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Joyleg
Ward Moore e Avram Davidson non costituiscono una delle coppie fisse della fantascienza: in realtà questo 'Joyleg' è l'unica opera che hanno scritto insieme. Eppure i due autori hanno molte caratteristiche in comune: entrambi fanno parte di quella generazione di fantascientisti che ha incominciato a scrivere all'inizio degli anni '50; entrambi sono scrittori che puntano soprattutto alla qualità e che alle azioni e alle avventure violente preferiscono la ricostruzione degli ambienti e dei caratteri; tutt'e due hanno raccolto le lodi della critica, ma tutt'e due hanno una produzione piuttosto esigua, e per questo è facile dimenticarli quando si fa la rassegna dei grandi della fantascienza. Dei due, Avram Davidson è quello che conta più opere al suo attivo, soprattutto racconti. E' stato per diversi anni direttore della rivista 'Fantasy and Science Fiction', è un personaggio dalla cultura enciclopedica al pari di Asimov e de Camp, è un ottimo critico, e alcuni suoi celebri racconti sono stati pubblicati anche in Italia su Galaxy: 'La bicicletta da corsa rossa', 'La società degli Indiani di legno'. La sua più recente opera, 'The Phoenix and the Mirror' è stata molto apprezzata per la perfetta ricostruzione della Roma classica in chiave fantastica: un mondo magico e semistorico, virgiliano ma visto con gli occhi della leggenda medievale. L'altro autore, Ward Moore, è soprattutto noto per 'Lot', per qualche racconto come 'La misura dell'uomo', e per il romanzo 'Anniversario fatale', in cui compariva la descrizione di come sarebbero oggi gli Stati Uniti se il Sud avesse vinto la Guerra di Secessione. Nell'uno e nell'altro autore troviamo lo stesso gusto per la ricerca erudita sul passato, lo stesso piacere di riscriverlo a propria discrezione, e dall'unione di questa loro caratteristica è nato 'Joyleg', storia di un viaggio nel tempo compiuto con il mezzo più laborioso. Ma più che un romanzo, 'Joyleg' è una rappresentazione comica e un poco pazza, in cui troviamo beffa, satira e commedia di costume: a folly, come lo definiscono gli stessi autori. Lo scenario è una sottoamerica contemporanea in cui affluiscono parlamentari e senatori, plenipotenziari e grandi figure del passato, con il passo di una sceneggiatura teatrale. Non la solita America delle commedie cinematografiche, e neanche l'America della critica violenta contro le istituzioni, ma un'America minore, intermedia tra le due, composta in parti uguali di personaggi che rammentano il Simak migliore e di personaggi che sembrano tratti dalla Dogpatch dei fumetti di Al Capp, che collabora a fornire un gustoso ritratto delle straordinarie differenze che intercorrono tra la storia e la politica quali sono davvero e quali ci giungono attraverso il filtro delle cronache e delle ricostruzioni.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
2 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Avram Davidson
430 books94 followersAvram Davidson was an American Jewish writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy Awards in the science fiction and fantasy genre, a World Fantasy Life Achievement award, and a Queen's Award and an Edgar Award in the mystery genre. Davidson edited The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1962 to 1964. His last novel The Boss in the Wall: A Treatise on the House Devil was completed by Grania Davis and was a Nebula Award finalist in 1998. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says "he is perhaps sf's most explicitly literary author".
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 7, 2024
Joyleg is a collaborative novel by Avram Davidson and Ward Moore that was serialized in Fantastic magazine in 1962 and published in paperback by Pyramid later that year. It's an interesting study of history that examines the State of Franklin, as well as being a current (1962, remember) bit of political and social satire, and it offers some very amusing bits of humor as well. Davidson was a well-known editor (of F&SF magazine) and writer in the field for a long time, and Moore is best now remembered for two novels, Greener Than You Think and Bring the Jubilee. This Pyramid edition features a delightful pair of covers by Ed Emshwiller.
