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    This Perfect Day
    This Perfect Day
    This Perfect Day
    Audiobook11 hours

    This Perfect Day

    Written by Ira Levin

    Narrated by Kevin T. Collins

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    By the author of Rosemary's Baby, a horrifying journey into a future only Ira Levin could imagine.

    Considered one of the great dystopian novels—alongside Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World—Ira Levin's frightening glimpse into the future continues to fascinate readers even forty years after publication.

    The story is set in a seemingly perfect global society. Uniformity is the defining feature; there is only one language and all ethnic groups have been eugenically merged into one race called "The Family." The world is ruled by a central computer called UniComp that has been programmed to keep every single human on the surface of the earth in check. People are continually drugged by means of regular injections so that they can never realize their potential as human beings, but will remain satisfied and cooperative. They are told where to live, when to eat, whom to marry, when to reproduce. Even the basic facts of nature are subject to UniComp's will—men do not grow facial hair, women do not develop breasts, and it only rains at night.

    With a vision as frightening as any in the history of the science fiction genre, This Perfect Day is one of Ira Levin`s most haunting novels.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJun 24, 2014
    ISBN9780062357755
    Author

    Ira Levin

    Novelist and playwright Ira Levin (1929-2007) was a native New Yorker whose books include A Kiss Before Dying, Rosemary's Baby, This Perfect Day, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil, Sliver, and Son of Rosemary. His plays include No Time for Sergeants, Critic's Choice, and the longest-running thriller in Broadway history, Deathtrap. An alumnus of New York University, Levin also wrote the lyrics of the Barbra Streisand classic "He Touched Me," and was the recipient of three Edgar Allan Poe Awards from the Mystery Writers of America (including 2003's 'Grand Master'), as well as the Horror Writers Association's Bram Stoker Award for lifetime achievement.

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    Reviews for This Perfect Day

    4/5

    344 ratings24 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Another excellent book by Levin. He never disappoints. Too many details would spoil the book, but it's definitely worth a listen.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I'm generally not a fan of the science fiction genre, however I was captivated by Ira Levin's book "This Perfect Day". This book depicts our world in the not so distant future where humans have become a homogeneous race and all daily activities are regulated by a computer. The government is communist/socialist and the governmental computer regulates careers, marriages, number of children, food and all other aspects of the human life. There is one man who searches for more and just may find it.
    • 4/5
      A particularly well thought out world. It actually feels quite real rather than a collection of clichés. Very Levinesque in it’s exploration of horrible things being done to people without their consent. Also explores moral questions around personal accountability.Basically, people in the past (our future) have programmed a computer to control the entire population through a combination of drugs, and genetic and social engineering. Basically condemning their own descendents to a half lived life and the end of which they are killed.There’s a great twist at the end which luckily I’d managed to forgot in the thirty years since I last read it. Be careful what you read about it before starting.
    • 3/5
      It’s gotta be hard to come up with something really new to say in a dystopian novel. I mean, you have the All-Powerful State, presiding over a homogeneous, controlled, and more-or-less happy populace (even if their happiness is artificially induced), and along comes some young whippersnapper who wants to do, or be, or have something The Powers That Be don’t want him/her to do, be, or have. And he goes off and finds a bunch of other malcontents and they overthrow TPTB and the ones who survive live happily ever after. Or fail and get hauled off to some nihilistic fate worse than death.Ira Levin does find something new to say by the end of This Perfect Day, but it’s a long haul, and only the last quarter of the book really starts looking at new ideas – among them that humanity in general is selfish, short-sighted, arrogant, combative, and possibly not worth the effort it would take to redeem it. Each reader is going to have to decide whether the ending is happy or not.Meanwhile, there’s all that prep stuff to grind through, as we are introduced to Chip (we can tell he’s going to be the protagonist because he rejects the officially-sanctioned “nameber” assigned to him at birth) and follow him through his occasional youthful questioning of “why” – aided and abetted by a grandfather who’s also somewhat of a rebel at heart. Then puberty rears its priapic head (so to speak), and things get sidetracked for a couple hundred pages as we are invited to consider a culture that allows pretty much everybody to sleep with everybody else (though one would have to look pretty deeply and make some inferences to find anything but hetero-cis relationships here). Sleeping with is okay – even encouraged (but only on Saturdays) – though marriage and the right to procreate are, like virtually everything else, controlled by Uni – the life-giving/controlling computer system that runs the “family”. And, predictably, Chip is found by a small underground group vaguely interested in talking about destroying Uni, but really more interested in accessing forbidden substances like tobacco, perfume, and alcohol.The long middle section deals mainly with Chip’s experiences in this group, and Levin doesn’t hesitate to pull the rug out from under the reader with great vigor and regularity until finally, after much wavering and recidivism, it looks like Chip is actually going to develop and carry out a workable revolt.The weakest part of the novel, and perhaps the component which has aged most poorly since 1960, is the way in which the female characters are portrayed. Particularly Lilac, the girl with whom Chip becomes obsessed and subsequently kidnaps and rapes, seems to consider herself unfairly victimized for, oh, maybe five or six hours, and then everything is hunky-dory and they become a devoted couple, risking all kinds of peril to stay together. Even for emotionally-stunted automatons, this feels a bit unlikely, and in fact seems to be one of those “she loves him because the author says she does, and besides, he needed that relationship for the rest of the plot to work” gimmicks.This is not always an easy read, and while it does take a look at the very real kinds of human failings that could realistically lie at the bottom of a dystopian society, it’s dated in many ways and leaves a Chinese banquet’s worth of plot noodles dangling.
    • 4/5
      This Perfect Day by Ira Levin One of the Dystopian Classics

