The Final Circle of Paradise

The Strugatsky Brothers

1964

March, 2023

4.5/10

It's a bit difficult to understand what exactly is going on. I also wasn't fond of the protagonist's personality.

Overall, the book seems to be a discourse on society that didn't really resonate with me. Similarly, the premise wasn't my favorite. The book begins with hints and clues while you try to figure what is happening. This is fine until the story turns into a detective novel which is not what I expected nor wanted.

After finishing the book, reflecting on all the events just made them seem forced. Like when Len is in the garage and says that everyone is dead. At the time, I didn't fully understand. Later, though, all I could think was how blatantly forced this and other events were for pushing the authors' opinions rather than Ivan's.

To top it all off, the protagonist goes into philosophical monologues that aren't even monologues, but rather essays written as though streams of thought. These incorporate the events of the book to create fictional essays that felt like being preached to.

The book had a lot of potential, but it just felt like a means of philosophizing. Philosophy presented through stories is great. But philosophizing in a story about the story just doesn't work. Historical context aside, the book should have been a non-fiction.