Utopian novels face a tough uphill battle. In sketching a vision of an ideal world, they run into mankind's inherent stubbornness and uniqueness; one person's idea of the perfect place to live rarely meshes with another person's idea, especially when it comes to the details. Utopian novels face the prospect of having to avoid repetition; their own view must be distinct enough to merit attention, compared to other utopian novels. Utopian novels must by their nature as works of fiction find a balance between overwhelming the reader with lengthy info-dumps and a narrative flow that reveals too little of the society's workings. And, it must make us believe that this world is good, worthy, and attainable.

How, then does Dan Hurwitz's recent novel, Stelzer's Travels, fare in this literary minefield? The book is subtitled “A Voyage to a Sensible Planet,” and the term utopia is used several times by the narrator. Even the inhabitants themselves describe their society favorably in contrast to Earth; by every admission this is a utopian novel. Hurwitz has done a thorough job sketching his imagined society, with a multitude of essays covering the transformation from a world much like our own into one that proclaims a rational society based on laws of nature. These essays weigh down the story. Apparently this level of detail is deliberate, as Hurwitz includes after the table of contents a “List of Essay Material” covering all the topics discussed, from ecology to economics, government to sociology, and more. At nearly 600 pages, the actual narrative element of the book is fairly slim, often repetitive, and laden with stereotypes. Indeed, I find myself hard-pressed to recommend this book. In considering the requirements of utopian novels that I set forth above (and I must clarify that these are my rules, so take them for what they are), I see this book more as a case study in the pitfalls of utopian fiction.

The novel opens with David Stelzer of the book's title making his rounds as real estate investor seeking his monthly rent from a poor Jewish congregation. Stelzer, middle-aged and world weary, never collects much rent from the rabbi in charge, but they get along. When Stelzer one night has to give a ride to a young, earnest student from that congregation, his life changes drastically. The student is en route to meet aliens seeking new species for their zoo. (Setting aside the economics of vast interstellar travel to pick up two male subjects, the method of contacting their exhibits seems bizarre.) Stelzer, in sudden concern for this foul-mouthed radical young Jewish scholar, claims the second spot. His tale relates his experiences of the alien planet, which is called Luxen.

Luxen's history mirrors that of earth almost exactly, from the story of the fall, a bible, the middle ages, nuclear wars, and a super-power beset by jealous destroyers. The major difference, and one that Stelzer does not mention right away, is that Luxenbens resemble humans in every regard but one: they have two heads. These beings are sexually compatible with humans, have Anglo-Saxon names and similar family structures. Surprisingly for a “rational society” they display blatant discrimination toward species with one head, which certainly falls outside any ideal libertarian society. This book comes across as a parable for our own American society, which apparently is doomed. Though there are brief flashes of laissez-faire ideas, I fear Luxen is not the ideal model to emulate. In many ways I found them far from sensible, and as a work of fiction sadly this book failed to hold my interest. Rather this is a socio-political commentary masquerading as a novel.