Weird Fiction discussion

This topic is created for our group's discussion of Chocky by John Wyndham, November's group read. This is the second group read we are doing by this author, which seems rather surprising. He is not considered a weird fiction writer by most experts in the weird fiction field, but rather a science fiction writer. The world of science fiction is happy to claim Wyndham; they'll take almost anybody. But what about his weird fiction chops?

Well, I am not unfamiliar with his work. He was one of my favorite science fiction writers long before I knew about this weird fiction genre. His The Midwich Cuckoos is breathtaking in its imaginativeness at certain points, sheer magic, and one of my favorite novels of all time in any genre. I then went on to try The Outward Urge and realized not all Wyndham writing is gold. The Day of the Triffids was my next work, and I liked it okay, but plants as menaces? Really? I mean, plants can't even make convincing scary noises. The story bogged down in the middle. We see less of the aliens and ineffectual human bickering and politicking instead. Not interested in that, I gave up reading it and put aside Wyndham for the time being.

Then this group chose to read his posthumous novel, Web, an odd, idiosyncratic but very interesting novel that I really enjoyed. Okay, I'm back on team Wyndham, but I still bear in mind he can write lemons as sour as 'The Outward Urge'.

We're reading Chocky because it got the second most votes in our last poll and more than five. That's good enough for me to make it group read. It was published in 1968, the year before Wyndham's death, at the age of just 65. The novel is an extended version of the Wyndham novella version that first saw print in the March 1963 issue of Amazing Stories, available here: http://www.luminist.org/archives/SF/A....

So, the question remains: is John Wnydham a weird fiction writer? To my mind, the answer is unequivocally yes. His work is not purely science fiction even if many classify him as such, because it's not the different world or science that distinguishes his writing. He usually sets his events on our world, not other planets, not in the future, but rather the present, or the indistinguishable near future. Yes, he has alien beings in his stories as science fiction does, but Wyndham doesn't world build their culture like an SF author would; the aliens are never the focus. How they affect us humans instead is. This is a domain of weird fiction, what the effect of weirdness on a culture is. Wyndham wrote primarily in the 1950s and 1960s, a period when weird fiction as a distinguishable genre was at its lowest ebb, although people were still writing it and calling it something else. It's no wonder to me that John Wyndham is not recognized by our genre as one of its writers. But that doesn't change the fact that his writing distinguishes him as one.

There is more than one synopsis available out there, most giving away too much of the plot in my opinion. I therefore prefer Penguin's, the publisher's synopsis:

"Matthew's parents are worried. At eleven, he's much too old to have an imaginary friend, yet they find him talking to and arguing with a presence that even he admits is not physically there. This presence - Chocky - causes Matthew to ask difficult questions and say startling things: he speaks of complex mathematics and mocks human progress. Then, when Matthew does something incredible, it seems there is more than the imaginary about Chocky. Which is when others become interested and ask questions of their own: who is Chocky? And what could it want with an eleven-year-old boy?"

Copies of the book are ubiquitous. Brand new and print can be had for about $10. I am going this route and using Blackwell's for the purpose. They offer a British and an international version, both for delivery to either side of the pond. It typically takes about seven days from ordering to receive the book in the mailbox. The British edition, the one with the red-haired boy in a red jumper on the cover is a pound cheaper for some reason. I grew up partially in Britain so British spelling doesn't phase me. Besides, aesthetically I prefer that red cover anyway. So I'm getting that one. Used print copies can be had for starting just under $5, tax and shipping included. Bookfinder dot com is your friend for locating those. Finally, I see Kindle sells it for a mere $1.35, if e-books are your preferred medium.

Join us this November, won't you? I don't think you'll be disappointed.

This will be my second John Wyndham novel, following The Kraken Wakes in July. That book was just okay for me, but I am confident I will enjoy this one even more, as well as other books Wyndham has written. There are a lot of members here who have added this to their to read-list, so here's hoping more of us join in on the fun :)

I think I will start my reading next week.

My copy arrived from Blackwell's a few days ago. The cover is the second one from the left in our masthead. It is a rather short novel, the paperback text going from page 7-153, so just 147 pages. It will not take long to read and I bet a few members manage it in one or two sittings. Wyndham can be hard to put down.

Well, I have finished my reading of Chocky and I loved it, giving it my rare five stars. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

That said, I must confess here that I do not consider this novel to be weird fiction at all. It is 100% science fiction and nothing else. I don't mind, really, and am very glad to have read the short novel. But honesty compels me to warn anyone reading this that they will not be getting a piece of weird fiction to read.

Most of the group reads, almost all in fact, I never previously read until they became the group read. So, occasionally, despite my best efforts, a work that is not weird fiction slips through. This in my estimation is the third one on our bookshelf, and only the third one, that is not in any way weird fiction.

The other two are The Yellow Wallpaper. I had previously read this one, knew it to be purely straight fiction, or classical fiction, but let the nomination proceed and then to my horror saw it win the poll. It was because of this I pledged never again to allow a book I knew not to be weird fiction gain nomination to even make it into the poll.

The other book on our bookshelf that is not weird fiction is Pines by Blake Crouch. Again, I loved it. So much so that I read the rest of the series and saw the entire television series based on Crouch's Pines series. This one is harder to see as being purely science fiction instead of at least possibly weird fiction. Especially if one reads the first volume of the series alone, and only the first volume. Enough is unexplained at the end of that first book that weird fiction tropes could account for the phenomena given in that novel. But no. As the series continues it all gets explained by SF tropes, making the work pure SF. I have no regrets that this book made it to our bookshelf since by itself it could have been weird fiction.

But I have a few regrets that Chocky made it (at least it's in the speculative fiction umbrella), and a few more that The Yellow Wallpaper did (which is not even speculative). That's simply because they're not what the name of our group advertises they should be. On the bright side, both the previous non-genre books proved very popular with our membership. I suspect Chocky will too. So maybe no serious harm done.

I've just finished the book and really enjoyed it. I read it many years ago and had forgotten many of the details. It was just as good this time!

Although science fiction, it is SF on a small scale. So often SF is about clashes of civilizations, world building, and has such grand themes. This is the story of a little boy and his family, alien contact, and how they were affected. If anyone saw the Netflix series Manifest, this story by comparison would be just Cal's story, his callings and artwork, and how that affected the Stones alone. Take out all that airplane wreckage and tail, storms, police, other romances, NSA and military, and the passengers vs. society stuff.

Does this book contain elements of horror, or is it solely a science fiction story?

There are no horror elements, Amid.

Thanks for letting me know. I think I’ll pass on this book, but hopefully, I will join you in the upcoming group read.

I finished the book today and thought it was very interesting. It could've been a character study of a child with an imaginary friend and insight into how that affects the people around them and how their society responds to these kinds of things. It didn't have to be more than that, to be honest. And most of the time it didn't seem to be. I think the story would be less interesting on the whole without the external element, but not worse in terms of quality. It would just make it different. I'll need to spend some time writing a review before I actually rate it, but I think I will give it five stars too.

One thing that struck me as odd was how Matthew's father kept calling him "old man". I know it's been common for a son to say that about their father, but not the other way around. Was that really a thing in the 60's? What's even odder, he called Dr Aycott an "old boy"!

Also, they were drinking an awful lot of whisky. Even Mr Trimble, the math teacher, got a drink of it when he came to visit. It's like they more often than not just needed a glass of whisky to calm their nerves. I had to laugh when I read page 126:

"She consulted the list and began to dial again. After two or three more calls she came to the end of her list, and laid the receiver in its rest. I had got out the whisky.
'Drink this. It'll do you good,' I told her.
She took it, gratefully."

Nothing too negative about that, really. I just found it funny. I also appreciated the reference to good old telephones and receivers and saying stuff like "I've just been listening to you on the wireless" (89). A different time indeed.

Amid عميد wrote: "Thanks for letting me know. I think I’ll pass on this book, but hopefully, I will join you in the upcoming group read."

Will you be joining us for the next one, even if you voted for something else? :)

Nicolai Alexander wrote: "Amid عميد wrote: "Thanks for letting me know. I think I’ll pass on this book, but hopefully, I will join you in the upcoming group read."

Will you be joining us for the next one, even if you voted..."

Regrettably, I find it challenging to locate a copy of Wales and the Art of Fine Dying nearby to borrow. I hold hope that, in the next selection, a more renowned book might prevail in the poll — one that proves easier to find in the library. I hope that you will find enjoyment in reading it regardless.

Nicolai Alexander wrote: "I finished the book today and thought it was very interesting. It could've been a character study of a child with an imaginary friend and insight into how that affects the people around them and ho..."

I think "Old" as an overall term of endearment for people might be a Britishism exclusively, and probably not presently. I've never heard it applied to other people as a diminutive. Dogs and such, sure. Old Yeller is the title of a Disney film using it, for example. Maybe Canadians use it too. I think of Neil Young's song, "Old Man."

On alcohol, Prohibition (1920-1933) really did a number on us. Once the chains came off, we overcompensated. For 30 or 40 years or so after 1933 it was considered almost bad manners not to offer or have an alcoholic drink, and beer and wine don't count, whenever visiting another person's home. Every middle-class household had a liquor cabinet with at least three, and more usually 8-10, well-stocked liquor bottles in it (most often whisky, rum, and gin or vodka for those not liking gin, as the minimum). Growing up, I remember my parents keeping decanters of whisky, rum, and brandy on top of the fridge, which they believed their son would never reach. I'm glad they couldn't figure out why their liquor became weaker and weaker over time as I refilled the decanters with water to keep the levels the same. You can see this cultural phenomenon of offering drinks upon entering played out in practically any American black and white film that was not made for children. I think the British simply followed our custom on this and did much the same during that era.

I agree with you on the SF element almost not needing to be there. I guess I was trying to say the same thing when I wrote about Wyndham not writing to SF's big themes, but keeping his focus tightly on their effects in small scale.

Amid عميد wrote: "Nicolai Alexander wrote: "Amid عميد wrote: "Thanks for letting me know. I think I’ll pass on this book, but hopefully, I will join you in the upcoming group read."

Will you be joining us for the n..."

Yeah, I don't expect you'll find the book in a library outside of Norway, so buying a digital copy seems like the only option here. Maybe next time then!

Dan wrote: "Nicolai Alexander wrote: "I finished the book today and thought it was very interesting. It could've been a character study of a child with an imaginary friend and insight into how that affects the..."

That's very interesting. I had no idea. The Prohibition didn't cross my mind at all, but it certainly makes sense.