--- product_id: 93310409 title: "Individutopia: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia" price: "S/.103" currency: PEN in_stock: true reviews_count: 10 url: https://www.desertcart.pe/products/93310409-individutopia-a-novel-set-in-a-neoliberal-dystopia store_origin: PE region: Peru --- # Individutopia: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia **Price:** S/.103 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Individutopia: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia - **How much does it cost?** S/.103 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pe](https://www.desertcart.pe/products/93310409-individutopia-a-novel-set-in-a-neoliberal-dystopia) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Buy Individutopia: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia 1.0 by Sheldon, Joss (ISBN: 9781789263589) from desertcart's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Review: A Modern Classic - This novel is a modern take on themes already explored by visionary, ahead of their time works such as Orwell's '1984' and Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'. The foreword reads 'This is a not a prophecy. This is a warning'. This tale of warning is set in the year 2084, by which time in which the 'world has changed so much'. Like '1984', it is a thinly veiled critique of a political ideology, in this case Thatcherism and one of its alleged key elements, based around the quote 'There is no such thing as society', which itself led to the so-called Cult of the Individual. The author compares Thatcher to 'a colossus; half-machine, half-human, shoulder pads made of steel and a tongue which could fire off bullets'. Parallels can be seen in the lead character, Renee's appearance, which she had modified with plastic and Botox. As in '1984', the first part of the book is used to describe the strange world which the lead character inhabits. In Renee's case, this is a society in which privatisation and competition replace personal relationships and artificial stimulants and anti-depressants become as necessary to sustenance as food. Which, by the way, is dispensed in pills and bars full of artificial nutrients. Oligarchs prospered and took over ownership of every asset imaginable, tangible and intangible. They created a social system where individuals were ranked on everything from appearance to sleep and calorie intake. Renee, when we first meet her, is living in a 2m long, 1m wide pod, as do all workers. She wears electronic glasses, which edit the information her eyes send to her brain so that people do not have to look at one another. As in '1984', language is used to inform ideology - personal pronouns have fallen out of use and only used to refer to oneself. Renee was abandoned by her parents and raised by a robot. The human race is therefore dying, but Renee, in her pixelated, medicated world, accompanied only by avatars of herself, is unaware of the implications of this. She fills her time by going for job interviews for ultra-short contract work of a pointless nature. The nature of work is taken to the height of pointlessness in describing Renee's jobs. In one, she travels to a former royal palace to smash to pieces works of art and furniture, only to labour to put them together again almost as soon as this is achieved. The parallel with the current day concept of going to work to achieve some abstract-seeming task, in order to make enough money to live near the source of work in an expensive area is all too clear. Likewise, Renee's attempts to improve upon what nature has given her are a farce - she has deformed her eye with self-applied Botox, done the same to one of her cheeks with plastic, and an attempt to put on false eyelashes results in her placing one, ludicrously, halfway down her cheek. She has no human interaction to give her feedback, after all. The book describes Renee's eventual escape, through self-realisation, to a small colony of people living outwith London and her rejection of the romantic advances in favour of yet another farcically unattractive choice. The pathos of her choices is both ridiculous and saddening. Renee's journey is a triumph of basic innate human mortality in the face of hopelessness. The themes this novel raises are familiar yet powerful all the same, in this modern form incorporating elements that threaten society today and raise fears for the future. Review: Brilliant book - disarming and thought-provoking - I really enjoyed reading Individutopia. It was gripping from the outset. I really liked the historical narrative, which takes current-day policies and trends and carries them through to their logical conclusion 66yrs on. The only thing I found wanting was Renee's character development - and the character development of the narrator. Neither felt entirely plausible, neither was really fully explored. Yet so many elements of the world they inhabited felt very real, and the pace of the story was also convincing, so while I didn't associate strongly with the characters I was committed to the book from the very first few pages. Thanks, Joss Sheldon, for a very enjoyable read and a lot of food for thought. I want to read more books by this author, and of this genre! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 490,664 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 1,410 in Political Fiction (Books) 2,523 in Political Thrillers (Books) 3,926 in Dystopian | | Customer reviews | 3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars (505) | | Dimensions | 15.24 x 1.12 x 22.86 cm | | Edition | 1.0 | | ISBN-10 | 1789263581 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1789263589 | | Item weight | 268 g | | Language | English | | Print length | 176 pages | | Publication date | 23 Aug. 2018 | | Publisher | Rebel Books | ## Images ![Individutopia: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81G0p4-xHGL.jpg) ![Individutopia: A novel set in a neoliberal dystopia - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71gpDZ1YXaL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Modern Classic *by T***Y on 7 May 2019* This novel is a modern take on themes already explored by visionary, ahead of their time works such as Orwell's '1984' and Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'. The foreword reads 'This is a not a prophecy. This is a warning'. This tale of warning is set in the year 2084, by which time in which the 'world has changed so much'. Like '1984', it is a thinly veiled critique of a political ideology, in this case Thatcherism and one of its alleged key elements, based around the quote 'There is no such thing as society', which itself led to the so-called Cult of the Individual. The author compares Thatcher to 'a colossus; half-machine, half-human, shoulder pads made of steel and a tongue which could fire off bullets'. Parallels can be seen in the lead character, Renee's appearance, which she had modified with plastic and Botox. As in '1984', the first part of the book is used to describe the strange world which the lead character inhabits. In Renee's case, this is a society in which privatisation and competition replace personal relationships and artificial stimulants and anti-depressants become as necessary to sustenance as food. Which, by the way, is dispensed in pills and bars full of artificial nutrients. Oligarchs prospered and took over ownership of every asset imaginable, tangible and intangible. They created a social system where individuals were ranked on everything from appearance to sleep and calorie intake. Renee, when we first meet her, is living in a 2m long, 1m wide pod, as do all workers. She wears electronic glasses, which edit the information her eyes send to her brain so that people do not have to look at one another. As in '1984', language is used to inform ideology - personal pronouns have fallen out of use and only used to refer to oneself. Renee was abandoned by her parents and raised by a robot. The human race is therefore dying, but Renee, in her pixelated, medicated world, accompanied only by avatars of herself, is unaware of the implications of this. She fills her time by going for job interviews for ultra-short contract work of a pointless nature. The nature of work is taken to the height of pointlessness in describing Renee's jobs. In one, she travels to a former royal palace to smash to pieces works of art and furniture, only to labour to put them together again almost as soon as this is achieved. The parallel with the current day concept of going to work to achieve some abstract-seeming task, in order to make enough money to live near the source of work in an expensive area is all too clear. Likewise, Renee's attempts to improve upon what nature has given her are a farce - she has deformed her eye with self-applied Botox, done the same to one of her cheeks with plastic, and an attempt to put on false eyelashes results in her placing one, ludicrously, halfway down her cheek. She has no human interaction to give her feedback, after all. The book describes Renee's eventual escape, through self-realisation, to a small colony of people living outwith London and her rejection of the romantic advances in favour of yet another farcically unattractive choice. The pathos of her choices is both ridiculous and saddening. Renee's journey is a triumph of basic innate human mortality in the face of hopelessness. The themes this novel raises are familiar yet powerful all the same, in this modern form incorporating elements that threaten society today and raise fears for the future. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Brilliant book - disarming and thought-provoking *by M***E on 28 October 2018* I really enjoyed reading Individutopia. It was gripping from the outset. I really liked the historical narrative, which takes current-day policies and trends and carries them through to their logical conclusion 66yrs on. The only thing I found wanting was Renee's character development - and the character development of the narrator. Neither felt entirely plausible, neither was really fully explored. Yet so many elements of the world they inhabited felt very real, and the pace of the story was also convincing, so while I didn't associate strongly with the characters I was committed to the book from the very first few pages. Thanks, Joss Sheldon, for a very enjoyable read and a lot of food for thought. I want to read more books by this author, and of this genre! ### ⭐⭐⭐ Medium *by M***N on 1 November 2024* Medium book… --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pe/products/93310409-individutopia-a-novel-set-in-a-neoliberal-dystopia](https://www.desertcart.pe/products/93310409-individutopia-a-novel-set-in-a-neoliberal-dystopia) --- *Product available on Desertcart Peru* *Store origin: PE* *Last updated: 2026-08-21*