John Wyndham used to complain that his novels were speculative fiction rather than SF - a term that has since been adopted by many authors. Margaret Atwood used it to describe her brilliant novel Oryx and Crake, claiming that speculative fiction is a genre in its own right. I'm sure that if John Christopher was 'rebranded ' as one of the finest exponents of this genre, he might start to receive the recognition he deserves.
As for the book itself, it begins as a straightforward catastrophe story in which Britain quickly finds itself in the grip of a new ice age. At first life continues as normal but when spring fails to materialise, rationing and martial law are swiftly followed by rioting, looting and social collapse. At this point the novel suddenly changes gear and it soon becomes apparent what the novel's true purpose is.
I will not give the plot away, except to say that this is a story about racial prejudice and the relationship between Britain and its former colonies in Africa. From a present day perspective it makes an uncomfortable read and I suspect that one reason why it hasn't been reprinted by a mainstream publisher is the preponderance of words like negro, nigger, sambo, mammy and darkie. It is also hard to see where Christopher is coming from. Is he bravely confronting the ugly realities of racism or giving voices to his own prejudices? On the one hand the novel seems to delight in seeing the relationship between black and white reversed - a reflection of the fact that Britain's African colonies were all gaining independence during this period. But at times it felt as if the demise of the white man is the novel's true disaster. This would certainly be a good book for reading groups to discuss!
Next on the list is The Death of Grass if I can find a copy that doesn't cost the earth. At the moment they seem to be selling on Ebay for at least £30, even for a battered old Penguin, so it might be some time before I read it. Perhaps I'll sell a few unwanted CDs to pay for it, as my financial circumstances are a little precarious at the moment (I'll explain why in the next post).
5 comments:
The financial thing sounds ominous. I hope it's nothing too horrible.
Glad you enjoyed 'The World in Winter': it's always nice when your recommendations don't send people retching in disgust. I had no idea 'No Blade of Grass' was so hard to find: I picked up my slightly tatty old Penguin in a Lions Book Shed charity shop, but ABE does seem to be listing it as expensive--odd, as there were quite a few paperback editions before it fell out of print.
Yep, same on Amazon - £30+. What's going on there exactly? One for Gollancz to reissue as a Masterwork surely.
I am a big fan of Wyndham (well, some of his stuff anyway) so I shall keep an eye out for yer man.
I ended up ordering 'The Death of Grass' - I'll flog a few CDs on Ebay to appease my guilty conscience.
Found your blog by accident - gosh, my old copy of Death of Grass is worth that much? Loved the post-apocalyptic genre - have you come across The Sixth Winter by John Gribbin and somebody Origill, or The Last Gasp (Trevor Hoyle) which now begins to look kinda prophetic?
Found your blog by accident - gosh, my old copy of Death of Grass is worth that much? Loved the post-apocalyptic genre - have you come across The Sixth Winter by John Gribbin and somebody Origill, or The Last Gasp (Trevor Hoyle) which now begins to look kinda prophetic?
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