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Of Men And Monsters
Giant, technologically superior aliens have conquered Earth, but humankind survives - even flourishes in a way. Men and women live like mice in burrows in the massive walls of the huge homes of the aliens, scurrying about under their feet, stealing from them. A complex social and religious order has evolved, with women preserving knowledge and working as healers, and men serving as warriors and thieves. For the aliens, men and women are just a nuisance, neither civilized nor intelligent, and certainly not a worthy adversary. In fact, they are regarded as vermin, to be exterminated. Which, ironically, may just be humankind's strength and point the way forward.
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First published January 1, 1968
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About the author
William Tenn
306 books49 followersWilliam Tenn is the pseudonym of Philip Klass. He was born in London on May 9, 1920, and emigrated to the United States with his parents before his second birthday. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. After serving in the United States Army as a combat engineer in Europe, he held a job as a technical editor with an Air Force radar and radio laboratory and was employed by Bell Labs.
He began writing in 1945 and wrote academic articles, essays, two novels, and more than 60 short stories.
His first story, 'Alexander the Bait' was published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1946. Stories like 'Down Among the Dead Men', 'The Liberation of Earth', and 'The Custodian' quickly established him as a fine, funny, and thoughtful satirist.
Tenn is best-known as a satirist, and by works such as "On Venus Have We Got a Rabbi" and "Of Men and Monsters."
His stories and articles were widely anthologized, a number of them in best-of-the-year collections. From 1966, he was a Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at The Pennsylvania State University, where he taught, among other things, a popular course on science fiction.
In 1999, he was honored as Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at their annual Nebula Awards Banquet.
More information at: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topi...
He began writing in 1945 and wrote academic articles, essays, two novels, and more than 60 short stories.
His first story, 'Alexander the Bait' was published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1946. Stories like 'Down Among the Dead Men', 'The Liberation of Earth', and 'The Custodian' quickly established him as a fine, funny, and thoughtful satirist.
Tenn is best-known as a satirist, and by works such as "On Venus Have We Got a Rabbi" and "Of Men and Monsters."
His stories and articles were widely anthologized, a number of them in best-of-the-year collections. From 1966, he was a Professor Emeritus of English and Comparative Literature at The Pennsylvania State University, where he taught, among other things, a popular course on science fiction.
In 1999, he was honored as Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at their annual Nebula Awards Banquet.
More information at: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topi...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
January 8, 2025
This is an absolute lost gem!
Books like this are why I love old science fiction, its allegory, metaphor, satire, playing with themes, making you think.
I read fairly widely but science fiction has always been my jam, I read the old stuff, the new stuff and the stuff in the gooey centre and it seems like the more I read the more of the old stuff seems more interesting and original. Not that there weren’t plenty of shitty books in the past but it seems like the majority of new science fiction and fantasy is derivative, variations on the same themes and instead of presenting ideas to think about they often just come right out and tell you what you should be thinking- no subtext required. This could just be because I’m judging the best of the old against all of the new, maybe it’s a modernism vs postmodernism thing but I just don’t see this kind of satirical setup/punchline type of sci fi book now.
I’m not saying that this book is the best thing ever but it’s not trying to be another Star Wars or dune or lord of the rings and I’m rambling again.
The point is: read old books, play that old time rock and roll, dance like nobody’s watching and if an old guy gives you advice while cutting an apple and eating the pieces right off the knife blade-you take that advice!
Books like this are why I love old science fiction, its allegory, metaphor, satire, playing with themes, making you think.
I read fairly widely but science fiction has always been my jam, I read the old stuff, the new stuff and the stuff in the gooey centre and it seems like the more I read the more of the old stuff seems more interesting and original. Not that there weren’t plenty of shitty books in the past but it seems like the majority of new science fiction and fantasy is derivative, variations on the same themes and instead of presenting ideas to think about they often just come right out and tell you what you should be thinking- no subtext required. This could just be because I’m judging the best of the old against all of the new, maybe it’s a modernism vs postmodernism thing but I just don’t see this kind of satirical setup/punchline type of sci fi book now.
I’m not saying that this book is the best thing ever but it’s not trying to be another Star Wars or dune or lord of the rings and I’m rambling again.
The point is: read old books, play that old time rock and roll, dance like nobody’s watching and if an old guy gives you advice while cutting an apple and eating the pieces right off the knife blade-you take that advice!
January 31, 2016
I'm sitting here feeling I've almost (not quite, but very nearly) failed some sort of intelligence test with this book. Having completely missed the huge clue in its title, some distance in I was still thinking, 'Well, I like the oddness of this, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere much' and it looked to be heading for a disappointing two stars.
The set-up is this: after an invasion from space by gigantic aliens (called 'Monsters' throughout) what's left of humanity has been reduced to living in a maze of burrows and tunnels - scuttling to and fro behind the wainscotting so to speak - and risking their lives on expeditions out into Monster territory to steal food from the invaders' gigantic larders. The story itself follows raw initiate Eric the Only as he's transformed by his experiences into a resourceful leader; and, although actually published in 1968, it had a pleasantly nostalgic 1950s-or-so feel to it.
It's a satire of course (the quote from Gulliver's Travels at the start was another Monster-sized clue I nearly missed). For 'men' read 'mice' and for 'monsters' read 'men' - the Monsters are us in disguise, while we are now the mice, annoying 'vermin' to be exterminated. 'See how you like it' is the theme, see how it feels to be a couple of inches tall and at the mercy of something a hundred times your size. And an alien invasion is a good metaphor for that: appearing as if out of nowhere (which, in evolutionary terms at least, H. sapiens certainly has), armed with incomprehensible weapons, suddenly here and taking over the whole world. The book does satirise other things too (religion for instance) but in essence it's about us humans seen from the terrifying perspective of a house mouse.
So, in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as it climbed steadily all the way up to a solid four-star rating. I'm giving myself only one star though; I did get the point of Men and Monsters, did solve the maze and reach the cheese, but only (eek, eek!) by a whisker.
The set-up is this: after an invasion from space by gigantic aliens (called 'Monsters' throughout) what's left of humanity has been reduced to living in a maze of burrows and tunnels - scuttling to and fro behind the wainscotting so to speak - and risking their lives on expeditions out into Monster territory to steal food from the invaders' gigantic larders. The story itself follows raw initiate Eric the Only as he's transformed by his experiences into a resourceful leader; and, although actually published in 1968, it had a pleasantly nostalgic 1950s-or-so feel to it.
It's a satire of course (the quote from Gulliver's Travels at the start was another Monster-sized clue I nearly missed). For 'men' read 'mice' and for 'monsters' read 'men' - the Monsters are us in disguise, while we are now the mice, annoying 'vermin' to be exterminated. 'See how you like it' is the theme, see how it feels to be a couple of inches tall and at the mercy of something a hundred times your size. And an alien invasion is a good metaphor for that: appearing as if out of nowhere (which, in evolutionary terms at least, H. sapiens certainly has), armed with incomprehensible weapons, suddenly here and taking over the whole world. The book does satirise other things too (religion for instance) but in essence it's about us humans seen from the terrifying perspective of a house mouse.
