Books › Továrna na absolutno
Továrna na absolutno
887 pages
A darkly hilarious, philosophical romp through a world where mass-produced divinity triggers the ultimate capitalist and religious apocalypse.
What it feels like
Reading this novel feels like watching a brilliant, slow-motion trainwreck orchestrated by a grinning philosopher. The pace is brisk and escalating, pulling you from the quiet confines of a laboratory into a feverish, globe-spanning chaos. It is steeped in a darkly comic, surreal mood, where the miraculous becomes mundane and the divine is treated as an industrial byproduct. The prose is sharp, journalistic, and dripping with a dry, sardonic wit that skewers capitalism, religion, and human hubris with equal glee. As the narrative spirals into mass hysteria, the emotional texture shifts from wry amusement to a cynical, dizzying awe. It is a perfect delight for fans of Vonnegut or Bulgakov who relish watching society unravel over a single, brilliantly absurd premise.
- Mood
- chaotic
- darkly comic
- surreal
- feverish
- Tone
- sardonic
- philosophical
- absurdist
- wry
- cynical
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- technological hubris · mass hysteria · commodification of the divine · absurdity of human nature · capitalist greed
- The writing
- Sharp, journalistic, and playfully philosophical, driven by a dry, distinctly Central European wit.
- The arc
- Begins with wry amusement at a scientific curiosity and spirals into dizzying, cynical awe as human nature inevitably weaponizes the divine.
- Who it's for
- Readers who delight in classic, philosophical satire and love watching a single absurd premise unravel the entirety of human society.
Content notes
- religious fanaticism
- satirical violence
- war themes
About the book
The Czech writer Karel Čapek wrote his novel Továrna na absolutno in 1922. It was translated into English and published by Macmillan in 1927 as The Absolute at Large. The novel is a satirical piece of science fiction, and starts with the invention of an “atomic engine” in the future year 1943 which can convert matter directly into energy. Such engines can operate machinery for months from a single bucket of coal. But the inventor quickly discovers that his engine has an unfortunate side-effect: It generates pure divinity as a waste product. The consequences of the wide-spread adoption of the new engines therefore gives rise to unexpected complications in human society. The novel is full of sardonic but incisive comments on society, capitalism and religion.
Description from Open Library.
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