A satire of Victorian society, this little book also manages to be a pretty good introduction to abstract higher geometry. Written from the perspective of an inhabitant of a two-dimensional universe, it features social descriptions, dream sequences into one dimension, a subsequent venture into three dimensions, and the narrator’s final coming to terms with his society’s inability to believe his insights.

The parallels with Gulliver’s Travels are obvious, and Abbott is a better scientist and mathematician than Swift but a less subtle satirist. Having said that, he manages to land some blows: the upper class aversion to “feeling” is probably my favourite, but his treatment of the women of Flatland and the need for (and impact of) wholesale social lying also bring a smile.

3/5. Finished Thursday 12 June, 2014.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)