Book Review: The Sorcery Shop: An Impossible Romance

Here is a classic case of ‘always read the fine print’ because I didn’t even ask what this book was about when I brought it. And I should’ve done because… its another book about socialism! Yay!. It was not a yay… more of a sweet-merciful-heaven-not-again. But then again, this utopian book is of relevance to those who are interested in socialist discourse. It also has nothing -much to my displeasure- to do with romance. This book was published in 1907, long before the first and second world wars and before the communist revolution in Russia, Vietnam, Korea and the Cultural Revolution in China. Which, has come to define 20th century understanding on socialism.

So what’s this book about, in a nutshell. Well its about a Socialist Utopia that has been deemed ‘impossible’ from the outset. An old General and a Financier are taken on a journey around a different England, one where the people are happy and contented with life. Land is owned by the people for the people, everything is shared. There is no money, no King/Queen, government or monetised industry. The education system is taken over by the parents, especially the Mother and Mother teaches them practical things like reading and writing, but if a child doesn’t wish to learn, say mathematics or geography then the parents don’t push it. They let the child explore their own interests with the thought that the child will eventually come to something that said child will enjoy. Women in this utopia are free to do as they wish; they are wholly independent of men both socially and financially. Furthermore when someone needs medical attention or has become/is disabled they are looked after, at no personal expense, but by the state.

So there’s a lot to digest and this book was- at times- very trying, and some of it is now, redundant. Particularly looking at state care - which we have, the NHS being a very prominent and highly valued system of healthcare which we are all extremely proud of - particularly during the times of Covid-19 today. Women have different expectations now -in 2021- than they did in 1907. The rights of women are vastly better than that of 1907 where women’s suffrage was just starting to gain momentum- but was seen as more of a nuisance than a movement to be taken seriously. Clearly, a lot has changed... So, although women, in this bizarre treatise on English socialism, are apparently independent there are a few snags:

1. Divorce is not a thing.

2. Purity is an absolution.

3. Men and Women are still expected to conform to traditional gender stereotypes.

4. Someone please explain to me why all the men and women here in this socialist wonderland are all startlingly beautiful- not in a happy-go-lucky way. But in a slightly creepy this-is-too-perfect-and-theyre-cookie-cutter-women-wow-run-for-the-hills kind of way.

But at least they play cricket?

Anywho, yes this book felt like I was, at times, tripping on some magic mushrooms. So much so that I checked the expiry dates on the food in the fridge. Just in case. But to summarise it’s a kinda socialist version of ‘Alice in Wonderland/ Wizard of Oz’. So go on, click your heels three times and tumble down the socialist rabbit hole with me.