      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 have ago at this, an easy read.[DIGRESSION]Given the previous era's repressive phobia about sex I guess that's not surprising though. I seldom come across any sex these days, what happened along the way huh? And I do not count 50 shades as valid sex either given the 2 dimensional characters.I've had a browse of some those Amazon female-porn novels by women authors that abound. I was shocked to read words like "his throbbing member" and "her sex ached for him". If they were written by men there would be a rightful outcry about the degrading nature of it. It is so badly written that if it wasn't for the sexual content they could be seen for what they really are which is cheap crap.I did read that the advent of the Kindle meant that women could now buy porn, albeit soft, without the humiliation of doing that in a real bookstore and hence the proliferation of those mummy-porn novels. What happened to real sex in books? If you know of any please reply to this review, I'd be interested in both gender viewpoints.[END DIGRESSION]
    • 3/5
      1) Likes: the scanners, the boats, the maps, the programmers, the dishes, the bracelets, the food, the paperweights, the rain, the juxtaposition of violence and a peaceful status quo

      2)Dislikes: the situation of the women(but what's new there, and this is 'old'), the weird repeated déjà vu that happens when you've read too many generations' of derivative works and find it dims the sheer novelty of earlier ground breaking speculative fiction, a few threads are left too dangling for me, the notion that value of human life and personal ethics can be so easy-come-easy-go while guilt remains
    • 2/5
      Writing a dystopian novel in the late 1970s wasn't an easy task. You'd have to say something 1984, Brave New World, and Lord of The Flies hadn't said. This book doesn't.

      On top of it, it's just so damn clumsily written half the time. Thin characters, confusing descriptions of environments and action scenes, polemic dialog.

      Levin can be a very engaging writer. Here, he leaves his economical, small-allegory skills at the door and attempts an epic history set in a complex and alien world. He fails.
    • 5/5
      In my opinion, this is the best book written by Ira Levin. The premise of the benevolent unicomp controlling people and forcing them to conform to its will is not a new one. Except, Ira knows how to frame the realities of tyrannical rule. Some would say he's too structured in his plot and subplots - the twists are programmed like clockwork - but I didn't care. The book kept my suspense, nonetheless. The more immersed I was in Ira's tale, the more I felt that I was the protagonist Chip. I wanted to get the squirm out of the clutches of unicomp; disappear from sight; and live off an island far, far way. I fear, however, it's impossible to do this today. You can't be "what you want to be" - flawed and left alone. No man (or woman) is an island, after all.
    • 3/5
      Jorden, ca 2150Indeholder fire dele: "Første del: Opvækst", "Anden del: Liv", "Tredje del: Flugt", "Fjerde del: Modstand".???En dystopi med en lykkelig afslutning.
    • 3/5
      Ok, first, I wasn't sure I even wanted to read this. I read reviews, and my husband read it, and so I finally decided to. I'm glad I did, and would give it 3.5 stars if we had 1/2 stars. Second, to people who judged the whole book based on how well they could stomach the rape scene, well, they weren't reading it carefully in full context. I'd say more but it'd be a spoiler. I do recommend the book for anyone who is interested in sf issues like dystopia, cloning, the-good-of-the-many....
    • 5/5
      My all-time favorite book, [This Perfect Day] is filled with social commentary and plot twists. An astounding read!
    • 3/5
      Not quite as good as his other books. Didn't hold up as well over time. Awkwardly dated.
    • 4/5
      very surprising almost ending. women seem only useful as sex objects to hero. levin does have an interesting imagination.
    • 3/5
      Not quite as good as his other books. Didn't hold up as well over time. Awkwardly dated.
    • 3/5
      The premise gripped me: a society where "treatments" subdue free thinking and a computer makes all decisions. Clearly, this is a critique of socialism, an issue at the top of people's minds when this was completed in 1969.

      Unfortunately, the sexism of the 60s is also here, and it takes away from the book's enjoyment. Scenes of harrassment, adultery and even rape are glossed over and brushed aside without consequence, making the heroes of this story difficult to care for.

      This Perfect Day may still be worth the read for fans of dystopian novels, but it does not hold up as well as other stories in the genre. It starts strong and the writing is engaging; it's just a shame the protagonist here is so hard to like.
    • 5/5
      Quite a fast reading. One of the best dystopian books out there. Though 1984 is a classic I find it very slow unlike this perfect day, where we are emerged and the world and the feelings (or lack of them) that is the world after the union. The book seems quite predictable but it is not. I has it's twists, the end is surprising and I say if you are into that kind of literature is a must read. And I'm torn apart between giving a 4 or a 5.
    • 4/5
      This Perfect Day by Ira Levin is a near future dystopian in the same vein as Nineteen Eighty-Four or Brave New World. It follows Li (aka Chip) from childhood through middle age as he questions, accepts, rejects and tries to escape from Uni — the all encompassing society built on the ashes of our current nations.The how and why of Uni's creation is never fully described but hints are dropped, much in the same way that B&L's domination and destruction of Earth in Wall-E is. Chip's situation unique in that he is related to someone who both knows how things came to be and was apparently an active participant (for better or worse).Much of This Perfect Day, though, is a quiet observation of the ways in which Chip and the others are so blindly complacent. Levin's rather bland narrative tone serves to underscore the oppression imposed by Uni by not commenting on it. Instead everything is presented as routine and even somewhat mundane.It's not until about two-thirds through the novel that Chip comes to realize something is not right with how things work. It is also in these last few pages that Levin begins to weave in most of Uni's back story.It is easy, though, to just take the events as described at face value. Therein, is the second layer of warning about just how easy it is to deceive and to be deceived. Though this is a quiet book, pay attention and question everything you read.
    • 4/5
      I tell people I don't like dystopias, then I go and read them again and again. What can I say? There are a lot of good ones--including this one, even if it's not a great one. Atwood of A Handmaid's Tale is the strongest living prose stylist I've read. Ayn Rand's Anthem (don't sneer) is almost a prose poem--even two liberal friends of mine admit to liking it. Huxley's Brave New World and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 both have many striking, quotable lines. And Orwell's 1984 has so many phrases that have entered the language like "newspeak" and "Big Brother." Each have aspects to their societies that are distinct and memorable; Anthem, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are of the strain that tries to control the mind, particularly through language. Levin's future world hews closer to Brave New World with its control of the body through genetics and drugs. It doesn't feel as distinct a world as the other, and though with a clean style doesn't seem to be as strongly written as the above. Also one thing--and I'm no Christian, but it bugged me that one of the four ideologies that rules this society is supposed to be that of Jesus Christ (that of Karl Marx another) but, other than a nod at the value of "helping" your fellow man and knocks against selfishness, this doesn't strike me as remotely Christian in feel or design. That's one reason why it doesn't get a five. It dipped below a four mostly for what happens from page 192 to 194--and then what doesn't happen. Our hero rapes his love and she tells him not a day later not to feel awful, that "It was perfectly natural." If I thought this was meant as commentary on how that controlled society pushed him, and if it had negative consequences for him, her and their relationship, I'd be fine with it--but you get the feeling that it's what it's said to be--something "perfectly natural." In which case, either Levin really needs to get a clue, or it's sloppy writing. But I don't see the need for the scene if there aren't consequences, and it bugged me.But the novel is short, well-paced, kept me turning pages and had several surprises--it went in directions I wasn't expecting it to go. So good book, even if not great book.
    • 4/5
      This book is similar to "Brave New World" and "1984" in its description of life in the future. There are also themes similar to the movies "Equilibrium" and "Gattaca". I had read this book back in the 70's and really loved it and had been searching for a copy for years - but it was out of print. Then it became available in Kindle and I snatched it up.

