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Utopian Dreams
by: Tobias Jones

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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780571223817
ISBN: 0571223818
Label: Faber and Faber
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: February 07, 2008
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Studio: Faber and Faber
Sales Rank: 20072

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Interesting, but ...
Tobias Jones went looking for something. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, just that it would be different to the unsatisfying fast-paced modern lifestyle that he had been struggling with for some time.

So he went community hopping. He visited a range of different, reasonably self-contained 'communities', all with a common theme of separation from the 'normal' world, generally with religious roots to some extent, in Italy and the UK. He explores how communities in general are built, whether they work, and whether spirituality and/or religion are necessary for a successful community.

In the end his answer is probably "yes", communities need some sort of foundation based on shared beliefs or objectives. In addition, ... Read More:

Rating:

- A thoughtful exploration of life together
Utopian Dreams, by Tobias Jones, is part travelogue, part philosophy. Tired of the frustrations and empty promises of consumer culture, he sets off on a search for something more meaningful. With his wife and child, he takes a year out to visit a series of communities in the UK and Italy.

The journey takes them to the new-age paradise of Damanhur, the Catholic orphanage of Nomadelfia, the Rowntree Trust's ideal Quaker retirement village, an Italian anti-mafia cooperative, and finally a rural community in Dorset. He is forced to re-evaluate his priorities, as he mixes with priests and peasants, hippies, tramps, ex-cons, drug addicts. In the midst of it all Jones discovers freedom as a life goal, rather than the absence of boundaries. ... Read More:

Rating:

- An Opportunity Lost
Anyone who, like me, expected to encounter a genuine study of alternative communities in Tobias Jones' travel book Utopian Dreams, will be well displeased by a project that had so much potential, but ultimately got lost amidst its author's self indulgent penchant for repetitive meta-narrative.

In all fairness, I should have paid more attention to the books subtitle; 'In search of a good life'. Even then, the front cover should have stipulated more clearly that it was Tobias Jones' search for a good life rather than the communities he visited! I estimate that the first chapter, in which he visits the alternative community of Damanhur in Italy is 25% experience and 75% reflection. Granted, this is the community that Jones has least time ... Read More:

Rating:

- Defining Communities
Clever, humble, well researched. Jones documents his stay in various communities over the space of a year. Though their motivations differ he finds common trends and shared goals that make him question his own place in society and just what he intends to achieve with his life. I found myself jotting down quotes or interesting ideas every other page and seriously fascinated with all the very different reasons for and expectations people had of what living with others would do for them. I think the community that caught my imagination most was the Quaker community of elderly folks set up by the Rowntrees. I found the idea of elderly people coming together to feel safe, involved and cared for was perhaps the most pragmatic discussed in the book and it ... Read More:

Rating:

- Thank You Tobias Jones
Utopian Dreams is my book of the year. Just when we were all about to despair... along came Tobias Jones. This book is erudite, wise, lucid, clever, humble and very important; a profound joy and a complete relief. Here is someone expressing what we are all thinking, sorting out the confusion, and offering a way out of the mess we're all in. I'll be recommending it to anyone and everyone who'll listen and buying a copy for everyone I love. Amazing.

Books : Utopian Dreams