April 2, 2018
Though not ranked among the giants of the “golden age” of science fiction, Ward Moore produced some of the more memorable novels and short stories of the period. Perhaps best known for his seminal alternate history/time travel novella Bring the Jubilee, his tales emphasized humor and character development over scientific detail, and have endured longer than many of those of his contemporaries as a consequence.
Moore’s reputation was hampered by his limited output, with his last two novels written jointly with other authors. This, his second to last novel, was co-authored by Avram Davidson, who was then transitioning from short stories to longer-form work. Though both were excellent writers, the novel they produced reflects upon them both poorly. It’s premise is intriguing enough: provoked by the discovery that an $11 veterans’ pension was being paid out as far back as records allowed, two members of the Tennessee congressional delegation travel to their state’s backwoods to unravel the mystery. Their journey beings them to the cabin of Isachar Joyleg, a veteran of the American Revolution who has lived for over two centuries thanks to daily baths in moonshine. This remarkable discovery ignites a firestorm of curiosity, one that in the end changes the course of history itself.
Such a premise offers no end of interesting possibilities for a storyteller, and while Moore and Davidson do score some of satirical points off of it, their work ultimately suffers from poor plotting and unimaginative twists that squander its promise. After an intriguing buildup, the story follows a by-the-numbers development to its resolution, while the arc of the two main characters is predictable from the moment of their introduction. As a result, the novel fails to live up to the promise created by them names on its cover, with readers better off picking up instead one of the other, far better work, that these authors produced over their respective careers. It may make for enjoyable reading over a lazy afternoon, but in the end it serves as a pale reflection of what these authors were capable.
Moore’s reputation was hampered by his limited output, with his last two novels written jointly with other authors. This, his second to last novel, was co-authored by Avram Davidson, who was then transitioning from short stories to longer-form work. Though both were excellent writers, the novel they produced reflects upon them both poorly. It’s premise is intriguing enough: provoked by the discovery that an $11 veterans’ pension was being paid out as far back as records allowed, two members of the Tennessee congressional delegation travel to their state’s backwoods to unravel the mystery. Their journey beings them to the cabin of Isachar Joyleg, a veteran of the American Revolution who has lived for over two centuries thanks to daily baths in moonshine. This remarkable discovery ignites a firestorm of curiosity, one that in the end changes the course of history itself.
Such a premise offers no end of interesting possibilities for a storyteller, and while Moore and Davidson do score some of satirical points off of it, their work ultimately suffers from poor plotting and unimaginative twists that squander its promise. After an intriguing buildup, the story follows a by-the-numbers development to its resolution, while the arc of the two main characters is predictable from the moment of their introduction. As a result, the novel fails to live up to the promise created by them names on its cover, with readers better off picking up instead one of the other, far better work, that these authors produced over their respective careers. It may make for enjoyable reading over a lazy afternoon, but in the end it serves as a pale reflection of what these authors were capable.
June 15, 2016
Avram Davidson and Ward Moore were highly successful writers of 'pulp' fiction who collaborated to produce Joyleg. It is hard to categorise; is it Science-Fiction? Fantasy? Or something in between? Whatever it is, it is very well written and hugely entertaining. I wont give away the plot as that may spoil your enjoyment, but if you like classic Science-Fiction or Fantasy of the Golden Age you should enjoy this book - recommended!
February 26, 2026
Joyleg takes on a trip through the ages when government officials discover that a pension of $11 is being paid to a Mr Joyleg in a remote part of the country. Traveling to discover the truth behind the low sum, it's soon made clear that Mr Joyleg is not, as speculated, a veteran of the world wars, nay even the last survivor of the civil war...but the war of independence itself! Now the whole world knows, and turmoil ensues as nations scrabble to learn the secrets of longevity, while others claim hoax or spy.
Joyleg, while an interesting premise, failed to deliver on two fronts: memorable characters and a fleshed out plot that catches you beyond the brief summary on the back. I found it very distracting to sift through 200 years of old world dialect, and it was mainly random people coming to talk to Joyleg and trying to decide if he was being truthful.