      This story takes place about 150-200 years in the future. All war is gone, all individuality is gone, all decisions are made by the government, and regular drugs are administered to keep everyone in the same numb state. A handful of people, however, feel there is more to life and gather together to imagine what other possibilities there are, and where to find this freedom.

    • 5/5
      I loved this book. It was so good. The writing was terrific and the story was very interesting and compelling. Anyone who enjoyed the movie The Matrix should definitely read this book.
    • 4/5
      This novel reminded me quite a lot of a grown-up The Giver, envisioning a world where everything is provided by a central computer authority, which also makes all decisions. Loss of autonomy, individualism and freedom of choice is the trade-off for absolute security. The narrator, Chip, struggles against and finally manages to escape UniComp's pervasive control, joins with others and plots to destroy the thing. There is a nice twist at the end, and a good deal of suspense. I would say this is a middling contribution to the dystopian genre, but highly readable and entertaining nonetheless.
    • 4/5
      Written by Ira Levin in 1969 and winner of the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, This Perfect Day, was a monumental work of dystopian speculative fiction. Author of bestselling novels Rosemary’s Baby, The Boys From Brazil and The Stepford Wives Levin is seen by authors today as a master of suspenseful storytelling. This Perfect Day was his only work of science fiction. Much like Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We there is no specific explanation on how exactly this world came to be. One can only assume that Marxism in Russia and the Eastern Block spread rapidly and eventually grew to envelop all countries of Earth. The society itself takes Marx writing and runs with it, taking it away and transforming it into something that he would never want. The people were again slaves to the machine, doing the bidding of an all knowing device. Unlike most It is interesting that Levin supplied such a multifaceted dystopian novel. Unlike other heroes and dystopian novels Chip does not die. He does not fail in his attempt to change the World. Highly recommended. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
    • 5/5
      How I managed NOT to have this in my books already boggles my mind. I really have to make a note to add in all of my books, not the haphazard way I have been doing this. As one of my favorite books, I am shocked and appalled at myself.One of Levin's less known works but certainly in my humble opinion his best. Everything I could ask for in a dystopian story. No amount of words that I can think of would do it justice. I love my copy. It is hardcover with no slip and pages so old they are turning green :] Fabulous!
    • 2/5
      For the most part, This Perfect Day is just an unremarkable dystopia. It was a quick read and reasonably enjoyable, and I would have given it 3 stars if not for the constant undercurrent of misogyny running through the entire book. I'd give this book a pass unless you're a serious fan of dystopias or Ira Levin.