So, in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as it climbed steadily all the way up to a solid four-star rating. I'm giving myself only one star though; I did get the point of Men and Monsters, did solve the maze and reach the cheese, but only (eek, eek!) by a whisker.
September 19, 2015
What baffles me is Of Men and Monsters has very similar themes to what we see in YA. Off the top of my head, The 5th Wave, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and Enclave. Yet this is paraded as a sci-fi masterpiece and YA is dismissed as kiddy books.
December 24, 2011
Here’s another in those series of ‘SF authors you should have heard of but probably haven’t’. William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (1920-2010) who was famous for his satirical short stories, mainly published in the 1950’s and 1960’s. In 1999 he was selected as the Science Fiction Writers of America’s Author Emeritus.
He only published one novel, which this is, in 1968.
It is a post-apocalyptic tale of sorts. Aliens -big, technologically proficient aliens, called Monsters here - have taken over the Earth. The human population collectively named ‘Mankind’ – all 128 of them – live like mice, in the walls of the aliens’ houses and scrabble for food scraps when they need them. (We later find out that Mankind is not the only human group still existing, called ‘front-burrow’ groups.)
In this human world we have the tale of Eric.
Eric, or to give him his full title, Eric the Only, is an initiate into the Brotherhood of the force known as The Male Society. For in this society women are the healers and knowledge-bearers whilst men hunt and fight, as warriors and thieves.
Eric has to, in order to be classed as a fully-fledged adult, complete a Theft. The scale of the theft chosen, ranging from First level category (Food) to Third level (a Monster souvenir) determines the respect that will be bestowed upon Eric, renamed Eric the Eye, should he finish his initiative rite. Eric chooses the rarely selected Third level on the advice of his uncle, Thomas the Trap-Smasher, who feels that this would be the best way for Eric to make a name for himself.
We follow Eric, led by his uncle, on his quest. We soon discover that the humans are pretty unnoticed by the aliens, or seen as no more than annoying vermin, rather like mice in the human world today. We are in that strange position where roles of homesteader and pest are reversed and we are the pest! Eric meets The Strangers, humans who live outside the tribe but with whom the tribe deals with on occasions.
Having completed his quest, Eric returns to find that there has been a revolt and that he and his uncle have been labelled as outlaws and are therefore subject to a lynching and a hanging. Eric uses the magic red substance (a form of explosive) given to him by The Strangers to escape.
His uncle dies and Eric is forced to make the journey to Monster territory. There he leads the fight against Ancestor-Science (that which has always been) and in favour of Alien Science, the heretic view that his Uncle believed in, that it was by using such that the future of Mankind lays.
The second part of the book is where Eric grows up fast: he realises that there is a world outside the front burrow tribe, is captured but then escapes, finds a partner and begins to uncover Earth’s secret history.
By the end, the reader realises that what it is most is a comment on people, society and class structures. The characters within and their behaviour are all recognisable, 40-odd years on. It is a tale of evolution and revolution, in that it is Eric that causes change and deals with the consequences.
On reading this book my overall feeling is that William’s book is funny. Not laugh-out-loud, belly-laugh funny, but intelligent funny. I found myself smiling when events occurred, or remembering things after I’d finished reading the novel. (There’s an ongoing joke about ‘the cages of sin’ which made me grin a lot.) Eric is a likeable enough chap, whose naivety means that he blunders into situations but manages somehow to come out of it better.
And that’s what this book does. It makes you smile. It makes you appreciate witty writing. It makes you feel that reading this book was worth it. The ending is very clever, and surprisingly positive in a tale basically that tells of world catastrophe.
I was repeatedly reminded of Terry Pratchett in tone, perhaps The Wee Free Men or Maurice and his Educated Rodents, though this predated most of Terry’s better known work by at least a decade. This is as good, or dare I say it, allowing for its age, better than Pratchett, though Terry is very good. (Surely it can’t be coincidence that one of Terry’s Discworld novels is indeed titled Eric?)
Graham Sleight, in his Introduction to this novel, points out that ‘Satire is angry humour.’ And at that, Tenn/Klass was one of the best. If you like Robert Sheckley or Terry Pratchett, then I can see you liking this one.
It’s sharp, it’s funny, it’s angry. It makes its point but doesn’t outstay its welcome. And is totally deserving of your attention.
He only published one novel, which this is, in 1968.
It is a post-apocalyptic tale of sorts. Aliens -big, technologically proficient aliens, called Monsters here - have taken over the Earth. The human population collectively named ‘Mankind’ – all 128 of them – live like mice, in the walls of the aliens’ houses and scrabble for food scraps when they need them. (We later find out that Mankind is not the only human group still existing, called ‘front-burrow’ groups.)
In this human world we have the tale of Eric.
Eric, or to give him his full title, Eric the Only, is an initiate into the Brotherhood of the force known as The Male Society. For in this society women are the healers and knowledge-bearers whilst men hunt and fight, as warriors and thieves.
Eric has to, in order to be classed as a fully-fledged adult, complete a Theft. The scale of the theft chosen, ranging from First level category (Food) to Third level (a Monster souvenir) determines the respect that will be bestowed upon Eric, renamed Eric the Eye, should he finish his initiative rite. Eric chooses the rarely selected Third level on the advice of his uncle, Thomas the Trap-Smasher, who feels that this would be the best way for Eric to make a name for himself.
We follow Eric, led by his uncle, on his quest. We soon discover that the humans are pretty unnoticed by the aliens, or seen as no more than annoying vermin, rather like mice in the human world today. We are in that strange position where roles of homesteader and pest are reversed and we are the pest! Eric meets The Strangers, humans who live outside the tribe but with whom the tribe deals with on occasions.
Having completed his quest, Eric returns to find that there has been a revolt and that he and his uncle have been labelled as outlaws and are therefore subject to a lynching and a hanging. Eric uses the magic red substance (a form of explosive) given to him by The Strangers to escape.
His uncle dies and Eric is forced to make the journey to Monster territory. There he leads the fight against Ancestor-Science (that which has always been) and in favour of Alien Science, the heretic view that his Uncle believed in, that it was by using such that the future of Mankind lays.
The second part of the book is where Eric grows up fast: he realises that there is a world outside the front burrow tribe, is captured but then escapes, finds a partner and begins to uncover Earth’s secret history.
By the end, the reader realises that what it is most is a comment on people, society and class structures. The characters within and their behaviour are all recognisable, 40-odd years on. It is a tale of evolution and revolution, in that it is Eric that causes change and deals with the consequences.
On reading this book my overall feeling is that William’s book is funny. Not laugh-out-loud, belly-laugh funny, but intelligent funny. I found myself smiling when events occurred, or remembering things after I’d finished reading the novel. (There’s an ongoing joke about ‘the cages of sin’ which made me grin a lot.) Eric is a likeable enough chap, whose naivety means that he blunders into situations but manages somehow to come out of it better.
And that’s what this book does. It makes you smile. It makes you appreciate witty writing. It makes you feel that reading this book was worth it. The ending is very clever, and surprisingly positive in a tale basically that tells of world catastrophe.
I was repeatedly reminded of Terry Pratchett in tone, perhaps The Wee Free Men or Maurice and his Educated Rodents, though this predated most of Terry’s better known work by at least a decade. This is as good, or dare I say it, allowing for its age, better than Pratchett, though Terry is very good. (Surely it can’t be coincidence that one of Terry’s Discworld novels is indeed titled Eric?)
Graham Sleight, in his Introduction to this novel, points out that ‘Satire is angry humour.’ And at that, Tenn/Klass was one of the best. If you like Robert Sheckley or Terry Pratchett, then I can see you liking this one.
It’s sharp, it’s funny, it’s angry. It makes its point but doesn’t outstay its welcome. And is totally deserving of your attention.
March 15, 2024
The cover blurb deems this "A classic novel of alien invasion" and I have to agree, but the aliens invaded centuries before this novel starts. The aliens, called by humans just 'monsters', are massive-- over 50 tall-- and arrived in the solar system with thousands of ships. The remnants of humanity live in various 'tribes' within the walls of the monster's abodes like cockroaches, sneaking out to thieve provisions and such from 'monster territory' to bring back to their tunnels.
Our main protagonist, Eric the Only, or Eric the Eye, is on the threshold of becoming a warrior; all he needs is to thieve something from monster territory as a rite of passage. Tenn does not do info dumps, filling in the background story via dialogue in passing, but we quickly learn the human tribes are largely at war with one another; oh they sometimes trade things among them selves, but each tribe exists solely for itself. Part of the tribal lore concerns the need to preserve 'ancestor science' to fight the monsters, but this 'religion' has become largely ceremonial, serving to maintain the status quo.
Today, this would be marketed as a YA coming of age story, as Eric struggles through various trial and tribulations on his adventures, but in 1963 when this was first published, it slotted neatly into the science fiction adventure genre. This took me a bit to get into as Tenn threshes out Eric's tribe and lore, but picks up steam and Tenn paces it well to the end. Lovely cover art by Rolf Mohr! Tenn also takes us on a journey into what it means to be human, a classic trope of science fiction I never seem to tire of. At times sardonic (Tenn was known for his short story satires), other times tense, the ending is out of this world. 4 monster stars!!
Our main protagonist, Eric the Only, or Eric the Eye, is on the threshold of becoming a warrior; all he needs is to thieve something from monster territory as a rite of passage. Tenn does not do info dumps, filling in the background story via dialogue in passing, but we quickly learn the human tribes are largely at war with one another; oh they sometimes trade things among them selves, but each tribe exists solely for itself. Part of the tribal lore concerns the need to preserve 'ancestor science' to fight the monsters, but this 'religion' has become largely ceremonial, serving to maintain the status quo.
Today, this would be marketed as a YA coming of age story, as Eric struggles through various trial and tribulations on his adventures, but in 1963 when this was first published, it slotted neatly into the science fiction adventure genre. This took me a bit to get into as Tenn threshes out Eric's tribe and lore, but picks up steam and Tenn paces it well to the end. Lovely cover art by Rolf Mohr! Tenn also takes us on a journey into what it means to be human, a classic trope of science fiction I never seem to tire of. At times sardonic (Tenn was known for his short story satires), other times tense, the ending is out of this world. 4 monster stars!!
July 14, 2017
This is the first William Tenn book that I've read. I'm not sure if I've read any of his stories before. And now I'll hunt them all down.
A dear friend gave me Of Men and Monsters (1968) as a present, and it's a treat. The novel posits a future at some remove - we never learn just when it takes place - after an alien invasion has knocked humanity off its perch as planetary leader. Instead we are vermin, a marginal species literally inhabiting the holes and corners of Monster civilization. Because not only are the alien Monsters far more powerful than we, but also much bigger.
The story follows the adventures of Eric as he comes of age and explores the world. It begins with his manhood initiation, which goes well, then sideways. Politics, war, flight, more politics, evil science, romance, and possibly good science follow.
Of Men and Monsters is pretty close to a young adult novel, in fact, except powerful adults are pretty scarce. We also never leave Eric's perspective. He takes the adult name of Eric the Eye after a hilarious scene involving repurposed televisions, and is thus our point of view.
One aspect of Tenn's style that I enjoyed is his satirical bite. He's not a flamboyant humorist, or an intense satirist, like Robert Sheckley. Instead Tenn sets the occasional barb among his prose and plot. The portrayal of humans as vermin isn't done as a tragedy, but as a revelation of our true selves. The book's opening quotation from Gulliver's Travels ("I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth" - and that's before the book gets really dark) sets us up as Yahoos. We act as prehistorical people, clinging lovingly to our burrows.
Vermin-humans are creative in their survival, but still clueless. Women treat food not with culinary arts or public health knowledge, but by cryptic rituals, whose dubious efficacy may be responsible for the low population level. A mystical naming ritual involves medication on tv ads. And listen to this litany of scary monsters, a mangled scratch mix of 20th century history and pop culture:
Individual characters are instances of parody or abuse.
Tenn also writes with lovely turns of phrase. When Eric daydreams about smiling at women (he's forbidden to do so until he passes his manhood rite) other males shock him back to the present,
and so "Eric spun around, bits of fantasy still stuck to his lips." Then
Is the book dated? I'm not sure. Some of the portrayed societies are sexist, yet this seems less ascribable to 20th-century unenlightenment and more because Tenn is drawing on anthropology. Otherwise the language is quite accessible. Tenn's satire might be a touch too light to draw blood, but once detected should appeal to a dystopia-happy age.
(Thank you very much, Chris!)
A dear friend gave me Of Men and Monsters (1968) as a present, and it's a treat. The novel posits a future at some remove - we never learn just when it takes place - after an alien invasion has knocked humanity off its perch as planetary leader. Instead we are vermin, a marginal species literally inhabiting the holes and corners of Monster civilization. Because not only are the alien Monsters far more powerful than we, but also much bigger.
The story follows the adventures of Eric as he comes of age and explores the world. It begins with his manhood initiation, which goes well, then sideways. Politics, war, flight, more politics, evil science, romance, and possibly good science follow.
Of Men and Monsters is pretty close to a young adult novel, in fact, except powerful adults are pretty scarce. We also never leave Eric's perspective. He takes the adult name of Eric the Eye after a hilarious scene involving repurposed televisions, and is thus our point of view.
One aspect of Tenn's style that I enjoyed is his satirical bite. He's not a flamboyant humorist, or an intense satirist, like Robert Sheckley. Instead Tenn sets the occasional barb among his prose and plot. The portrayal of humans as vermin isn't done as a tragedy, but as a revelation of our true selves. The book's opening quotation from Gulliver's Travels ("I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth" - and that's before the book gets really dark) sets us up as Yahoos. We act as prehistorical people, clinging lovingly to our burrows.