Joyleg, while an interesting premise, failed to deliver on two fronts: memorable characters and a fleshed out plot that catches you beyond the brief summary on the back. I found it very distracting to sift through 200 years of old world dialect, and it was mainly random people coming to talk to Joyleg and trying to decide if he was being truthful.
March 1, 2026
He's one a few is any of you have heard of let alone read. Joyleg by Ward Moore and Avram Davidson first appeared in Fantastic Magazine and later in print edition both in 1962.
The Congressional Finance Committee is meeting to massage the budget when it is noticed that a veteran is receiving a measly $11 a month pension. One member bemoans the treatment of an American hero while the other cries fraud. Independently they research the matter and discover the fellow has been on the books a long, a very long time. Off they go to the backwoods, each certain their view is the correct one. Both are surprised.
I found a few anachronisms that seemed out of place like their trip to their destination but the story has humor, mirth, and a sly look at ones heroes without their pants on. I bought and read this in the 70's or 80's and hadn't read it since but the story stuck with me and when I wanted to revisit a favorite this old loose paged paperback is what came off the shelve. Rated 4.8 with 9 reads on Amazon and 3.65 with 52 on Goodreads. Personally I might go as high as 4.5 for this fun little story that could easily be read in one sitting with only 191 pages.
The Congressional Finance Committee is meeting to massage the budget when it is noticed that a veteran is receiving a measly $11 a month pension. One member bemoans the treatment of an American hero while the other cries fraud. Independently they research the matter and discover the fellow has been on the books a long, a very long time. Off they go to the backwoods, each certain their view is the correct one. Both are surprised.
I found a few anachronisms that seemed out of place like their trip to their destination but the story has humor, mirth, and a sly look at ones heroes without their pants on. I bought and read this in the 70's or 80's and hadn't read it since but the story stuck with me and when I wanted to revisit a favorite this old loose paged paperback is what came off the shelve. Rated 4.8 with 9 reads on Amazon and 3.65 with 52 on Goodreads. Personally I might go as high as 4.5 for this fun little story that could easily be read in one sitting with only 191 pages.
June 16, 2024
The unearthing of a paltry pension for a war veteran sends two rival congresspeople on a quest either to rescue a forgotten and neglected hero from penury or to expose a ruthless criminal enterprise defrauding the US government. What they find is Joyleg, a veteran of an altogether older war than expected. Joyleg's archaic speech and historical references fill the pages with delightful puncturing of cherished myths, but arguably his accidentally resolving the nuclear standoff between the US and the USSR has aged out in a way the 18th century stuff hasn't, and it's a pity they didn't go all-in on Joyleg's story a la Little Big Man or some other weighty literary tome, rather than focusing on the clash with (then modern) modernity.
October 16, 2022
Ward Moore (1903-1978) is now on my radar. His novel "Joyleg", co-authored with Avram Davidson, is just as educating as it is entertaining. In it I learned about the State of Franklin and enough vocabulary from the 1700s to become a history teacher. There's a lot of text where the lower case "s" is replaced with an "f", to add an aura of authenticity.
Joyleg was published in 1962 and while it focuses on a veteran of the Revolutionary War that survived more than 200 years, it very strongly becomes a novel about the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. I didn't see it coming, but when it happened, I just had to remind myself that this book was written in the 1960s.
Ward Moore didn't write very much, and according to his Wikipedia entry: "he contributed only infrequently to the field, [but] each of his books became something of a classic."
Joyleg was published in 1962 and while it focuses on a veteran of the Revolutionary War that survived more than 200 years, it very strongly becomes a novel about the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. I didn't see it coming, but when it happened, I just had to remind myself that this book was written in the 1960s.
Ward Moore didn't write very much, and according to his Wikipedia entry: "he contributed only infrequently to the field, [but] each of his books became something of a classic."
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews