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Chocky
Matthew, they thought, was just going through a phase of talking to himself. And, like many parents, they waited for him to get over it, but it started to get worse. Mathew's conversations with himself grew more and more intense - it was like listening to one end of a telephone conversation while someone argued, cajoled and reasoned with another person you couldn't hear. Then Matthew started doing things he couldn't do before, like counting in binary-code mathematics. So he told them about Chocky - the person who lived in his head.
153 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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8048 people want to read
About the author
John Wyndham
375 books2,008 followersJohn Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was the son of a barrister. After trying a number of careers, including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, he started writing short stories in 1925. After serving in the civil Service and the Army during the war, he went back to writing. Adopting the name John Wyndham, he started writing a form of science fiction that he called 'logical fantasy'. As well as The Day of the Triffids, he wrote The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos (filmed as Village of the Damned) and The Seeds of Time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,035 reviews
April 27, 2019
This short novel taught me an unexpected lesson on my own fixed mindset.
Imagine an alien lifeform that sneaks into the mind of a child. What would you think?
Well, I can tell you what I expected: brutal conflicts, life-threatening confrontations, mobilisation of violent resistance to keep humanity safe from the evil extraterrestrial power that wants to colonise us in order to dominate our lives and exploit our weaknesses.
That is not what I got, though. And I have to reflect on the fact that my expectations were so stereotypical. Why would I expect a highly intelligent, curious extraterrestrial explorer to be as evil and stupid as humans have proven to be, over and over again? Why would I expect it to be even worse? Why would I feel threatened by the unknown, even before I see any signs of danger?
The answer to my question to myself is that human beings are conditioned to distrust anything that is different from themselves. And it takes a lot of thinking and mental training to understand that our own way of life is not the universal default setting.
This novel tells the story of a young boy who gets the incredible chance to discuss our planet with someone who sees it with objective, indifferent eyes, someone who tries to understand why it is the way it is, and how it could improve. Written in 1968, it raises such relevant questions as energy sources, environmentalism, conformity and political exploitation of scientific progress. It shows the oxymoronic approach to parenting that still dominates any parent-teacher-talk: the idea that your child is an exceptional genius, and yet “perfectly normal and average” at the same time, a child that it sticks out but also blends in. It holds up a mirror to humanity and points at the violent rejection we feel when we recognise something “out of order”, or just focused and talented in a special, “unnormal” way.
The beautiful ending conveys a message to those in a powerful, strong position: sometimes withdrawing from that power and letting children develop at their own pace is the most loving and caring thing you can do. Sometimes successful careers, fame and celebrity are dangerous and not to be encouraged. Sometimes less ambitious, quiet self-fulfilment in art or literature is to be preferred. Sometimes less is more.
That certainly rings true for this short novel: less drama, but more thought-provoking ideas than in most bestselling science fiction.
Recommended, wholeheartedly!
Imagine an alien lifeform that sneaks into the mind of a child. What would you think?
Well, I can tell you what I expected: brutal conflicts, life-threatening confrontations, mobilisation of violent resistance to keep humanity safe from the evil extraterrestrial power that wants to colonise us in order to dominate our lives and exploit our weaknesses.
That is not what I got, though. And I have to reflect on the fact that my expectations were so stereotypical. Why would I expect a highly intelligent, curious extraterrestrial explorer to be as evil and stupid as humans have proven to be, over and over again? Why would I expect it to be even worse? Why would I feel threatened by the unknown, even before I see any signs of danger?
The answer to my question to myself is that human beings are conditioned to distrust anything that is different from themselves. And it takes a lot of thinking and mental training to understand that our own way of life is not the universal default setting.
This novel tells the story of a young boy who gets the incredible chance to discuss our planet with someone who sees it with objective, indifferent eyes, someone who tries to understand why it is the way it is, and how it could improve. Written in 1968, it raises such relevant questions as energy sources, environmentalism, conformity and political exploitation of scientific progress. It shows the oxymoronic approach to parenting that still dominates any parent-teacher-talk: the idea that your child is an exceptional genius, and yet “perfectly normal and average” at the same time, a child that it sticks out but also blends in. It holds up a mirror to humanity and points at the violent rejection we feel when we recognise something “out of order”, or just focused and talented in a special, “unnormal” way.
The beautiful ending conveys a message to those in a powerful, strong position: sometimes withdrawing from that power and letting children develop at their own pace is the most loving and caring thing you can do. Sometimes successful careers, fame and celebrity are dangerous and not to be encouraged. Sometimes less ambitious, quiet self-fulfilment in art or literature is to be preferred. Sometimes less is more.
That certainly rings true for this short novel: less drama, but more thought-provoking ideas than in most bestselling science fiction.
Recommended, wholeheartedly!
July 23, 2022
“Reality is relative... When people live their lives by their beliefs objective reality is almost irrelevant.”
This is more psy-fi, than the sci-fi that one associates with Wyndham.
He takes the central ideas of Midwich Cuckoos, published 11 years earlier and filmed twice as Village of the Damned and more recently with its original title (see my review HERE ), but makes it more realistic. Here, there’s just one unsettling cuckoo child, and he’s unquestionably human - but he is adopted. As in Midwich, when his inexplicable talents become known, there’s a media frenzy, with insatiable journalists trying all sorts of unscrupulous tricks to get the inside story.
Questions
• Where is Earth?
• Why are there two sexes?
• What’s the pressure of light?
• Why does gravity do it?
• Why do cows stop?
David and Mary, an ordinary English couple, are concerned when 11-year old Matthew starts acting oddly, apparently because of a voice he’s hearing. At Chocky’s prompting, Matthew asks questions that are too advanced or abstract for easy answers, muddied by his child’s vocabulary and understanding. It’s like trying to describe a tune to a deaf person. But in maths and art, where words are not required, he excels:
“Me doing the drawing, and her doing the seeing.”
Image source
David and Mary have questions of their own, though not always asked explicitly.
• What is family - and what is not? What is human - and what is not?
• How do you tell the difference between a psychiatric disorder, overactive imagination, God, a demon, or something…. other?
• Is a benign or neutral presence less plausible and thus more unsettling than a selfish coloniser?
• Does difference need to be fixed?
David remembers Sherlock Holmes:
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
Bang Up to Date
This was a surprisingly topical read - and not just in ways that Wyndham might have anticipated.
Consent
Chocky is there as a “working arrangement”, a sort of possession by consent. But other things that happen, including by the paparazzi, approach and often breach boundaries of informed consent (though not in a sexual, #MeToo way).
Beyond the Binary
There’s binary maths, of course, but Chocky doesn’t understand the idea of binary gender (male or female, and nothing else). Chocky is both and neither, but Mary and David find Matthew's switching pronouns confusing. They want to pick one “on grounds of grammar”.
“It gives more personification if Chocky is one or the other.”
The non-binary people who are increasingly visible today can surely relate to being pigeon-holed that way.
Environment
Renewable energy is the future. But that’s a common message of sci-fi.
Disappointments
“I don’t understand women. Nobody does. Least of all themselves.”
As is common with authors writing in and of the period, the women are decorative and domestic, but largely sidelined in a friendly way. Younger sister Polly is plausibly annoying, but not given many redeeming qualities. However, in in the collection Consider Her Ways and Others (see my review HERE), a couple of the stories have a strong female/feminist slant.
The penultimate bit of the plot was incongruously far-fetched and almost comic. Not massively so, but it spoiled the overall experience for me, though I’m not sure what I’d have written instead. Fortunately, the actual end was touching, without becoming overly sentimental.
Other Quotes
• “Some babies confer a little more equality than other babies.”
• “People always find it easier to believe in evil spirits than good ones.”
• “Intelligent life is the only thing that gives meaning to the universe.”
• “Because mind has no mass it takes not time to travel.”
• “She kept on going on, but it didn’t mean anything. It wasn’t turning into proper words.”
This is more psy-fi, than the sci-fi that one associates with Wyndham.
He takes the central ideas of Midwich Cuckoos, published 11 years earlier and filmed twice as Village of the Damned and more recently with its original title (see my review HERE ), but makes it more realistic. Here, there’s just one unsettling cuckoo child, and he’s unquestionably human - but he is adopted. As in Midwich, when his inexplicable talents become known, there’s a media frenzy, with insatiable journalists trying all sorts of unscrupulous tricks to get the inside story.
Questions
• Where is Earth?
• Why are there two sexes?
• What’s the pressure of light?
• Why does gravity do it?
• Why do cows stop?
David and Mary, an ordinary English couple, are concerned when 11-year old Matthew starts acting oddly, apparently because of a voice he’s hearing. At Chocky’s prompting, Matthew asks questions that are too advanced or abstract for easy answers, muddied by his child’s vocabulary and understanding. It’s like trying to describe a tune to a deaf person. But in maths and art, where words are not required, he excels:
“Me doing the drawing, and her doing the seeing.”
Image source
David and Mary have questions of their own, though not always asked explicitly.
• What is family - and what is not? What is human - and what is not?
• How do you tell the difference between a psychiatric disorder, overactive imagination, God, a demon, or something…. other?
• Is a benign or neutral presence less plausible and thus more unsettling than a selfish coloniser?
• Does difference need to be fixed?
David remembers Sherlock Holmes:
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
Bang Up to Date
This was a surprisingly topical read - and not just in ways that Wyndham might have anticipated.
Consent
Chocky is there as a “working arrangement”, a sort of possession by consent. But other things that happen, including by the paparazzi, approach and often breach boundaries of informed consent (though not in a sexual, #MeToo way).
Beyond the Binary
There’s binary maths, of course, but Chocky doesn’t understand the idea of binary gender (male or female, and nothing else). Chocky is both and neither, but Mary and David find Matthew's switching pronouns confusing. They want to pick one “on grounds of grammar”.
“It gives more personification if Chocky is one or the other.”
The non-binary people who are increasingly visible today can surely relate to being pigeon-holed that way.
Environment
Renewable energy is the future. But that’s a common message of sci-fi.
Disappointments
“I don’t understand women. Nobody does. Least of all themselves.”
As is common with authors writing in and of the period, the women are decorative and domestic, but largely sidelined in a friendly way. Younger sister Polly is plausibly annoying, but not given many redeeming qualities. However, in in the collection Consider Her Ways and Others (see my review HERE), a couple of the stories have a strong female/feminist slant.
The penultimate bit of the plot was incongruously far-fetched and almost comic. Not massively so, but it spoiled the overall experience for me, though I’m not sure what I’d have written instead. Fortunately, the actual end was touching, without becoming overly sentimental.
Other Quotes
• “Some babies confer a little more equality than other babies.”
• “People always find it easier to believe in evil spirits than good ones.”
• “Intelligent life is the only thing that gives meaning to the universe.”
• “Because mind has no mass it takes not time to travel.”
• “She kept on going on, but it didn’t mean anything. It wasn’t turning into proper words.”
Read
October 6, 2021
A beautiful story. A tender story. A moving story.
British author John Wyndham is most well known for The Midwich Cuckoos since his novel was used as the basis for 1960s film, Village of the Damned, featuring children with eyes turning into fierce light. Actually, such sinister, horrific eye transformation was the filmmaker's creation - in John Wyndham's tale, from all outward appearances, the beautiful children are just children, normal in all respects, eyes included.
This "normal in all respects" fits with the author's overall aesthetic since within the rocket ships/flying saucers/green Martians world of science fiction, SF writer John Wyndham's literary tone was a quiet one. As the great novelist and critic Christopher Priest put it: "By fastidiously shrinking back from the sensational, Wyndham found a unique literary voice. He described the odd rather than the fantastic, the disturbing rather than the horrific, the remarkable rather than the outrageous. He dealt in menace, not terror. This quietness of tone was to prove effective and likeable."
Chocky is not only likeable; it's lovable. I would think the ladies would especially fall in love with John Wyndham's short novel. If there ever was a book to serve as evidence science fiction is not the exclusive domain of adolescent boys and nerdy young men hankering after outer space thrills and adventure, Chocky is that book.
The simplicity of plot adds particular charm: we're in a small English town and mild-mannered accountant David Gore, the tale's narrator, becomes anxious when he overhears twelve-year-old son Matthew out in the garden conversing with an imaginary friend. He informs his wife Mary. Oh, no, not a second time! Some years back, ten-year-old daughter Polly created friend Piff, but fortunately for all concerned, habitual nuisance Piff departed as quickly as she arrived.
David and Marry continue to keep a careful eye on Matthew. But shortly thereafter, on occasion David detects Matthew's conversations turn into emotionally charged arguments. Ever the compassionate father, David speaks with his son. Turns out, Matthew's unseen inner companion has a name - Chocky.
David seeks out help from the world of psychiatry. Fortunately, the doctor David invites to his home hits it off with Matthew and when the two are left alone, Matthew opens up and tells the doctor all about Chocky.
Later that evening when Matthew goes upstairs to bed, the doctor relays his findings: from what he can determine, Matthew's experience is somewhat similar to what our human ancestors called "possession," although in Matthew's case, it isn't possession in the traditional sense, it's more like a rational, working relationship.
Following the doctor's departure, the parents have their own conversation: David wonders but Mary will have none of it - as far as she's concerned, the guy with a trimmed beard and fancy suit is a complete quack.
But what adds a true element of alarm for David and also Mary - two subsequent events suggest Chocky is, in fact, not the figment of a young boy's imagination; Chocky possesses real, objective presence.
One major element adding to our enjoyment in turning the pages of this fascinating novel is knowing we are reading a work of science fiction, that Chocky is an alien consciousness that has chosen to communicate with a particular human boy.
The novel raises a number of important philosophic questions. I'd like to focus on one. First off, please read this brief quote from a SF novel by Robert Sheckley:
"Don Quijote thinks the windmill is a giant, whereas Panza thinks the giant is a windmill. Quijotism may be defined as the perception of everyday things as rare entities. The reverse of that is Panzaism, which is the perception of rare entities as everyday things."
From my own experience, nearly everyone I've ever met is prone to Panzaism, that is, reducing the richness and sumptuousness of life down to digestible little bite-sized bits. Applied to Chocky, this would mean the overwhelming human response to Matthew and Chocky would be wife Mary's response - there must be a reasonable, sound, sensible, proper explanation.
Oh, Mary, oh, most people, the things you might miss! Philosophy aside, the sheer charm of Chocky will delight. A novel to fall in love with.
British SF author John Wyndham, 1903-1969
“I'm not bigoted enough to twist the facts to suit what I've been taught.”
― John Wyndham, Chocky
June 8, 2019
I thought I knew all of Wyndham’s science fiction adventures--The Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos--but this one—his last—had previously escaped my notice. I’m glad I finally discovered it, for it is a gentle, introspective tale of alien contact, as common and accessible as a children’s book, and yet, in its exploration of the human mind and its boundaries, it is extraordinarily subtle and unique.
David Gore observes that his twelve-year-old son Matthew has acquired an imaginary friend. Although Matt is a little old for that sort of thing, his father is not overly anxious, until he begins to listen carefully to his son’s internal, though vocalized, conversations with this fellow called “Chocky.” Chocky has opinions very different from Matthew’s, and often poses extraordinary questions which Mr. Gore doubts his son would ever have thought out for himself. Could “Chocky” perhaps not be a part of Matt after all, but instead a separate distinct being, from outer or inner space, perhaps with his or her own definite agenda?
This is not an eventful novel, but the dialogue between Matt and Chocky, and the analysis David Gore applies to it as he searches for evidence of Chocky’s distinct existence, his separate reality within Matt’s mind, the many signs of his alien abilities, limitations, and possible goals, makes for an absorbing and entertaining reading experience.
Is Chocky real? Is he good or is he bad? And if he is good, what has he to say to us about the destiny of man and the fate of the earth on which we live? Wyndham is too smart a writer to answer these questions. But he raises them, artfully and enticingly, and leaves his reader much to think about long after the book is done.
August 9, 2019
This is about an 11 year old English boy in the mid-1960s who gets an alien stuck in his head. The story is narrated by his father, one of those self-satisfied middle class lawyer types who routinely patronises his wifey little wife who says shit like “If you think so dear”. He’s one of those guys who wouldn’t have noticed the sixties were swinging unless you tied him to a table and force fed him LSD. It’s a shame all of those guys didn’t get an alien stuck in their heads. Nowadays we all have an alien stuck in our heads – the name of it is Donald Trump. Ha, top political satire! I was wondering if I could turn a review of a pleasant but rather fusty old sf novel into a pungent, searing comment on our current woes.
Anyways John Wyndham perfectly captures the deadly tone of voice these types had, when they ruled their smug worlds with velvet fists. You know what? This was a good read!
Anyways John Wyndham perfectly captures the deadly tone of voice these types had, when they ruled their smug worlds with velvet fists. You know what? This was a good read!
January 14, 2022
I am on a John Wyndham spree. Chocky is another gem by him that I just discovered. It tells the story of a young boy whose parents are upset because his imaginary friend is a bit too pushy and argumentative and percocious. It seems that she, Chocky, is so odd as to be a whole separate being from their sweet, ordinary son. Of course, there lies the crux of the matter. Chocky is not an imaginary playmate, but something entirely different.
December 10, 2025
Хареса ми, навремето на младото ми аз се бе сторила някак скучновата, та така и не я дочетох цялата.
Фина и ненатрапчива среща на разуми - това е книга основно за проблемите и последиците, които могат да произтекат от такъв сложен и неочакван контакт.
Макар и малко овехтяла, че и на моменти наивна, "Чоки" определено заслужава внимание.
Моята оценка - 3,5*.
В България Уиндъм е добре познат автор, популярни негови книги са "Денят на трифидите" и "Какавидите".
P.S. И до ден днешен корицата ме плаши сериозно. :)
Фина и ненатрапчива среща на разуми - това е книга основно за проблемите и последиците, които могат да произтекат от такъв сложен и неочакван контакт.
Макар и малко овехтяла, че и на моменти наивна, "Чоки" определено заслужава внимание.
Моята оценка - 3,5*.
В България Уиндъм е добре познат автор, популярни негови книги са "Денят на трифидите" и "Какавидите".
P.S. И до ден днешен корицата ме плаши сериозно. :)
February 14, 2021
"I don't see why seven is a sillier number than eight."
Because seven ate nine? No, that is why six is scared of seven or something…
Anyway! Chocky is John Wyndham’s 1968 novel about a 12-year-old boy, Matthew Gore, who is in telepathic communication with an alien entity (the eponymous Chocky) from a galaxy far far away. At the beginning of the narrative, Matthew and the alien have been in communication for some time and are already arguing like an old married couple. When Matthew starts asking bizarre questions and frequently talks to himself, even having shouting matches with himself, his parents are understandably concerned that he may be permanently tuned in to Radio Ga Ga. So Dad consulted a psychiatrist friend who is very quick to suspect that Matthew’s “condition” is far more interesting than a phase of an imaginary friend. Matthew’s mother, however, is cursed with being a very badly written female character with zero imagination, so she cannot think of anything beyond the idea of the imaginary friend issue and goes on about it ad nauseam. Like a German sausage, she is the wurst. Soon Matthew goes the extra mile to freak out his parents (mum, especially), swimming like a pro, painting amazing pictures etc. Events begin to snowball until the narrative reaches a climax of sorts.
I really like John Wyndham upstanding fellow who gave us the t'riffic Triffids ( The Day of the Triffids) , The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos etc. Classic sf author Brian Aldiss famously labeled Wyndham's work as “Cozy Catastrophe” in that they tend to feature a middle class white protagonist who is not much inconvenienced by the cosmic catastrophe affecting the general populace. He just holes up somewhere nice, smoking his cigars until it is all over. This seems very unfair as the protagonist of The Day of the Triffids, The Chrysalids and his other books don’t really have an easy time of it, barely escaping sci-fi catastrophes with their lives. However, Chocky is surely Wyndham at his coziest. Mildly intriguing things happen but nothing that astounds, while reading the book I sat firmly in my seat without moving anywhere near the edge of it.
Still, it is an easy, breezy read and passes the time nicely, it is not his best work, but then you can’t Wyndham all.
Because seven ate nine? No, that is why six is scared of seven or something…
Anyway! Chocky is John Wyndham’s 1968 novel about a 12-year-old boy, Matthew Gore, who is in telepathic communication with an alien entity (the eponymous Chocky) from a galaxy far far away. At the beginning of the narrative, Matthew and the alien have been in communication for some time and are already arguing like an old married couple. When Matthew starts asking bizarre questions and frequently talks to himself, even having shouting matches with himself, his parents are understandably concerned that he may be permanently tuned in to Radio Ga Ga. So Dad consulted a psychiatrist friend who is very quick to suspect that Matthew’s “condition” is far more interesting than a phase of an imaginary friend. Matthew’s mother, however, is cursed with being a very badly written female character with zero imagination, so she cannot think of anything beyond the idea of the imaginary friend issue and goes on about it ad nauseam. Like a German sausage, she is the wurst. Soon Matthew goes the extra mile to freak out his parents (mum, especially), swimming like a pro, painting amazing pictures etc. Events begin to snowball until the narrative reaches a climax of sorts.
I really like John Wyndham upstanding fellow who gave us the t'riffic Triffids ( The Day of the Triffids) , The Chrysalids, The Midwich Cuckoos etc. Classic sf author Brian Aldiss famously labeled Wyndham's work as “Cozy Catastrophe” in that they tend to feature a middle class white protagonist who is not much inconvenienced by the cosmic catastrophe affecting the general populace. He just holes up somewhere nice, smoking his cigars until it is all over. This seems very unfair as the protagonist of The Day of the Triffids, The Chrysalids and his other books don’t really have an easy time of it, barely escaping sci-fi catastrophes with their lives. However, Chocky is surely Wyndham at his coziest. Mildly intriguing things happen but nothing that astounds, while reading the book I sat firmly in my seat without moving anywhere near the edge of it.
Still, it is an easy, breezy read and passes the time nicely, it is not his best work, but then you can’t Wyndham all.
July 8, 2022
4.0 Stars
This is a really fun science fiction novel that puts a sci-fi spin on a classic horror narrative. More mysterious than creepy, I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I highly recommend this one to any sci fi reader or horror readers trying to get into the genre.
This is a really fun science fiction novel that puts a sci-fi spin on a classic horror narrative. More mysterious than creepy, I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I highly recommend this one to any sci fi reader or horror readers trying to get into the genre.
January 30, 2019
Deeply enjoyable short novel, as long as becoming immersed for a short time in 50's patriarchy is not off-putting for you. I find it refreshing to dive back into the anthropology of past decades to a time when all female characters were, naturally, full of feeling and emotions, and all male characters were rational and intellectual and responsible for protecting the women and children in their lives. Part of what I love about scifi is to recognize how time-bound this genre is even though authors are trying to be forward thinking, and trying to break through the constraints of their era. On top of my voyeuristic interest into the gendered roles of the past, though, the book offered me a lovely tangential look at the fears and concerns that come with parenting a child you love when he is not quite all right--the book explores whether a parent's role is to encourage difference or to make children conform; it plays with the idea of whether unusual differences in a child should be considered an illness to be eradicated or a gift to be embraced. And I enjoyed my time spent, as always, with John Wyndham and his imagination.
October 17, 2025
„Но често си мисля, че прекалената нормалност в повечето случаи е за сметка на индивидуалността. И така си е, да си нормален значи да си посредствен.“
Чудесна книжка с изключително силни послания! „Чоки“ е невидим чуждопланетен разум, който общува с малкия Матю. Обаче приемните му родители (особено майката) решават, че детето е болно, а пък учителите изискват от ученика са мисли само по общоприетия начин( т.е. да не им задава трудни въпроси). Джон Уиндъм кратко и точно описва основните човешки недостатъци, заради които голяма част от нашият вид не само е недостойна за контакт с други форми на живот във Вселената, но и все още се самоунищожава и разсъждава на посредствено ниво...
Чудесна книжка с изключително силни послания! „Чоки“ е невидим чуждопланетен разум, който общува с малкия Матю. Обаче приемните му родители (особено майката) решават, че детето е болно, а пък учителите изискват от ученика са мисли само по общоприетия начин( т.е. да не им задава трудни въпроси). Джон Уиндъм кратко и точно описва основните човешки недостатъци, заради които голяма част от нашият вид не само е недостойна за контакт с други форми на живот във Вселената, но и все още се самоунищожава и разсъждава на посредствено ниво...
October 28, 2022
David and Mary are not overly worried about their son having an imaginary friend until their son begins to act strangely and asks questions that are much more advanced than his eleven years. Matthew’s Chocky , it seems, is not as imaginary as first thought and s/he becomes more and more pushy as time goes on. The story is developed so well. It slowly builds momentum while avoiding the sensational. I really enjoyed it. My favorite Wyndham so far.
August 28, 2022
Страхотно много ми хареса. Започнах я снощи и историята така силно ме увлече, че за няколко часа я прочетох цялата. Не успях да оставя книгата, докато не стигнах докрая. Хем добре, че беше от по-кратките, хем ми се искаше да има още от нея. Супер завладяващ и невероятно поднесен сюжет. Чудесна фантастика с послания.
January 27, 2019
I've been a pretty staunch fan of John Wyndham already, so I am not all that surprised to find that I enjoyed Chocky. It's not about mass blindness and man-eating plants or about the great novel that was later turned into Stepford Wives. Indeed, this one keeps its focus tight upon a little boy whose imaginary friend isn't all that imaginary.
It's a fascinating concept, looked at psychologically, but it was the social consequences that made this really stand out. A nod at possession, the reason is quickly ignored for the more interesting conclusion.
Alien telepathy. I mean, hello! Since light is the speed limit, the only reasonably efficient method of exploration has got to be SOMETHING ELSE. Especially if you want to send real spaceships to other intelligent races, you need to make sure you're welcome. :)
But of course, filtering higher concepts and technologies through a kid can be somewhat... frustrating. I can perfectly see how fraught this particular first-contact scenario can be. And thankfully, it doesn't go the full-on Stephen King route. Almost everyone is rational and takes reasonable precautions and rationalizations. I mean, we are human, after all. We don't automatically throw our kids into mental asylums on a first brush with the uncanny or frankly impossible... Do we?
No, no. This is still a rational world in this short novel. Of course, if King wrote it, I would expect something with a death toll, a very, very angry alien, and a kid hounded by pitchforks.
:)
It's a fascinating concept, looked at psychologically, but it was the social consequences that made this really stand out. A nod at possession, the reason is quickly ignored for the more interesting conclusion.
Alien telepathy. I mean, hello! Since light is the speed limit, the only reasonably efficient method of exploration has got to be SOMETHING ELSE. Especially if you want to send real spaceships to other intelligent races, you need to make sure you're welcome. :)
But of course, filtering higher concepts and technologies through a kid can be somewhat... frustrating. I can perfectly see how fraught this particular first-contact scenario can be. And thankfully, it doesn't go the full-on Stephen King route. Almost everyone is rational and takes reasonable precautions and rationalizations. I mean, we are human, after all. We don't automatically throw our kids into mental asylums on a first brush with the uncanny or frankly impossible... Do we?
No, no. This is still a rational world in this short novel. Of course, if King wrote it, I would expect something with a death toll, a very, very angry alien, and a kid hounded by pitchforks.
:)
December 13, 2016
I really like John Wyndham's books so was surprised I'd never read this. So when I finally made some time to tidy up my garage (we've been renovating our house for the last 4 years and in all that time my poor old garage has just been used as a dumping grounds) I thought I'd like to listen to a book rather than another round of Christmas songs, much as I like them.
Anyway, Chocky, a really enjoyable listen and a typical Wyndham book, so if you enjoy The Kraken Wakes, Day of the Triffids etc, then this will be right up your street. It is, as usual well written and a great story, and what I love is the Englishness of it all, and the fact that a lot of Wyndham's books (like Wells) are set where I grew up, so the settings are so familiar to me, which makes me enjoy them more.
Anyway, Chocky, a really enjoyable listen and a typical Wyndham book, so if you enjoy The Kraken Wakes, Day of the Triffids etc, then this will be right up your street. It is, as usual well written and a great story, and what I love is the Englishness of it all, and the fact that a lot of Wyndham's books (like Wells) are set where I grew up, so the settings are so familiar to me, which makes me enjoy them more.
January 14, 2022
Chocky is an interesting character. The story is well constructed with young Matthew. I read this book as a teenager and the comments it makes rings true 50 years on. A good read with lots of thought provoking questions. Odd though an alien choses an 11 year old boy to communicate telepathically.
May 24, 2023
Imaginary friend?
When David Gore sees his 12-year-old son Matthew having an argument all by himself, he assumes the family is being visited by another “imaginary friend”. His daughter had had a very annoying invisible friend when she was younger, who insisted on having her own seat at table and demanded glasses of water in the middle of the night, and so on, so the thought is not a welcome one. Matthew is a little too old for an imaginary friend anyway, David thinks, and hopes the phase will soon pass. But Matthew begins to ask odd questions, like where exactly in the universe is Earth, and why are there two sexes, and why do some forms of life have less capacity to learn than others? And he seems to be developing odd skills – like suddenly being able to draw, even though his pictures are distinctly odd, or understanding binary maths. As David gently questions him, he discovers that Matthew’s friend is called Chocky, and it appears Chocky isn’t so imaginary after all…
For an alien invasion novel, this is remarkably quiet and thoughtful. Chocky may be an alien intelligence and her species may even be considering Earth’s potential as a future colony, but there is no overt threat to humanity. She has contacted Matthew to learn more about life on Earth and also to teach – to try to develop his young mind with skills that will one day enable him to make some of the scientific advances that her species already made long ago.
David is concerned for Matthew, but intrigued too. His wife, Mary, however, sets up an instant mental barrier, refusing to believe that Chocky is anything more than a figment of Matthew’s imagination. She insists on him being seen by a psychiatrist, and David goes along with this. He too would be happier to believe there was an easy explanation, but is already half-convinced that Chocky is both real and benign. As Chocky’s influence over Matthew grows, the wider world begins to get hints that there’s something odd going on – at first, just teachers asking why he seems to be developing so quickly in some areas and learning things they’re not teaching him, but gradually Matthew becomes something of an unwilling celebrity, hounded by newspapers looking for a story, and eventually coming to the attention of people with even less pure motives.
As is the case with most good science fiction, the premise is used as a means to look at our own society from a different angle. Chocky is intrigued by the idea of family – binary sex is not a concept she is familiar with. In fact, she is only a she because David decides it would be easier to assign her a gender than for Matthew to be confused all the time about which pronouns to use when discussing her. The human reaction to Chocky is another theme – is it easier to dismiss what we don’t understand as a symptom of a mental disorder than to consider that there may be more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in our current philosophy, to misquote the Bard? Then there’s the question of blood – Matthew is adopted, and for Mary’s family that makes him somehow less than their own self-produced children. As David puts it, “Some babies confer a little more equality than other babies.” Even Mary, though she loves Matthew as much as she loves her natural daughter, wonders if his strangeness is a sign of a kind of taint in his biological inheritance. And there’s also an ongoing theme of communication and how we learn. Often Matthew becomes deeply frustrated to the point of anger because he can’t understand the concepts Chocky is putting into his head, and at the same time she is frustrated by his limited vocabulary and knowledge of how things work, either mechanically or in terms of society, making it hard for him to give her the information she is seeking. Chocky’s species is perfectly willing to share their advanced knowledge, but unless there is a common level of understanding of science, it’s an impossible task. Try explaining nuclear power to a five-year-old. (Or, indeed, to me!)
There is a plot of sorts, but it’s a very minor part of the book, there merely to pull the story along to a conclusion. Mostly it’s a slow meander through the questions raised by Chocky’s visit, and a rather downbeat assessment of humanity’s readiness to accept new ideas that are outwith our experience. As always with Wyndham, it’s well written and thought-provoking, and will linger in the mind well beyond the few hours it takes to read.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Damien Lynch, who does a very good job, bringing every character to life and managing the children’s voices well – not something every narrator can pull off. His unhurried approach suits the tone of the book and allows the listener time to absorb the themes.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When David Gore sees his 12-year-old son Matthew having an argument all by himself, he assumes the family is being visited by another “imaginary friend”. His daughter had had a very annoying invisible friend when she was younger, who insisted on having her own seat at table and demanded glasses of water in the middle of the night, and so on, so the thought is not a welcome one. Matthew is a little too old for an imaginary friend anyway, David thinks, and hopes the phase will soon pass. But Matthew begins to ask odd questions, like where exactly in the universe is Earth, and why are there two sexes, and why do some forms of life have less capacity to learn than others? And he seems to be developing odd skills – like suddenly being able to draw, even though his pictures are distinctly odd, or understanding binary maths. As David gently questions him, he discovers that Matthew’s friend is called Chocky, and it appears Chocky isn’t so imaginary after all…
For an alien invasion novel, this is remarkably quiet and thoughtful. Chocky may be an alien intelligence and her species may even be considering Earth’s potential as a future colony, but there is no overt threat to humanity. She has contacted Matthew to learn more about life on Earth and also to teach – to try to develop his young mind with skills that will one day enable him to make some of the scientific advances that her species already made long ago.
David is concerned for Matthew, but intrigued too. His wife, Mary, however, sets up an instant mental barrier, refusing to believe that Chocky is anything more than a figment of Matthew’s imagination. She insists on him being seen by a psychiatrist, and David goes along with this. He too would be happier to believe there was an easy explanation, but is already half-convinced that Chocky is both real and benign. As Chocky’s influence over Matthew grows, the wider world begins to get hints that there’s something odd going on – at first, just teachers asking why he seems to be developing so quickly in some areas and learning things they’re not teaching him, but gradually Matthew becomes something of an unwilling celebrity, hounded by newspapers looking for a story, and eventually coming to the attention of people with even less pure motives.
As is the case with most good science fiction, the premise is used as a means to look at our own society from a different angle. Chocky is intrigued by the idea of family – binary sex is not a concept she is familiar with. In fact, she is only a she because David decides it would be easier to assign her a gender than for Matthew to be confused all the time about which pronouns to use when discussing her. The human reaction to Chocky is another theme – is it easier to dismiss what we don’t understand as a symptom of a mental disorder than to consider that there may be more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in our current philosophy, to misquote the Bard? Then there’s the question of blood – Matthew is adopted, and for Mary’s family that makes him somehow less than their own self-produced children. As David puts it, “Some babies confer a little more equality than other babies.” Even Mary, though she loves Matthew as much as she loves her natural daughter, wonders if his strangeness is a sign of a kind of taint in his biological inheritance. And there’s also an ongoing theme of communication and how we learn. Often Matthew becomes deeply frustrated to the point of anger because he can’t understand the concepts Chocky is putting into his head, and at the same time she is frustrated by his limited vocabulary and knowledge of how things work, either mechanically or in terms of society, making it hard for him to give her the information she is seeking. Chocky’s species is perfectly willing to share their advanced knowledge, but unless there is a common level of understanding of science, it’s an impossible task. Try explaining nuclear power to a five-year-old. (Or, indeed, to me!)
There is a plot of sorts, but it’s a very minor part of the book, there merely to pull the story along to a conclusion. Mostly it’s a slow meander through the questions raised by Chocky’s visit, and a rather downbeat assessment of humanity’s readiness to accept new ideas that are outwith our experience. As always with Wyndham, it’s well written and thought-provoking, and will linger in the mind well beyond the few hours it takes to read.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Damien Lynch, who does a very good job, bringing every character to life and managing the children’s voices well – not something every narrator can pull off. His unhurried approach suits the tone of the book and allows the listener time to absorb the themes.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
May 15, 2018
This just underlined the fact that I love John Wyndham books. :)
This author has used children as the focus in 3 of the books I've read and in all 3 the children have special abilities in communication.
If you like your sci fi, old school and gentle with some cracking questions like "Daddy , why is it a cow stops ?" I'm not going into the full context here but it's an incredible question when I think about it on a par with "What came first , the chicken or the egg? "
Just going to chuck in what is for me the quote of the book.
This spoken by the child's mother assuming that Chocky is an " imaginary friend "
" Reality is relative . Devils , evil spirits, witches and so on became real enough to the people who believed in them. Just as God is to people who believe in Him. When people live their lives by their beliefs objective reality is almost irrelevant " .
Thank goodness I still have more Wyndhams to read.
This author has used children as the focus in 3 of the books I've read and in all 3 the children have special abilities in communication.
If you like your sci fi, old school and gentle with some cracking questions like "Daddy , why is it a cow stops ?" I'm not going into the full context here but it's an incredible question when I think about it on a par with "What came first , the chicken or the egg? "
Just going to chuck in what is for me the quote of the book.
This spoken by the child's mother assuming that Chocky is an " imaginary friend "
" Reality is relative . Devils , evil spirits, witches and so on became real enough to the people who believed in them. Just as God is to people who believe in Him. When people live their lives by their beliefs objective reality is almost irrelevant " .
Thank goodness I still have more Wyndhams to read.
July 24, 2008
Oh, this was SUCH a good read. Twelve-year-old Matthew seems to have a new friend, but not of the corporeal sort. The sort who teaches him binary counting, how to paint through new eyes, how to swim (even when he can’t), and encourages him to ask the most unusual questions of his parents and teachers. Not the sort of questions you’d expect from a 12-year-old. Chocky provides an interesting perspective on childhood, imaginary friends, and the nature of intelligence. Well worth the few hours it takes to read. Recommended.
June 3, 2017
I read a lot of John Wyndham in my Sci Fi youth. I suppose typical of the times he was that perfect English disaster/dystopia writer that was popular in the 50's. A style that held its own for a long time after. I have hazy memories of being enthralled by The Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos and The Chrysalids but Chocky passed me by. I wonder what I would have made of it back then.
Reading this in later life I can but say that it is Sci Fi for sure but hardly disaster/dystopian writing I recall. In fact I found the book rather hopeful in tone. To tell why would give the story away so for those interested in 50’/60’s sci fi I say read it. It is a good read.
But be warned. It is written in a style that had me cringing periodically. So middle upper class with lots of mummies and daddies. Whiskies snorted by daddy and cigarettes lit by mummy to ease their tension. Lots of “old man”s even from father to son. I have no memory of this in the other three Wyndham books I read but then I read them an eternity ago.
Reading this in later life I can but say that it is Sci Fi for sure but hardly disaster/dystopian writing I recall. In fact I found the book rather hopeful in tone. To tell why would give the story away so for those interested in 50’/60’s sci fi I say read it. It is a good read.
But be warned. It is written in a style that had me cringing periodically. So middle upper class with lots of mummies and daddies. Whiskies snorted by daddy and cigarettes lit by mummy to ease their tension. Lots of “old man”s even from father to son. I have no memory of this in the other three Wyndham books I read but then I read them an eternity ago.
January 31, 2021
"When people live their lives by their beliefs reality is almost irrelevant."
When David Gore, the narrator, overhears his adopted son, Matthew, having a conversation with what he assumes is an imaginary friend he becomes concerned. Apart from the fact that Matthew is almost twelve years old and so surely past the age when he should have an imaginary friend, it also seems to be a very strange conversation, with questions no twelve-year-old would normally ask.
David and his wife, Mary, have had some experience with this sort of thing, their daughter Polly had her own invisible friend, Piff, when she was five but Chocky appears to be different. Whilst Polly had been very much in control of Piff, Chocky needs to have things that Matthew is looking at explained to her as if she's never seen them before. Matthew is unable to tell his parents Chocky’s age, where Chocky comes from or even whether Chocky is male or female (he eventually decides on female).
Things get worse when Chocky shows that she can take over Matthew's body as well as his mind and finally that she can talk through Matthew's mouth. Who or what is Chocky? Is she a positive or a harmful one influence on Matthew? David and Mary become increasingly worried, they don’t know how to help their son or even if he really needs help. However, when she saves Matthew and Polly from drowning she comes to the attention of the press as a 'guardian angel' Chocky realises that she has to leave.
By using Matthew's adoptive father as the narrator Wyndham is able to employ him as the voice of reason contrasting him with the emotional response of his adoptive mother. The only thing they agree on is that, although Matthew doesn't seem at all frightened or unhappy, his behaviour is certainly not normal.
But Chocky isn't a malevolent entity in fact she wants to help humanity. Chocky believes that humanity is worth helping. As Margaret Atwood says in her afterword "We are intelligent and intelligence is 'a holy thing, to be fostered and treasured'. Our technology, however, sucks." Chocky tells us that we are using up irreplaceable natural resources but larger more powerful forces will try and stifle more eco-friendly innovation which seems quite remarkable given that this book was first published in 1968.
This is a fairly short novel so I don't want to say much more about the plot but will say is that it’s not difficult to work out what is going on. The science fiction elements are subtle and the book is as much about the relationship between parents and children until the final chapter however this is also a book with a real message, it's brevity means that not a word is wasted making it a quick and compelling read which I would certainly recommend.
When David Gore, the narrator, overhears his adopted son, Matthew, having a conversation with what he assumes is an imaginary friend he becomes concerned. Apart from the fact that Matthew is almost twelve years old and so surely past the age when he should have an imaginary friend, it also seems to be a very strange conversation, with questions no twelve-year-old would normally ask.
David and his wife, Mary, have had some experience with this sort of thing, their daughter Polly had her own invisible friend, Piff, when she was five but Chocky appears to be different. Whilst Polly had been very much in control of Piff, Chocky needs to have things that Matthew is looking at explained to her as if she's never seen them before. Matthew is unable to tell his parents Chocky’s age, where Chocky comes from or even whether Chocky is male or female (he eventually decides on female).
Things get worse when Chocky shows that she can take over Matthew's body as well as his mind and finally that she can talk through Matthew's mouth. Who or what is Chocky? Is she a positive or a harmful one influence on Matthew? David and Mary become increasingly worried, they don’t know how to help their son or even if he really needs help. However, when she saves Matthew and Polly from drowning she comes to the attention of the press as a 'guardian angel' Chocky realises that she has to leave.
By using Matthew's adoptive father as the narrator Wyndham is able to employ him as the voice of reason contrasting him with the emotional response of his adoptive mother. The only thing they agree on is that, although Matthew doesn't seem at all frightened or unhappy, his behaviour is certainly not normal.
But Chocky isn't a malevolent entity in fact she wants to help humanity. Chocky believes that humanity is worth helping. As Margaret Atwood says in her afterword "We are intelligent and intelligence is 'a holy thing, to be fostered and treasured'. Our technology, however, sucks." Chocky tells us that we are using up irreplaceable natural resources but larger more powerful forces will try and stifle more eco-friendly innovation which seems quite remarkable given that this book was first published in 1968.
This is a fairly short novel so I don't want to say much more about the plot but will say is that it’s not difficult to work out what is going on. The science fiction elements are subtle and the book is as much about the relationship between parents and children until the final chapter however this is also a book with a real message, it's brevity means that not a word is wasted making it a quick and compelling read which I would certainly recommend.
July 16, 2025
I loved this - it did not go in the direction I expected at all. There was a creepiness to it, but it was also surprisingly sweet, with a lovely if unbalanced friendship, and a family who care about their child and do their best to support him through an odd situation.
Damian Lynch was an excellent narrator.
Damian Lynch was an excellent narrator.
October 20, 2024
I feel this book is too intelligent for me to 'review' it. I'm only going to say I love everything in the story. So "erudite"
Ooh and hands down my favorite fictional parents of the year!
Audiobook narrated by Daniel Weyman
Ooh and hands down my favorite fictional parents of the year!
Audiobook narrated by Daniel Weyman
May 22, 2017
Following the publication of 1960's "Trouble With Lichen," fans of the hugely popular English sci-fi writer John Wyndham would have to wait a good solid eight years for his next novel to be released. During that time, the author limited himself to the shorter form, coming out with 10 stories. One of those short stories was "Chocky," which initially appeared in the March '63 issue of the legendary American magazine "Amazing Stories," which had been started by author and editor Hugo Gernsback back in 1926. Wyndham later expanded "Chocky," and the result was his final book to be published before his untimely passing. As had so many other of the author's previous works, the novel initially saw the light of day as a hardcover bearing the imprint of British publishing house Michael Joseph, in 1968; this reader was fortunate enough to acquire the original American edition, a 75-cent Ballantine paperback, also from 1968. The novel was immediately turned into a BBC radio program that same year, and remained popular enough, apparently, to justify its adaptation as a British TV series, in 1984. Some Hollywood director named Steven Spielberg currently holds the film rights, and a recent perusal of Wyndham’s source novel has served to convince me what a terrific big-screen entertainment this might make, if produced with the requisite care and sensitivity; megabucks for special FX would not be necessary here.
As for the "Chocky" book itself, it is narrated by David Gore, a husband of some 15 years as well as a father to two kids: his 12-year-old adopted son Matthew, and 10-year-old daughter Polly. Polly, earlier on, had given David and his wife, Mary, a hard time with the bothersome antics of her imaginary playmate Piff, and now, it would seem, Matthew is going down a similar path, and with a vengeance. Matthew talks to his invisible companion, who he says is named Chocky, all the time. He tries to explain to Chocky why the calendars on Earth all have seven days in a week; endeavors to give the reason for the necessity of there being two sexes, male and female (Chocky, he tells his father, seems to be indeterminate, but is somewhat more girlish); and essays to explain the limits of animal intelligence. Things grow even more bewildering when Matthew starts to pester his math teacher about a better way of doing problems (utilizing binary code!), and when he argues with his physics teacher about the fine points of the speed of light. He later becomes very upset when Chocky tells him that the new family car is an inefficient, clunking means of transportation, and begins to speak of a novel way of performing space flight by employing cosmic radiations! Pretty impressive for a 12-year-old...not to mention worrisome, for his befuddled parents! And then things grow even stranger, as Matthew, a nonswimmer, suddenly becomes proficient enough to rescue Polly from drowning, and a good enough painter to have his bizarre compositions win a school prize...when he had been hopeless at art before! A psychiatrist agrees to examine Matthew, and voices the opinion that the reader has reached long before: Matthew does not have an imaginary friend, but is rather in direct, telepathic communication with someone or something from outside! But just who or what might Chocky be?
Astute readers may notice that Wyndham has chosen to give his novel, and that titular outside presence, a rather cutesy and benign name, as opposed to something more harsh and intimidating, like "Zarthan" or "Krag," and this fact itself might be an indicator of the book’s content and target audience. "Chocky," it seems to me, would make for perfect Young Adult fare, but more assuredly has a strong appeal for more mature audiences, as well. The book is a very sweet and gentle affair, charmingly written...a pleasant surprise, considering that "Trouble With Lichen" had been a rather dry, fully adult story. But gentle as the book is, it yet remains increasingly suspenseful, especially when Matthew is kidnapped by persons unknown in the tale's second half. Our narrator strikes us as being an ideal Dad, compassionate and wise; the perfect balance for Mary's more emotional reactions. Wyndham withholds his revelations as to Chocky's nature and origin until the very end, which keeps us guessing all the way through, and most readers will not be disappointed. (Hint: Wyndham WAS a science fiction writer!) During the book's finale, in which Chocky speaks to David, through Matthew's mouth, in the lad’s darkened bedroom--a highly atmospheric culmination--the being gives the nervous father, and we readers, some wonderful words of wisdom regarding life here on Earth (a la Klaatu in the finale of 1951's "The Day the Earth Stood Still:). Thus:
"…intelligent life is the only thing that gives meaning to the universe. It is a holy thing, to be fostered and treasured.…"
And this:
"…You should be employing your resources, while you still have them, to tap and develop the use of a source of power which is not finite…."
And this:
"…No one can assess the potentialities that are latent in any intelligent form…."
It is a terrific segment to close out this wonderful story, capped by a pictogram/illustrated coda of sorts on the very last page that just might leave the reader a tad misty eyed.
Good as Wyndham's book is (and to be clear, I found the book to be almost compulsively readable and...I keep coming back to that word "charming"), it yet presents some minor problems. For one thing, during that final revelation scene just mentioned, Chocky tells Mr. Gore that he/she/it is having trouble communicating while using Matthew's limited 12-year-old vocabulary. But then it goes on to use the words "adventitious" and "horripilant." Huh? But I'm willing to let that slide, as this might be an example of Gore's paraphrasing what Chocky had told him. If I may nitpick further, though, Wyndham at one point references a book by sociologist/historian Lewis Mumford entitled "Living in Cities." The only problem is, Mumford never wrote a book with that title. Perhaps he meant "The Culture of Cities" (1938)? Oh...and one other thing. Roy Landis, the doctor who examines Matthew and is convinced of Chocky's outside, objective reality, is at first referred to as a "psychologist" and a little later as a "psychiatrist"; there is a difference between the two professions, as we all know. But these are minor matters, of course, and should hardly get in the way of any reader's good time. And "Chocky" will give pretty much any reader--say, from age 14 on--a very good time, indeed. Cosmic and sweet in equal measure, it is a fitting swan song for this most English of sci-fi authors. Wyndham would pass away one year later, in 1969, at the age of 65. But wait: There are two posthumous novels that fans greedy for more might care to seek out. The first was released in 1979, is called "Web," and deals, it seems, with a spider attack on a lonely Pacific island. The other, "Plan for Chaos," was written by Wyndham in the early '50s but not published till 2009. Not to mention Wyndham's seldom-discussed, multigenerational sci-fi novel of 1959, "The Outward Urge." Thus, three more interesting-sounding Wyndham titles for this reader to investigate. Stay tuned....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of John Wyndham....)
As for the "Chocky" book itself, it is narrated by David Gore, a husband of some 15 years as well as a father to two kids: his 12-year-old adopted son Matthew, and 10-year-old daughter Polly. Polly, earlier on, had given David and his wife, Mary, a hard time with the bothersome antics of her imaginary playmate Piff, and now, it would seem, Matthew is going down a similar path, and with a vengeance. Matthew talks to his invisible companion, who he says is named Chocky, all the time. He tries to explain to Chocky why the calendars on Earth all have seven days in a week; endeavors to give the reason for the necessity of there being two sexes, male and female (Chocky, he tells his father, seems to be indeterminate, but is somewhat more girlish); and essays to explain the limits of animal intelligence. Things grow even more bewildering when Matthew starts to pester his math teacher about a better way of doing problems (utilizing binary code!), and when he argues with his physics teacher about the fine points of the speed of light. He later becomes very upset when Chocky tells him that the new family car is an inefficient, clunking means of transportation, and begins to speak of a novel way of performing space flight by employing cosmic radiations! Pretty impressive for a 12-year-old...not to mention worrisome, for his befuddled parents! And then things grow even stranger, as Matthew, a nonswimmer, suddenly becomes proficient enough to rescue Polly from drowning, and a good enough painter to have his bizarre compositions win a school prize...when he had been hopeless at art before! A psychiatrist agrees to examine Matthew, and voices the opinion that the reader has reached long before: Matthew does not have an imaginary friend, but is rather in direct, telepathic communication with someone or something from outside! But just who or what might Chocky be?
Astute readers may notice that Wyndham has chosen to give his novel, and that titular outside presence, a rather cutesy and benign name, as opposed to something more harsh and intimidating, like "Zarthan" or "Krag," and this fact itself might be an indicator of the book’s content and target audience. "Chocky," it seems to me, would make for perfect Young Adult fare, but more assuredly has a strong appeal for more mature audiences, as well. The book is a very sweet and gentle affair, charmingly written...a pleasant surprise, considering that "Trouble With Lichen" had been a rather dry, fully adult story. But gentle as the book is, it yet remains increasingly suspenseful, especially when Matthew is kidnapped by persons unknown in the tale's second half. Our narrator strikes us as being an ideal Dad, compassionate and wise; the perfect balance for Mary's more emotional reactions. Wyndham withholds his revelations as to Chocky's nature and origin until the very end, which keeps us guessing all the way through, and most readers will not be disappointed. (Hint: Wyndham WAS a science fiction writer!) During the book's finale, in which Chocky speaks to David, through Matthew's mouth, in the lad’s darkened bedroom--a highly atmospheric culmination--the being gives the nervous father, and we readers, some wonderful words of wisdom regarding life here on Earth (a la Klaatu in the finale of 1951's "The Day the Earth Stood Still:). Thus:
"…intelligent life is the only thing that gives meaning to the universe. It is a holy thing, to be fostered and treasured.…"
And this:
"…You should be employing your resources, while you still have them, to tap and develop the use of a source of power which is not finite…."
And this:
"…No one can assess the potentialities that are latent in any intelligent form…."
It is a terrific segment to close out this wonderful story, capped by a pictogram/illustrated coda of sorts on the very last page that just might leave the reader a tad misty eyed.
Good as Wyndham's book is (and to be clear, I found the book to be almost compulsively readable and...I keep coming back to that word "charming"), it yet presents some minor problems. For one thing, during that final revelation scene just mentioned, Chocky tells Mr. Gore that he/she/it is having trouble communicating while using Matthew's limited 12-year-old vocabulary. But then it goes on to use the words "adventitious" and "horripilant." Huh? But I'm willing to let that slide, as this might be an example of Gore's paraphrasing what Chocky had told him. If I may nitpick further, though, Wyndham at one point references a book by sociologist/historian Lewis Mumford entitled "Living in Cities." The only problem is, Mumford never wrote a book with that title. Perhaps he meant "The Culture of Cities" (1938)? Oh...and one other thing. Roy Landis, the doctor who examines Matthew and is convinced of Chocky's outside, objective reality, is at first referred to as a "psychologist" and a little later as a "psychiatrist"; there is a difference between the two professions, as we all know. But these are minor matters, of course, and should hardly get in the way of any reader's good time. And "Chocky" will give pretty much any reader--say, from age 14 on--a very good time, indeed. Cosmic and sweet in equal measure, it is a fitting swan song for this most English of sci-fi authors. Wyndham would pass away one year later, in 1969, at the age of 65. But wait: There are two posthumous novels that fans greedy for more might care to seek out. The first was released in 1979, is called "Web," and deals, it seems, with a spider attack on a lonely Pacific island. The other, "Plan for Chaos," was written by Wyndham in the early '50s but not published till 2009. Not to mention Wyndham's seldom-discussed, multigenerational sci-fi novel of 1959, "The Outward Urge." Thus, three more interesting-sounding Wyndham titles for this reader to investigate. Stay tuned....
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most ideal destination for all fans of John Wyndham....)
June 17, 2020
This review should be read while listening to: My Imaginary Friend.
I'll begin with what I hope is more of a mini-blurb than a spoiler. A perfectly ordinary boy has an imaginary friend, or so his parents believe. At twelve, he seems a little old for such obsessions and he's rather too insistent about his friend's existence. It slowly becomes apparent that this friend is a life-form on another planet, the titular Chocky, who has entered/possessed the boy's consciousness. It's a great premise (Wyndham was good at those) and brilliantly sustained throughout this short book. And fortunately, since this is not a Hollywood production, Chocky makes no attempt to break out through the front of Matthew's head. It's all much more subtle than that and strangely believable.
As a teenager, I read stacks of SF. I read pretty much everything that John Wyndham had written. I started with The Chrysalids, which was given to me as a gift, then worked my way through his oeuvre from there. He wrote a dozen or so novels and a large number of short stories under a variety of names. He was aided in the latter by being posh and thus having an infeasibly long name - John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris- the elements of which he could shuffle at will to come up with pen names - "well jel"! I quite fancy taking on Wyndham Harris as a pseudonym - sounds as though he could have been a drinking chum of Joyce and Pound in Trieste.
I must have been 13 or 14 the first time I read Chocky. But it stayed with me. There is something haunting about it, as there is with Consider Her ways, another book which I really must read again. I consulted my reading diary to see when I'd last re-read Chocky. I was surprised to find that it was in 2011. I found the novella to be every bit as affecting, the second time around. It also felt very familiar, a testament to its power and probably the reason I felt I'd read it much more recently. It's told beautifully from the father's perspective in an everyday suburban setting. This mundane context allows the reader to accept the spectacular premise on which the tale is based and to be at once unnerved and moved by it. This takes great skill on Wyndham's part.
The only genuine objection I have is to the prose, which seems to have dated horribly. I think it's a risk the prose stylist runs if he chooses to work within a popular genre. The syntax feels stiff, pedantic and patrician. And that's a genuine shame as it otherwise remains a powerful reading experience (this stiffness costs it five stars, for me). As the last book he wrote, Chocky is a fitting cap on the career of a writer who was never less than interesting.
Thanks to my friend, Glenn Russell, whose review prompted me to write this one.
I'll begin with what I hope is more of a mini-blurb than a spoiler. A perfectly ordinary boy has an imaginary friend, or so his parents believe. At twelve, he seems a little old for such obsessions and he's rather too insistent about his friend's existence. It slowly becomes apparent that this friend is a life-form on another planet, the titular Chocky, who has entered/possessed the boy's consciousness. It's a great premise (Wyndham was good at those) and brilliantly sustained throughout this short book. And fortunately, since this is not a Hollywood production, Chocky makes no attempt to break out through the front of Matthew's head. It's all much more subtle than that and strangely believable.
As a teenager, I read stacks of SF. I read pretty much everything that John Wyndham had written. I started with The Chrysalids, which was given to me as a gift, then worked my way through his oeuvre from there. He wrote a dozen or so novels and a large number of short stories under a variety of names. He was aided in the latter by being posh and thus having an infeasibly long name - John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris- the elements of which he could shuffle at will to come up with pen names - "well jel"! I quite fancy taking on Wyndham Harris as a pseudonym - sounds as though he could have been a drinking chum of Joyce and Pound in Trieste.
I must have been 13 or 14 the first time I read Chocky. But it stayed with me. There is something haunting about it, as there is with Consider Her ways, another book which I really must read again. I consulted my reading diary to see when I'd last re-read Chocky. I was surprised to find that it was in 2011. I found the novella to be every bit as affecting, the second time around. It also felt very familiar, a testament to its power and probably the reason I felt I'd read it much more recently. It's told beautifully from the father's perspective in an everyday suburban setting. This mundane context allows the reader to accept the spectacular premise on which the tale is based and to be at once unnerved and moved by it. This takes great skill on Wyndham's part.
The only genuine objection I have is to the prose, which seems to have dated horribly. I think it's a risk the prose stylist runs if he chooses to work within a popular genre. The syntax feels stiff, pedantic and patrician. And that's a genuine shame as it otherwise remains a powerful reading experience (this stiffness costs it five stars, for me). As the last book he wrote, Chocky is a fitting cap on the career of a writer who was never less than interesting.
Thanks to my friend, Glenn Russell, whose review prompted me to write this one.
September 16, 2022
Classic early sci fi with a good premise. The focus on everyday English life made sense but was just a bit dull. But I loved the slow escalation of Chocky’s abilities and their consequences. It could have kept escalating.
October 1, 2024
A short read and not quite on par with other books by the author. The parents were a tad staid in my opinion.
March 15, 2018
For some reason I thought this was a horror but it wasn't anything like that all all. It was pretty good though, a quick read which had more to it than meets the eye. It's sci-fi but not sci-fi enough to turn anyone off who wouldn't normally be into that.
Also this was written in the sixties, and apart from one time where shillings were mentioned, this doesn't feel dated. Another hit from Wyndham, will have to read more of his books!
Also this was written in the sixties, and apart from one time where shillings were mentioned, this doesn't feel dated. Another hit from Wyndham, will have to read more of his books!
December 8, 2020
5 Stars for Chocky (audiobook) by John Wyndham read by Daniel Weyman. This was a wonderful and unique story. I really enjoyed it.
August 30, 2025
★★★½
I first discovered Chocky as a child through the Thames Television series, which had an eerie and unsettling quality. The novel is gentler, though that same unease comes through whenever Matthew describes his strange visitor. Wyndham places this within the setting of an ordinary family and uses it to open up questions about existence, society and the limits of human imagination.
It is a short book, but one with striking ideas about how stubborn and wasteful we are as a species and how unwilling we can be to change. Chocky’s challenges to human assumptions give the story its strength, and those conversations are the most memorable part.
While I enjoyed The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos, this felt different rather than lesser, quieter in tone but still thoughtful and filled with questions that remain relevant.
I first discovered Chocky as a child through the Thames Television series, which had an eerie and unsettling quality. The novel is gentler, though that same unease comes through whenever Matthew describes his strange visitor. Wyndham places this within the setting of an ordinary family and uses it to open up questions about existence, society and the limits of human imagination.
It is a short book, but one with striking ideas about how stubborn and wasteful we are as a species and how unwilling we can be to change. Chocky’s challenges to human assumptions give the story its strength, and those conversations are the most memorable part.
While I enjoyed The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos, this felt different rather than lesser, quieter in tone but still thoughtful and filled with questions that remain relevant.
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