Vermin-humans are creative in their survival, but still clueless. Women treat food not with culinary arts or public health knowledge, but by cryptic rituals, whose dubious efficacy may be responsible for the low population level. A mystical naming ritual involves medication on tv ads. And listen to this litany of scary monsters, a mangled scratch mix of 20th century history and pop culture:
the blood-sucking Draculas, the packs of vicious police dogs, the bug-eyed men from Mars, and, worst of all, the oil-seeking wildcats who drilled for all eternity from one burrow to another. (174)
Individual characters are instances of parody or abuse.
Tenn also writes with lovely turns of phrase. When Eric daydreams about smiling at women (he's forbidden to do so until he passes his manhood rite) other males shock him back to the present,
and so "Eric spun around, bits of fantasy still stuck to his lips." Then
The group of young men lounging against the wall of his band's burrow were tossing laughter back and forth between them. (13)One character, trapped in a Monster prison, facing a horrible death, dryly observes "The way I see it, there's no real future here for an ambitious young man." (208)
Is the book dated? I'm not sure. Some of the portrayed societies are sexist, yet this seems less ascribable to 20th-century unenlightenment and more because Tenn is drawing on anthropology. Otherwise the language is quite accessible. Tenn's satire might be a touch too light to draw blood, but once detected should appeal to a dystopia-happy age.
(Thank you very much, Chris!)
September 1, 2010
Where it's good, it's really good. Where it's corny, it's...well, embarrassingly corny. Where it's strange, it's intriguingly strange. And where it's profound, it is...I swear it...profound. Tenn's work may be uneven, but he is swiftly moving toward the top of my list of the heroes of golden age science fiction. My top Tenn list, perhaps.
August 6, 2008
One of my favorite books from my teenage years. Just great adventure.
May 30, 2017
2.5-3 stars? I guess?
March 24, 2022
I really enjoyed this old (pub. 1968) science fiction. Aliens took over Earth, very large aliens, which humans refer to as Monsters, and humans live in burrows inside the walls of the aliens' homes. To the Monsters, humans are the equivalent of mice - vermin who steal food and are nuisances. I'm eager to find more of Mr. Tenn's work.
March 16, 2024
Of Men and Monsters (1968) by British born American author William Tenn (pen name of Philip Klass) wrote primarily ‘satirical’ short stories and novellas. OM&M is his one and only full length novel based on the much shorter work, “The Men in the Walls”, published in Galaxy Science Fiction in October 1963.
This is a little adventure story set in the far future, after giant aliens had inhabited the earth and built large infrastructure. Humans have become tribal and live like at the level of mice, or even roaches in within the walls of their buildings. The aliens consider humans as mere pests and deal with them as we do the same way we do with our current vermin. Young Eric “the Eye” gets into circumstances that lead him (and crew mates) to set out to defeat these giant invaders.
The story is simple and reads like a juvenile, but has a neat and fun Twilight Zone-type twist to it.
A quick fun read, and I look forward to reading more by Tenn.
This is a little adventure story set in the far future, after giant aliens had inhabited the earth and built large infrastructure. Humans have become tribal and live like at the level of mice, or even roaches in within the walls of their buildings. The aliens consider humans as mere pests and deal with them as we do the same way we do with our current vermin. Young Eric “the Eye” gets into circumstances that lead him (and crew mates) to set out to defeat these giant invaders.
The story is simple and reads like a juvenile, but has a neat and fun Twilight Zone-type twist to it.
A quick fun read, and I look forward to reading more by Tenn.
September 23, 2024
William Tenn was one of the best satirical short story writers of the 1950s, but he burned out fairly quickly. In the late 1960s he made a comeback. Several collections of his work were issued simultaneously in 1968 together with this book, his one and only novel. *Of Men and Monsters* relies on a wonderful conceit: gigantic aliens have landed and settled on Earth and human beings are forced to live exactly like mice in the walls of the alien dwellings. Eric the Eye is a young warrior of one of the more uncivilised tribes that make periodic raids on 'monster territory' for food and useful artifacts and it's his destiny to embark on a journey to fight back against the aliens; but what he eventually learns is that maybe humans aren't supposed to be the dominant species and that nature may well have intended us to be vermin. An excellent novel.
February 8, 2016
Very good SiFi story. nice different take making humans the aliens of the story. Recommended
January 15, 2019
2019 grade B+
This is one of those books I read before I started keeping records in 1975. It is not the one I expected but it is still good. The one I expected ends with the humans riding away from the aliens on a multicolored energy carpet that sort of rolls forward on its own. If you know the title of that story, let me know.
Humans live pretty nicely in the walls of the giant aliens, scrounging from their supplies. It sort of reminds me of The Borrowers. Tenn apparently got the idea from Gulliver's Travels.
This book is told in two sections. The first is available in mp3 format under the title Men In The Walls for free from Librivox. The first section is the lesser section. It is a bit repetitive and a bit depressing. I did skip over some of the repetitive areas. The second section makes up for it big time and I finished it fairly quickly despite it being quite a bit longer. I was impressed with how insightful Tenn was on his observations of human behavior.
Feel free to speed read, but it is a recommended book.
This is one of those books I read before I started keeping records in 1975. It is not the one I expected but it is still good. The one I expected ends with the humans riding away from the aliens on a multicolored energy carpet that sort of rolls forward on its own. If you know the title of that story, let me know.
Humans live pretty nicely in the walls of the giant aliens, scrounging from their supplies. It sort of reminds me of The Borrowers. Tenn apparently got the idea from Gulliver's Travels.
This book is told in two sections. The first is available in mp3 format under the title Men In The Walls for free from Librivox. The first section is the lesser section. It is a bit repetitive and a bit depressing. I did skip over some of the repetitive areas. The second section makes up for it big time and I finished it fairly quickly despite it being quite a bit longer. I was impressed with how insightful Tenn was on his observations of human behavior.
Feel free to speed read, but it is a recommended book.
November 25, 2015
I really really liked this book, but I think what I liked most about it was the sort of gradual realization of what was really going on, so I can't actually tell you what I liked about this without spoiling that gradual revelation. I can tell you, though, that this is excellent classic science fiction that is unlike any other excellent classic science fiction I've read to date.
February 9, 2017
Humankind has been reduced to intelligent vermin in an Earth ruled by giant alien monsters. Humans live in small communities in burrows in the walls of the invaders’ homes, living on whatever morsels of food and material they can steal. The Human species, subjected to evolutionary pressure, has fragmented and diverged, sometimes radically. Rituals have kept Eric the Only and his tribe alive but now they are about to reach the end of their usefulness. Eric is forced repeatedly to reevaluate his understanding of his world while he struggles to survive against human and monster alike.
In general terms, the concept is reminiscent of the film Fantastic Planet but there’s no attempt at rapprochement between the humans and their persecutors. The monsters are too alien and too dominant for that, the humans reduced to irritating pests that must be subjected to periodic extermination. At the first glance, this novel feels very pulpy, but scratching the surface reveals hidden subtlety. Little details are left unexplained for the reader to ponder. It contains some interesting observations on our knowledge of the world and our blind acceptance of dogma.
Often, the novel has its tongue firmly in its cheek, but it can be quite brutal too. I thought the ending of the story was very apt.
In general terms, the concept is reminiscent of the film Fantastic Planet but there’s no attempt at rapprochement between the humans and their persecutors. The monsters are too alien and too dominant for that, the humans reduced to irritating pests that must be subjected to periodic extermination. At the first glance, this novel feels very pulpy, but scratching the surface reveals hidden subtlety. Little details are left unexplained for the reader to ponder. It contains some interesting observations on our knowledge of the world and our blind acceptance of dogma.
Often, the novel has its tongue firmly in its cheek, but it can be quite brutal too. I thought the ending of the story was very apt.
December 25, 2021
I finished this book days ago, but it was just so uninteresting that I couldn't motivate myself to write a review. Here goes nothing. You know how mice are vermin that live in the houses of people, right? Well what if people were vermin living in the houses of huge aliens? Did Of Men and Monsters' premise just totally blow your mind? Of course not. It's not so dumb a premise as to be unsalvageable, for instance The Borrowers by Mary Norton has a similar central idea, but that was a whimsical children's book and not a work of science fiction that wanted to be taken seriously by adults. To make a book with this premise work for a grown up audience, an author would have to be a much better writer than Philip Klass (pen name William Tenn), or at the very least have something more interesting to say. Unfortunately Klass's writing is sub-par, and the little that he attempts to say in the book is either dumb or bizarre.
Besides the “men as mice” central premise, which Klass makes ridiculously literal by having humans in the future have entire litters of children and by making the “female” aliens flee from people to evoke the stereotype of how women respond to seeing mice, there's not a whole lot to say about this book. It's pretty by-the-numbers sci-fi adventure pulp, complete with a protagonist coming of age that we are told is smarter than anyone else (even if he acts like an idiot) and the future religion made out of the worship of humanity's past. The prose is below average, with Klass failing to fully imagine himself in the society he's envisioning and failing to write believable action scenes.
In terms of what it had to say, the big idea that Klass focuses on in the book is the dichotomy between the tribes that live close to the aliens, who are technologically undeveloped but that make better leaders and warriors, versus the tribes that live in greater safety, who are more adventurous mentally but are hopeless as men of action. This concept is very stupid. In the real world, a wealthy country similar to the safe tribes in Of Men and Monsters is the country capable of training a specialized military, inevitably far more capable than the warriors of a society that can’t be sure of whether it will be able to feed itself. The only other big idea that I can recall from the book is the idea presented in the story’s finale, where humanity accepts its role as a class of vermin, reliant on the alien monsters to spread throughout the galaxy. This is weird enough to be theoretically interesting, but the concept is only introduced in the eleventh hour and nothing much is done with it. Neither of these ideas are enough to redeem what is otherwise a subpar book in execution.
Perhaps this book’s lack of depth is best illustrated by its title, Of Men and Monsters. It is entirely a play on the title of the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, indicating how the humans in the book play the role of “mice” compared to the dominant monsters that play the role of “men.” There is absolutely no deeper meaning, no deeper parallel to Of Mice and Men, one of the defining works of Great Depression literature (and arguable of American literature). It’s all surface level, and none too clever.
This book is so quintessential an example of sci-fi pulp, a subgenre I’m none too fond of, that I probably should never have read it. The reason that I did, though, is that Of Men and Monsters is not just some random bit of pulp among the thousands of such novels that littered science fiction during the 60s and 70s, but one that earned itself an SF Masterworks edition, identifying it as some of the best the genre has to offer. I’ve read enough sci-fi to know that this is nowhere near the best, and I pity those that are led to believe that this is part of the cream of the crop. 2/5, only recommended to pulp aficionados.
Besides the “men as mice” central premise, which Klass makes ridiculously literal by having humans in the future have entire litters of children and by making the “female” aliens flee from people to evoke the stereotype of how women respond to seeing mice, there's not a whole lot to say about this book. It's pretty by-the-numbers sci-fi adventure pulp, complete with a protagonist coming of age that we are told is smarter than anyone else (even if he acts like an idiot) and the future religion made out of the worship of humanity's past. The prose is below average, with Klass failing to fully imagine himself in the society he's envisioning and failing to write believable action scenes.
In terms of what it had to say, the big idea that Klass focuses on in the book is the dichotomy between the tribes that live close to the aliens, who are technologically undeveloped but that make better leaders and warriors, versus the tribes that live in greater safety, who are more adventurous mentally but are hopeless as men of action. This concept is very stupid. In the real world, a wealthy country similar to the safe tribes in Of Men and Monsters is the country capable of training a specialized military, inevitably far more capable than the warriors of a society that can’t be sure of whether it will be able to feed itself. The only other big idea that I can recall from the book is the idea presented in the story’s finale, where humanity accepts its role as a class of vermin, reliant on the alien monsters to spread throughout the galaxy. This is weird enough to be theoretically interesting, but the concept is only introduced in the eleventh hour and nothing much is done with it. Neither of these ideas are enough to redeem what is otherwise a subpar book in execution.
Perhaps this book’s lack of depth is best illustrated by its title, Of Men and Monsters. It is entirely a play on the title of the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, indicating how the humans in the book play the role of “mice” compared to the dominant monsters that play the role of “men.” There is absolutely no deeper meaning, no deeper parallel to Of Mice and Men, one of the defining works of Great Depression literature (and arguable of American literature). It’s all surface level, and none too clever.
This book is so quintessential an example of sci-fi pulp, a subgenre I’m none too fond of, that I probably should never have read it. The reason that I did, though, is that Of Men and Monsters is not just some random bit of pulp among the thousands of such novels that littered science fiction during the 60s and 70s, but one that earned itself an SF Masterworks edition, identifying it as some of the best the genre has to offer. I’ve read enough sci-fi to know that this is nowhere near the best, and I pity those that are led to believe that this is part of the cream of the crop. 2/5, only recommended to pulp aficionados.
February 5, 2016
I looked at the copyright page and found that it was first published in 1968, but it has the flavor of earlier science fiction. In fact, it reminded me of a story I read in an anthology edited by Isaac Asimov called Before the Golden Age which included Science fiction stories published in the 1930s. The story was Tumathak of the Coridors and I would not be surprised if Of Men and Monsters was based on it. In both stories humanity has been defeated by invading aliens and reduced to living in dark recesses. In the earlier story it was in coridors that were apparently underground. In Of Men and Monsters it is in burrows the location of which comes as a surprise so I won't give it away here. Humans have taken on a symbiotic relationship with the aliens. They raid the alien larders for food and they live in close proximity with the aliens even though if the aliens had their way they would destroy the humans. In other words, humans have become the aliens' mice. Most humans long for the overthrow of the aliens and a return to their dominence over the Earth, but it is gradually realised that they are actually thriving under alien domination. That leads, in the end, to another solution. It is a solution that does not overthrow the aliens,but for those of you who root for the humans, don't worry. It is a solution that the aliens will not like in the least.
July 21, 2014
I am currently going through a period of reading classic sci-fi. Some I have owned for years and others I have purchased recently, thinking that they look worth checking out.
Must admit that I had never heard of this novel and found it a wee bit slow to start off with, but it was well worth sticking with. One of the best sci-fi novels I have read in many an auld lang syne. Loved the humour, particularly when the humans went out and about in the corridors of the monsters. Also loved the ending and was glad that I never put it down in my "Maybe try reading it another time" pile which usually ends up being ignored.
Ray Smillie
Must admit that I had never heard of this novel and found it a wee bit slow to start off with, but it was well worth sticking with. One of the best sci-fi novels I have read in many an auld lang syne. Loved the humour, particularly when the humans went out and about in the corridors of the monsters. Also loved the ending and was glad that I never put it down in my "Maybe try reading it another time" pile which usually ends up being ignored.
Ray Smillie
July 11, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"There’s a small pile of novels on my shelf that wait ever so patiently to be reviewed months and months after I’ve read them — J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World (1962), Robert Silverberg’s The Masks of Time (1968) and Dying Inside (1972), David R. Bunch’s Moderan (1972) (among others), and, until now, William Tenn’s Of Men and Monsters (1968). Perhaps I was put off by the three mysterious pages filled with small chicken [...]"
"There’s a small pile of novels on my shelf that wait ever so patiently to be reviewed months and months after I’ve read them — J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World (1962), Robert Silverberg’s The Masks of Time (1968) and Dying Inside (1972), David R. Bunch’s Moderan (1972) (among others), and, until now, William Tenn’s Of Men and Monsters (1968). Perhaps I was put off by the three mysterious pages filled with small chicken [...]"
September 1, 2009
An outstanding sci fi tale where aliens have taken over and we live in the walls like rats.
February 25, 2020
Really underrated novel. Everyone should read this.
June 27, 2021
An old classic, but the offendables should leave it alone.
July 23, 2020
A thoroughly enjoyable lightly satirical adventure story. Humans reduced to the position of mice after an alien invasion, surviving in the walls of alien dwellings and stealing food and resources to survive, is a great premise. Plus, you really can't go wrong with a coming of age story in an unfamiliar environment. The story leans equally on anthropological detail of the changed lives of humanity in such an environment, and the satirical image of humans reduced to the level of pests, where are all their legendary tales are merely recountings of stealing food and bits of trash from infinitely more powerful beings. Though the book's epigraph comes from the Brobdingnag section of Gulliver's Travels, this book is not misanthropic. The Monsters are superior to humanity only in their size and power, and while the story pokes some holes in humanity's pride and beliefs, the idea of man the survivor comes through intact. The ending was particularly amusing in that regard:
The story moves quickly, and there are quite a few amusing turns of phrase, especially those to do with misunderstanding of ancient phrases that have survived the fall of humanity. The characters are very simple and flat, but they're enough for an adventure story. Some readers might find the societies depicted sexist, but I found Tenn avoided excessive essentialism, and its not as if societies with similar aspects haven't existed in the past, especially in a survival situation where women are more valuable than men as a reproductive bottleneck . At times the men-as-mice situations were a bit too on the nose, but I found the book pulled itself back together after a bit of a lull in the middle. It's a bit disappointing that this is Tenn's only novel, but I'll be sure to look out for any books of his short stories.
The story moves quickly, and there are quite a few amusing turns of phrase, especially those to do with misunderstanding of ancient phrases that have survived the fall of humanity. The characters are very simple and flat, but they're enough for an adventure story. Some readers might find the societies depicted sexist, but I found Tenn avoided excessive essentialism, and its not as if societies with similar aspects haven't existed in the past, especially in a survival situation where women are more valuable than men as a reproductive bottleneck . At times the men-as-mice situations were a bit too on the nose, but I found the book pulled itself back together after a bit of a lull in the middle. It's a bit disappointing that this is Tenn's only novel, but I'll be sure to look out for any books of his short stories.
November 20, 2023
First, a full disclosure: I'm an editor of the NESFA Press two–volume complete science fiction of William Tenn, which reprints all of Tenn's science fiction. Of Men and Monsters is part of the second volume. The two volumes were published several years ago, but we are in the process of publishing ebook versions. The first volume is now available in ebook form on the NESFA Press website and will be soon available from Amazon. Proofreading of the second volume (the conversion of PageMaker to InDesign necessitated this), and I reread Of Men and Monsters as part of that effort.
Note the review below includes a few minor spoilers on plot points.
Of Men and Monsters is William Tenn's only science fiction novel. The title gives the story conceit away, if you compare it to that of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. In the future, aliens invade and conquer Earth. They are huge and don't even realize that humans are an intelligent species. Humans live in scattered bands in burrows (which actually turn out to be the walls of alien dwellings). It follows the character of Eric, who, at novel's start, is about to undergo his test of manhood, a theft from the Monsters (the human name for the aliens). As the novel progresses, he's on the run, encounters other tribes, is captured by and escapes from the Monsters, and eventually meets with a tribe that understands far more about science than Eric's tribe ever did.
All of this is a vehicle for Tenn's sharp wit, as he uses the situation to poke at human prejudices, human civilization, and even in some ways what it means to be human. The idea of humans living like mice in the walls, stealing food and supplies from the owners of the structure, and getting by simply as scavengers, is worthy of Jonathan Swift.
This is a fun, fast moving novel, with an underpinning that provokes thought. Recommended.
Note the review below includes a few minor spoilers on plot points.
Of Men and Monsters is William Tenn's only science fiction novel. The title gives the story conceit away, if you compare it to that of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. In the future, aliens invade and conquer Earth. They are huge and don't even realize that humans are an intelligent species. Humans live in scattered bands in burrows (which actually turn out to be the walls of alien dwellings). It follows the character of Eric, who, at novel's start, is about to undergo his test of manhood, a theft from the Monsters (the human name for the aliens). As the novel progresses, he's on the run, encounters other tribes, is captured by and escapes from the Monsters, and eventually meets with a tribe that understands far more about science than Eric's tribe ever did.
All of this is a vehicle for Tenn's sharp wit, as he uses the situation to poke at human prejudices, human civilization, and even in some ways what it means to be human. The idea of humans living like mice in the walls, stealing food and supplies from the owners of the structure, and getting by simply as scavengers, is worthy of Jonathan Swift.
This is a fun, fast moving novel, with an underpinning that provokes thought. Recommended.
February 4, 2022
Nonostante Of Men and Monsters sia un racconto di appena 158 pagine, la sua brevità non mi ha impedito di trascorrere la lettura elaborando una complessa teoria su quello che (credevo) fosse il significato della storia, e che (secondo le mie previsioni) si sarebbe rivelato nel finale.
Ad essere sincera, c'è la remota possibilità che, ecco, forse, questa mia teoria sia stata influenzata da Shingeki no Kyojin.
MA NON È QUESTO IL PUNTO.
Il fatto è che, nonostante abbia approfonditamente cercato su Google una qualsiasi piccola traccia che potesse farmi esclamare "ecco, allora avevo ragione!" e non abbia trovato un bel niente, non riesco a togliermi dalla testa il pensiero che la storia avrebbe avuto molto più senso se si fosse compiuta come la immaginavo io.
Per favore, lasciatemi spiegare.
/* SPOILER da qui in avanti */
«L'uomo ha alcune caratteristiche fondamentali in comune col topo e con lo scarafaggio: mangia quasi di tutto, è molto adattabile e riesce a vivere in quasi tutte le condizioni. Può sopravvivere come individuo, ma preferisce riunirsi in gruppo. E se possibile preferisce vivere di quello che altre creature hanno prodotto naturalmente o artificialmente. È quindi inevitabile concludere che è stato designato dalla natura a essere una specie di parassita di categoria superiore, e solo la mancanza di un ospite abbastanza ricco nel suo primitivo ambiente, gli aveva impedito di assumere il ruolo di eterno ospite, costringendolo a vivere, famelico, insoddisfatto e irritabile, delle risorse che riusciva a procurarsi.»
Queste parole pronunciate da Aaron verso il termine del racconto racchiudono la chiave della storia. In un mondo sottosopra, l'uomo è divenuto il topo da laboratorio, il parassita da eliminare. Fin qui tutto chiaro. Ma allora, se l'uomo è l'insetto, chi è che recita la parte dell'uomo? Chi sono i mostri?
Per spiegarmi meglio, devo chiamare in causa l'unico aspetto che mi ha affascinata dello stile di scrittura dell'opera: la descrizione dei mostri, dei loro spazi e dei loro oggetti. Essa avviene sempre e solo attraverso gli occhi del protagonista, Eric, donando alla storia un intrigante mistero, giacché Eric non sa niente dei mostri e del loro mondo; perciò tutto ciò che può fare è limitarsi a descrivere ciò che vede e sente coi suoi sensi, senza però riuscire a dare una vera identità alle cose; ne consegue che neanche al lettore sia dato sapere esattamente che cosa sia ciò che viene descritto, e durante l'intera lettura ho avuto la convinzione che in questo ci fosse un messaggio cifrato.
"Ci troviamo in una delle cavità che loro lasciano sempre alla base di tutti i mobili", spiega Arthur, e io convenivo che effettivamente anche i nostri mobili senza piedini hanno sempre un piccolo rialzo di qualche millimetro. E quando si parla della "pallottola di sostanza rossa, gelatinosa" che scoppia a contatto con la saliva, mi immaginavo una Frizzy Pazzy. Quanto al ripiano bianco con un foro in mezzo, non poteva che trattarsi di un lavandino. L'enigma più grande, però, era la differenza fra i mostri con tentacoli corti e rosa carico versus quelli con tentacoli lunghi e rosa chiaro. Non riuscivo a trovarvi attinenza con un tratto umano, ma ero sicura che fosse qualcosa atto a differenziare i maschi dalle femmine (perché, pensandola in modo un po' retrogrado, quando gli esemplari dai tentacoli corti e rosa carico vedono un Uomo "si spaventano, piangono e scappano", proprio come lo stereotipo della casalinga anni 50 davanti a uno scarafaggio, no?). Insomma, non mi dilungo oltre: pensavo che i mostri fossero, letteralmente, umani. / 𝅘𝅥𝅮 Sasageyo, sasageyo... 𝅘𝅥𝅮 /
"Hai lavorato parecchio con la fantasia!", direte. Beh, MAI QUANTO WILLIAM TENN! Sul serio, cosa cazzo stava descrivendo se non si trattava di oggetti umani? È una domanda senza risposta che mi lascia un'angoscia profonda, molto più oscura di quella che, credo, Tenn si proponesse di trasmettere.
In realtà, penso che un altro elemento che mi ha portata a sviluppare questo film mentale risieda nella traduzione del testo. Nel testo originale si parla infatti di "mostri" (Monsters) e di "scienza aliena" (Alien-Science); quindi viene ben esplicitato che i giganti sono alieni. In italiano compare invece la parola Titanico, fra l'altro curiosamente utilizzata sia come sostantivo ("i Titanici") sia come aggettivo ("la scienza Titanica"). Si tratta di una traduzione del 1969, periodo in cui c'era un approccio alla traduzione molto diverso da quello odierno, quindi inutile infierire sull'infelicità di questa scelta. Rimane comunque fuorviante, così come, fra le altre cose, è anche il titolo dell'opera tradotto. The men in the walls è infatti un racconto breve scritto da Tenn nel 1963; grazie al suo successo, nel 1968 ne venne pubblicata una versione ampliata, che prese il nome di Of Men and Monsters. A rigor di logica quindi il lettore italiano potrebbe ingannarsi di avere fra le mani la versione "corta" del '63: non è così.
Pippe mentali a parte, nel complesso è stata una lettura piacevole, non priva di punti deboli. A mio avviso la storia aveva potenziale per continuare ancora per molte, moltissime pagine, andando ad approfondire alcuni temi che vengono invece lasciati a morire un po' nel nulla. In particolare, fin dalle prime pagine sembra che le due scienze antitetiche, quella ancestrale e quella titanica, svolgano un ruolo chiave nel racconto: invece si giunge alla fine senza capire veramente in cosa consistano, mentre Aaron liquida le nostre curiosità con un "Scienza titanica... Scienza ancestrale. Anche noi ci abbiamo creduto, e a lungo, ma dopo molti studi e considerazioni le abbiamo accantonate moltissimo tempo fa". Nella sezione Review and Reception della pagina Wikipedia dedicata, viene citato Adam-Troy Castro, "[who] called the novel "imaginative and often witty", but faulted the characterization as "both simple and schematic", noting that "nobody's interesting, not even the hero".": e mi sento di appoggiare al cento per cento questo giudizio. In definitiva, considero questo libro positivamente, ma ne vedo distintamente i limiti.
Certo, ormai Tenn se l'è portata nella tomba, la vera natura dei tentacoli rosa. Mannaggia.
Ad essere sincera, c'è la remota possibilità che, ecco, forse, questa mia teoria sia stata influenzata da Shingeki no Kyojin.
MA NON È QUESTO IL PUNTO.
Il fatto è che, nonostante abbia approfonditamente cercato su Google una qualsiasi piccola traccia che potesse farmi esclamare "ecco, allora avevo ragione!" e non abbia trovato un bel niente, non riesco a togliermi dalla testa il pensiero che la storia avrebbe avuto molto più senso se si fosse compiuta come la immaginavo io.
Per favore, lasciatemi spiegare.
/* SPOILER da qui in avanti */
«L'uomo ha alcune caratteristiche fondamentali in comune col topo e con lo scarafaggio: mangia quasi di tutto, è molto adattabile e riesce a vivere in quasi tutte le condizioni. Può sopravvivere come individuo, ma preferisce riunirsi in gruppo. E se possibile preferisce vivere di quello che altre creature hanno prodotto naturalmente o artificialmente. È quindi inevitabile concludere che è stato designato dalla natura a essere una specie di parassita di categoria superiore, e solo la mancanza di un ospite abbastanza ricco nel suo primitivo ambiente, gli aveva impedito di assumere il ruolo di eterno ospite, costringendolo a vivere, famelico, insoddisfatto e irritabile, delle risorse che riusciva a procurarsi.»
Queste parole pronunciate da Aaron verso il termine del racconto racchiudono la chiave della storia. In un mondo sottosopra, l'uomo è divenuto il topo da laboratorio, il parassita da eliminare. Fin qui tutto chiaro. Ma allora, se l'uomo è l'insetto, chi è che recita la parte dell'uomo? Chi sono i mostri?
Per spiegarmi meglio, devo chiamare in causa l'unico aspetto che mi ha affascinata dello stile di scrittura dell'opera: la descrizione dei mostri, dei loro spazi e dei loro oggetti. Essa avviene sempre e solo attraverso gli occhi del protagonista, Eric, donando alla storia un intrigante mistero, giacché Eric non sa niente dei mostri e del loro mondo; perciò tutto ciò che può fare è limitarsi a descrivere ciò che vede e sente coi suoi sensi, senza però riuscire a dare una vera identità alle cose; ne consegue che neanche al lettore sia dato sapere esattamente che cosa sia ciò che viene descritto, e durante l'intera lettura ho avuto la convinzione che in questo ci fosse un messaggio cifrato.
"Ci troviamo in una delle cavità che loro lasciano sempre alla base di tutti i mobili", spiega Arthur, e io convenivo che effettivamente anche i nostri mobili senza piedini hanno sempre un piccolo rialzo di qualche millimetro. E quando si parla della "pallottola di sostanza rossa, gelatinosa" che scoppia a contatto con la saliva, mi immaginavo una Frizzy Pazzy. Quanto al ripiano bianco con un foro in mezzo, non poteva che trattarsi di un lavandino. L'enigma più grande, però, era la differenza fra i mostri con tentacoli corti e rosa carico versus quelli con tentacoli lunghi e rosa chiaro. Non riuscivo a trovarvi attinenza con un tratto umano, ma ero sicura che fosse qualcosa atto a differenziare i maschi dalle femmine (perché, pensandola in modo un po' retrogrado, quando gli esemplari dai tentacoli corti e rosa carico vedono un Uomo "si spaventano, piangono e scappano", proprio come lo stereotipo della casalinga anni 50 davanti a uno scarafaggio, no?). Insomma, non mi dilungo oltre: pensavo che i mostri fossero, letteralmente, umani. / 𝅘𝅥𝅮 Sasageyo, sasageyo... 𝅘𝅥𝅮 /
"Hai lavorato parecchio con la fantasia!", direte. Beh, MAI QUANTO WILLIAM TENN! Sul serio, cosa cazzo stava descrivendo se non si trattava di oggetti umani? È una domanda senza risposta che mi lascia un'angoscia profonda, molto più oscura di quella che, credo, Tenn si proponesse di trasmettere.
In realtà, penso che un altro elemento che mi ha portata a sviluppare questo film mentale risieda nella traduzione del testo. Nel testo originale si parla infatti di "mostri" (Monsters) e di "scienza aliena" (Alien-Science); quindi viene ben esplicitato che i giganti sono alieni. In italiano compare invece la parola Titanico, fra l'altro curiosamente utilizzata sia come sostantivo ("i Titanici") sia come aggettivo ("la scienza Titanica"). Si tratta di una traduzione del 1969, periodo in cui c'era un approccio alla traduzione molto diverso da quello odierno, quindi inutile infierire sull'infelicità di questa scelta. Rimane comunque fuorviante, così come, fra le altre cose, è anche il titolo dell'opera tradotto. The men in the walls è infatti un racconto breve scritto da Tenn nel 1963; grazie al suo successo, nel 1968 ne venne pubblicata una versione ampliata, che prese il nome di Of Men and Monsters. A rigor di logica quindi il lettore italiano potrebbe ingannarsi di avere fra le mani la versione "corta" del '63: non è così.
Pippe mentali a parte, nel complesso è stata una lettura piacevole, non priva di punti deboli. A mio avviso la storia aveva potenziale per continuare ancora per molte, moltissime pagine, andando ad approfondire alcuni temi che vengono invece lasciati a morire un po' nel nulla. In particolare, fin dalle prime pagine sembra che le due scienze antitetiche, quella ancestrale e quella titanica, svolgano un ruolo chiave nel racconto: invece si giunge alla fine senza capire veramente in cosa consistano, mentre Aaron liquida le nostre curiosità con un "Scienza titanica... Scienza ancestrale. Anche noi ci abbiamo creduto, e a lungo, ma dopo molti studi e considerazioni le abbiamo accantonate moltissimo tempo fa". Nella sezione Review and Reception della pagina Wikipedia dedicata, viene citato Adam-Troy Castro, "[who] called the novel "imaginative and often witty", but faulted the characterization as "both simple and schematic", noting that "nobody's interesting, not even the hero".": e mi sento di appoggiare al cento per cento questo giudizio. In definitiva, considero questo libro positivamente, ma ne vedo distintamente i limiti.
Certo, ormai Tenn se l'è portata nella tomba, la vera natura dei tentacoli rosa. Mannaggia.
October 1, 2025
This is one of my most Favourite SF books, it is the most memorable because of the opening lines: Mankind is 300 people. At least that is what I remember, it is a novel set after Aliens invaded and Humans lost. It was published in 1968 and it is still one of my favourite books. I have long ago lost count as to how many times i have read it, but something on the order of ten times I think.
January 17, 2024
A witty role reversal of humans & other life forms with some cynical sprinkles of political & religious traditions
February 12, 2022
Smarter than I imagined and incredibly entertaining.
February 4, 2021
Set in the future when the Earth has been colonised by giant aliens (the monsters) and it's original inhabitants (the men) are essentially vermin living in the aliens housing and having technologically regressed back to a tribal basis. A satire upon society and sharing (we're now the mice, how does that feel), the book was published in 1968 but has the feel of a 1950s story with cultural stereotypes from that era (despite the heroine being the smartest human in the book she is totally subservient to the males...). Despite this the story reads as a good adventure and hits the spots where it should.
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