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Deux univers
Un enseignant rêveur et un peu mou, Georges Gringe, époux frustré, oublie ses déboires en écrivant un roman de science-fiction où les deux héros, Zil et Orgypp, vivent heureux, grokkant à tour de bras, sur la planète Agénor. Alleurs - loin ? très loin ? tout près ? - sur la planète Chnas, fleurit une civilisation merveilleuse pour qui le progrès technique est une chose depuis longtemps dépassée. Là, un certain Zil, l'amant de la belle Orgypp, écrit pour se distraire un roman utopique qui se passe sur Derre et dont le héros se nomme Chorge Gringe. On ne se méfie jamais assez de la création littéraire... C'est ce que nous apprend Richard Cowper dans un roman qu'auraient pu écrire en collaboration Lewis Caroll et Fredric Brown s'ils avaient mieux connu la bande dessinée.
- GenresScience Fiction
192 pages, Pocket Book
First published January 1, 1974
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 19, 2025
Lehrer George ist mit seinem Leben unzufrieden. Er wurde bei der Beförderung übergangen und seine Frau benutzt Sexentzug als Strafe bei nicht-Wohlverhalten. Kein Wunder, dass er den Avancen der jüngeren Kollegin Jennie zu erliegen droht. Nebenher schreibt er eine SF-Geschichte über den Planeten Gnas und seine Bewohner.
Doch Gnas existiert wirklich, allerdings auf einer anderen Seins-Ebenen (oder so). Gnas ist eine Art Parallelwelt der Erde, wobei die Einwohner eine ganz andere Entwicklung genommen haben. Statt auf wissenschaftlich-materieller Grundlage sind sie eine spirituell-esoterischen Weg gegangen.
Parallelwelten, Telepathie usw. sind ja übliche Themen in der SF, doch Cowper geht hier noch weiter. Man könnte sagen, dass es sich um New Age- oder Estoterik-SF handelt. Das ganze scheint mit einem Augenzwinkern versehen zu sein. Wie gross dieses Augenzwinkern sein soll, weiss ich nicht recht. Jedenfalls mag ich den Scherz (?) nicht recht mitmachen, zumal er den Stoff, der allenfalls für eine Story gut gewesen wäre, hier auf immerhin 156 Seiten ausdehnt. Trotzdem ziehe ich es bis zum Ende durch und gebe 1.5/5
Doch Gnas existiert wirklich, allerdings auf einer anderen Seins-Ebenen (oder so). Gnas ist eine Art Parallelwelt der Erde, wobei die Einwohner eine ganz andere Entwicklung genommen haben. Statt auf wissenschaftlich-materieller Grundlage sind sie eine spirituell-esoterischen Weg gegangen.
Parallelwelten, Telepathie usw. sind ja übliche Themen in der SF, doch Cowper geht hier noch weiter. Man könnte sagen, dass es sich um New Age- oder Estoterik-SF handelt. Das ganze scheint mit einem Augenzwinkern versehen zu sein. Wie gross dieses Augenzwinkern sein soll, weiss ich nicht recht. Jedenfalls mag ich den Scherz (?) nicht recht mitmachen, zumal er den Stoff, der allenfalls für eine Story gut gewesen wäre, hier auf immerhin 156 Seiten ausdehnt. Trotzdem ziehe ich es bis zum Ende durch und gebe 1.5/5
March 17, 2025
This is a delightful book that sadly seems to have been out of print since it was first published by Victor Gollancz in 1974, apart from the Readers Union edition that I managed to buy second-hand in 2002 (having read a library copy many years before). However, I’m pleased to find that it’s now available in a Kindle edition, which I promptly bought as a supplement to my paper copy.
It tells the story of George Herbert Cringe, “parent, breadwinner, and Junior Science teacher at Bagshot Road Comprehensive School”, who is thoroughly sick of his dead-end life and unsuccessful marriage, and finds occasional relief in writing a story about the imaginary and exotic world of Agenor, his central character bearing the name of Zil Bryn.
Meanwhile, on the extremely distant world of Chnas, a being named Zil Bryn (also a teacher, though a happier one) is writing a story about the imaginary and exotic world of Urth, his central character bearing the name of Shorge Gringe.
A mysterious rift in the fabric of the universe permits George and Zil to meet briefly and to realize with equal astonishment that their imaginary worlds each appear to be real in some sense. The effects of their meeting are somewhat beneficial to both.
The book paints a vivid picture of how a certain type of downtrodden Englishman lived in the early 1970s, and an equally vivid (though rather brief) picture of life on the remarkable and wonderful world of Chnas.
It’s a short novel, and I suppose a minor novel in some sense; but it’s a great minor novel. I come out of it with much sympathy for poor George and a wistful regret that I’ll see no more of Chnas and the Chnassians.
I also feel much sympathy for the late Richard Cowper (1926-2002), who wrote this lovely book and probably earned next to nothing from it.
Incidentally, George’s story is read only by himself; but Zil’s story is acclaimed on Chnas as a masterpiece of comic fantasy: the inhabitants of Urth are incredibly insane and their antics hilarious.
It tells the story of George Herbert Cringe, “parent, breadwinner, and Junior Science teacher at Bagshot Road Comprehensive School”, who is thoroughly sick of his dead-end life and unsuccessful marriage, and finds occasional relief in writing a story about the imaginary and exotic world of Agenor, his central character bearing the name of Zil Bryn.
Meanwhile, on the extremely distant world of Chnas, a being named Zil Bryn (also a teacher, though a happier one) is writing a story about the imaginary and exotic world of Urth, his central character bearing the name of Shorge Gringe.
A mysterious rift in the fabric of the universe permits George and Zil to meet briefly and to realize with equal astonishment that their imaginary worlds each appear to be real in some sense. The effects of their meeting are somewhat beneficial to both.
The book paints a vivid picture of how a certain type of downtrodden Englishman lived in the early 1970s, and an equally vivid (though rather brief) picture of life on the remarkable and wonderful world of Chnas.
It’s a short novel, and I suppose a minor novel in some sense; but it’s a great minor novel. I come out of it with much sympathy for poor George and a wistful regret that I’ll see no more of Chnas and the Chnassians.
I also feel much sympathy for the late Richard Cowper (1926-2002), who wrote this lovely book and probably earned next to nothing from it.
Incidentally, George’s story is read only by himself; but Zil’s story is acclaimed on Chnas as a masterpiece of comic fantasy: the inhabitants of Urth are incredibly insane and their antics hilarious.
June 26, 2022
2 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
George Cringe is a figment of Zil Bryn's imagination. Or is it the other way around.
Review
I became a fan of Richard Cowper, as I suspect many did, with his White Bird of Kinship trilogy – an excellent, carefully constructed piece of post-apocalyptic fiction. Not all of his earlier novels worked as well for me, but I’ve enjoyed several, and been quite taken with his short fiction. That’s why this novel (published just before Kinship) is such a surprise.
To be blunt, this is not a good book. It’s not bad, but it’s not far from it. It’s not only a familiar idea, but one better suited to a short story. Here, even at just over 100 pages, it feels far over-extended. It doesn’t work as satire, comedy, or farce. There are a handful of nice elements to it, but it mostly fails.
Gollancz makes a point that e-books have allowed them to bring older works back to life, and I heartily approve. However, this is one book that I think no one would have missed. By all means, read Richard Cowper – you’ll be well rewarded. Just don’t start (or end) with this.
Summary
George Cringe is a figment of Zil Bryn's imagination. Or is it the other way around.
Review
I became a fan of Richard Cowper, as I suspect many did, with his White Bird of Kinship trilogy – an excellent, carefully constructed piece of post-apocalyptic fiction. Not all of his earlier novels worked as well for me, but I’ve enjoyed several, and been quite taken with his short fiction. That’s why this novel (published just before Kinship) is such a surprise.
To be blunt, this is not a good book. It’s not bad, but it’s not far from it. It’s not only a familiar idea, but one better suited to a short story. Here, even at just over 100 pages, it feels far over-extended. It doesn’t work as satire, comedy, or farce. There are a handful of nice elements to it, but it mostly fails.
Gollancz makes a point that e-books have allowed them to bring older works back to life, and I heartily approve. However, this is one book that I think no one would have missed. By all means, read Richard Cowper – you’ll be well rewarded. Just don’t start (or end) with this.
May 17, 2021
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3658188.html
A short sf novel from 1974 about a middle-aged lecturer in an unsatisfactory marriage who distarcts himself by science fiction and flirting with a student. You can get it here. Both activities suddenly get more serious as the world that he is writing about turns out to be real and distant, and intruding on Earth, and the student starts to flirt back. The story ends with restoration of the status quo rather than any change to the frame of reference. It's about halfway between Kingsley Amis and Douglas Adams, and I was so struck by a certain similarity of tone with Hitch-hiker that I wrote and asked Christopher Priest, who knew both Cowper (John Middleton Murry Jr) and Adams personally, if he thought that one had partly inspired the other. (He said no.)
A short sf novel from 1974 about a middle-aged lecturer in an unsatisfactory marriage who distarcts himself by science fiction and flirting with a student. You can get it here. Both activities suddenly get more serious as the world that he is writing about turns out to be real and distant, and intruding on Earth, and the student starts to flirt back. The story ends with restoration of the status quo rather than any change to the frame of reference. It's about halfway between Kingsley Amis and Douglas Adams, and I was so struck by a certain similarity of tone with Hitch-hiker that I wrote and asked Christopher Priest, who knew both Cowper (John Middleton Murry Jr) and Adams personally, if he thought that one had partly inspired the other. (He said no.)
February 4, 2023
Not what I usually read, and I pick it up with no cover on in a charity shop so going into the story I had no idea of what the book would be about or even the genre. However, I did quite enjoy it. I hardly read SF so it was interesting to read something out of the norm. The story line was good. I enjoyed the character development in both worlds. I thought that it was clever and at some times funny and witty. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the read.
April 19, 2026
Bouquin trop sexiste mais y'a des trucs cools niveau SF. J'aime beaucoup le lore naïf de la planète Agénor et ses habitants, avec leur dieu Oho, et pour qui la mort est '' l'ultime plaisanterie '' de ce dieu.
July 30, 2023
An interesting alternative world book. Rather too fond of unpronounceable words for the alien language, but still a good read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews