Classics Without All the Class discussion

Two points that actually made me laugh--but really I shouldn't because this book is supposed to scare people, right?

1. Chapter 2: The character Ogilvy tries to announce to passersby about the large object that fell from space. A "waggoner" avoids him; Ogilvy seems loony because Ogilvy is not wearing a hat. In a civilized land, we wear hats, understand! Also, a tavern owner tries to lock him in the taproom. (Great idea. Lock in the crazy guy with the booze.)

2. Chapter 4: The first appearance of the "Martians." Brown and "unspeakably nasty," according to our narrator. First thing the first Martian does upon exiting the ship? It falls out through the opening, lands with a big thud, and lets out a groaning sort of yell. In the following chapter, our narrator mentions to his wife that he's not sure how these creatures plan to kill all humans. The things aren't able to move in Earth's heavy gravity.

Has anyone else noticed any details perplexing/funny/non-scary? I'm not trying to insult this classic book, but I can't help reading it in this current day context. And after all, it's often the case that humor exists in the face of danger.

Whitney wrote: "Two points that actually made me laugh--but really I shouldn't because this book is supposed to scare people, right?

1. Chapter 2: The character Ogilvy tries to announce to passersby about the la..."

I love how ahead of its time this book is! I mean, here they are trying to get away from spaceships in wagons! I certainly didn't think this book was scary, but I could see how revolutionarily "scary" it could be for people back in the 1890s.

A lot of the book's suspense is down to the fact that the narrator can't either get away fast or communicate with others. Mobile phones have made thriller writing much harder...

If you enjoyed the book, you might like to take a look at a contemporary story (1897) The Thames Valley Catastrophe by Grant Allen, in which the narrator endeavours to out-bicycle a river of lava sweeping through the countryside towards London and burning up all in its path. Although it's a much shorter work, there are similarities with W of the W.

Speaking of the absurdity issue, I had the same trouble with our previous read, At the Mountains of Madness. I'm sure when the novel was written, it was super freaky and scared them out of their wits, but we've been exposed to all the new, cool, actually scary sci-fi and horror stuff that we see. In order to appreciate this older crop, you really do need to take the attitude of, "If I had read this in the 1890s I would've crapped my pants".

The modern view definitely diminishes the perspicacity and genius of these older sci-fi books. They were the ground-breakers that made way for the cool new stuff--standing on the shoulders of giants, and all that. For example, the whole Mecha genre (human riding inside/controlling robots) came from this book, where the martians are controlling the tripods, etc.

Daniel wrote: "Speaking of the absurdity issue, I had the same trouble with our previous read, At the Mountains of Madness. I'm sure when the novel was written, it was super freaky and scared them ou..."

Yeah, At the Mountains of Madness was definitely also like that in that you might have to just really put yourself in the time period to think this book was thrilling or scary.

The modern view definitely diminishes the perspicacity and genius of these older sci-fi books.

It's not unique to sci-fi, though: have you ever tried reading older mysteries? I keep wanting to cry out, "Haven't you ever heard of the Miranda decision?" But, of course, they haven't.

We do tend to forget, though, that these books were forerunners and introduced so much that we simply take for granted.

Emma wrote: "A lot of the book's suspense is down to the fact that the narrator can't either get away fast or communicate with others. Mobile phones have made thriller writing much harder...

We take so much for granted these days, don't we? Mental Floss (in a recent article about "15 Classified Ads We Hope Had Happy Ending") included as example a sequence closely following on the 1906 San Francisco quake:
“News Wanted of Mrs. R J Pringle by her husband.”

“Sarah Rockel, come to Sullivan’s. Am much worried.”

“Daisy- Bring Mother to Port Richmond.”

I am further in now, and it is getting gruesome! I know that Wells didn't pull any punches for the writing style of his time. (I am still recovering from the Island of Doctor Moreau.)

His way of portraying human instinct and mob mentalities are definitely still accurate!

Really enjoying this, but there are some phrases that don't quite sound right to 21st Century ears:
"His landlady came to the door, loosely wrapped in dressing gown and shawl; her husband followed ejaculating."
“At the end of it I sat, tempering nuts with a cigarette, regretting Ogilvy's rashness, and denouncing the shortsighted timidity of the Martians."
:-)

Martin wrote: "Really enjoying this, but there are some phrases that don't quite sound right to 21st Century ears:
"His landlady came to the door, loosely wrapped in dressing gown and shawl; her husband followed ..."

Exactly. While reading that passage, I had to self-edit: "husband followed SHOUTING! shouting."

And I have no idea what that means: to temper a nut with a cigarette. What?

I daren't Google "tempering nuts" ...

Martin wrote: "I daren't Google "tempering nuts" ..."

Lol, agreed! Though I did wonder myself...