plato, an orator who acts also as interpreter of history and of historical artefacts, pronounces on the four Ages preceding his own to the best of his abilities, and is seen as the arbiter of historical fact. When however he begins to question the validity of his understanding, his soul offers him the chance to see reality by withdrawing its protection. It is in this state that he becomes aware of another London, one beneath his own, and his visit to this subterranean city causes him to question his perception of reality. On his return, he brings ideas that disconcert the accepted order such that he is put on trial for the danger threatened by his teachings. Though he is acquitted, he chooses to undergo punishment in the form of exile from the protective walls of London rather than accept the restrictions which he can now see that life in the city imposes on its citizens.”



As with all of Ackroyd’s other books, I found this to be extremely cleverly written and a pleasure to read. I particularly loved the “in jokes” as to the nature of the authors of texts, whereby some of the text, including part of the author’s name had been destroyed e.g. Charles D … (Dickens/Darwin?!). It made one question how we can be sure of our interpretations of other historical ages, and what would the dwellers of those eras we’re attempting to analyse make of our results?

Also … a lovely quick read!

[Perry Whitford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ackroyd's usual locale is London, how the city regenerates itself from century to century, and how the ghosts of the past still exist coeval with the present populace. The Plato Papers flips that around as this time the present is seen through the prism of the future.

Plato, a 39th century orator, entertains and educates the young with fables from the age of "Mouldwarp", but the elders become concerned that his visions are having an increasingly corrupting influence.

However, to say that something may have been lost in translation down the eons is something of an understatement. The Origin of the Species is believed to be a novel by Charles Dickens, while the works of Freud are considered to be an elaborate joke book. Maybe the later is not so farfetched.

There is serious intent here, but essentially it's a comedy of misinterpretation. Plato delivers lectures, dialogues, and an encyclopedia of meanings, all laughably erroneous. Examples from the encyclopedia include -

"fibre optic": a coarse material woven out eyes, worn by the high priests of the mechanical age in order to instill terror among the populace and,
"literature": a word of unknown provenance, generally attributed to 'litter' or waste.

Here's an entry of my own -
"reality TV": an abominable daydream, or 'Terror Vision', where an individual is confronted with the apparent pointlessness of life.

Yep, that's pretty lame. Ackroyd's does a lot better.

[Helen Felgate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This work by one of my favourite authors brought to mind the words of my brother in law who is always deeply suspicious of the assumptions and conclusions drawn by archaeologists on making their discoveries, saying "but how do they know that?" It is amusing to think that the works of Charles Darwin could be attributed to Dickens because if the same initials and that the gothic world of Edgar Allen Poe is taken to depict the 19th century in its entirety. I loved the etymology sections where alternative meanings of many words and expressions are given. It had me reflecting on both the richness and strangeness of the English language and how we ourselves use those expressions without really thinking about them.

An entertaining read as always from Ackroyd though I felt a greater knowledge of Plato would have enriched my reading of it! I feel that Ackroyd could have developed the themes and ideas further to create a more rounded and satisfying work. It all seemed a bit insubstantial which is not what I usually feel when reading a work by Ackroyd.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ackroyd makes a sharp criticism of modern society and fully creates a utopian future society. Use of quotes from created texts helps him transition the reader seamlessly from present day into a future utopia which he prompts the reader to fill in with just enough detail.
His structure, floating between direct storytelling from the perspective of Plato and dialogue, mimics the Socratic dialogues, and fits the form perfectly, and is fresh and incisive as the plot follows Plato's increasing frenzy.
Occasionally, especially during his worldbuilding, Ackroyd would dip from satiric commentary to abrasive condescension, but generally his thoughts were seamlessly inserted into his characters' points of view.
Altogether, recommended: an enjoyable if a bit pretentious satire.

[Joeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Ackroyd not only creatively plays with history and our imagination of it, but also writes a fictional history of our present and future. In this fictional history, he provides a comical and well imagined story, where, for instance, The Origins of Species of Darwin is mocked as a book that has led to the false belief that there's is only competition in nature and among humanity, Freud is protrayed as a comedian and E.G. Poe as a historian. Important values of our present-day are also amusingly joked about in the book, such as progress, or our obsession with time, among others.

The lectures the protagonist gives on the above and the dialogues that ensue spark the imagination and are never a boring read.

[Brenda Conry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slim volume, but a lot to ponder. And really fun.
It is written in much the same way as "The Dialogues of Plato" ( a much older text), as conversations between Plato and his friends, among his friends talking about him, and between Plato and his soul. Oh, he is not the Plato you know, but his namesake from the 37th century. A very imaginative tale; I haven't decided whether to call it fantasy, science fiction or philosophy. I suspect it is some of all three with a dash of political science tossed in.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved one of the ideas in this book of how the future will invariably misunderstand and patronize the past. I thought the execution on the idea was a little hokey though.

As the book progressed I got thoroughly confused and finished the book unsure if it was the future looking at the past, parallel universes, or the spiritual versus the material worlds. I did admire the inventiveness of it all.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

2000 years from now a great thinker looks back on our own time and gives lectures on a variety of topics based on scanty evidence. Fun idea but the kind of things he presents seems to me the kind of stuff I thought about in high school and have long since discarded. Philosophy and world construction are heavily rooted in New Age thought.

[May Ling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laundry room find. It was a reasonably read. I didn't love or hate it. I liked the idea that history retold is often quite wrong. It's something to keep in mind as one ages and today becomes the past super fast.

I think the attempts at humor simply didn't fit me in particular. Not sure why.

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very strange read! The author is a writer of biographies, so I'm not sure how much fiction he writes. At times it is normal prose, at times it is dialogue like a play and can be quite funny, but does not hold your attention over long periods.

[Onoma Velika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I immensly enjoyed this little book (or as someone else put it "intellectual excercise"). It appealed to my academic interests, as did my literary ones. I am a sucker for dialogues, especially styled like these. Witty and dream-like play on Plato's allegory of The Cave. Will read again.

[Jonathan Gruber · Rating 1 out of 5]

just too bizarre - not even sure what it is trying to accomplish

[Frederick J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surrealistic. Reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut.