| Author: |
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John Wyndham
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| Title: |
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Midwich Cuckoos (Penguin Modern Classics) |
| Moochable copies: |
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No copies available |
| Amazon suggests: |
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| Recommended: |
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| Topics: |
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| Published in: |
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English |
| Binding: |
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Paperback |
| Pages: |
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190 |
| Date: |
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2000-04 |
| ISBN: |
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014118146X |
| Publisher: |
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Penguin |
| Weight: |
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0.35 pounds |
| Size: |
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4.8 x 7.4 x 0.63 inches |
Amazon prices: |
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| Previous givers: |
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3 Jason D (Australia), soffitta1 (United Kingdom), Jenny (Australia) |
| Previous moochers: |
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3 Delia (Australia), Cherrie (Netherlands), Bill W (USA: CA) |
| Wishlists: |
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| Description: |
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Product Description
Cuckoos lay eggs in other birds' nests. The clutch that was fathered on the quiet little village of Midwich, one night in September, proved to possess a monstrous will of its own. Imt promised to make the human race look as dated as the dinosaur.
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| Reviews: |
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soffitta1 (United Kingdom) (2010/02/09):
I am not a sci-fi fan, but when I saw this was on the 1001 list, I thought I'd give it ago.
The first person narrative really pulls you in from the first page, a recent arrival, with his wife, Janet, in the sleepy village of Midwich. On the evening of the 27 September, the village suffers a "dayout", with everyone within a certain distance, as well as animals, falling into unconsciousness. Not long after, all women of a child-bearing age find themselves pregnant, causing panic, especially with the unmarried women. When the children are born, they are strange, all from the same pod with yellow eyes and strange skin.
Not wanting to give to much away, yes this is a sci-fi book of the enemy, or should I say the alien, within, but it also brings to light other issues. One is that as they are clearly not human, can the Children be bound by our moral code? This is an issue, which comes up when the Children feel threatened and act out aggressively in defence. Another is a look at how a village copes with a bomb delivered by the stork, marriages tested, especially when we see the book was written in 1957. One observation which made me giggle was that according to one of the characters, the Brits and the Americans react differently to the idea of an alien invasion, the former with sceptism and the latter running for the coast!
Although it is clear that the book was written in the '50s from the language and the snapshot of post-war British life, it is still a good book to read now. I suppose the accurate depictions of the village and the characters give it a reality that makes me, as a non-sci-fi fan, really enjoy it.
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| URL: |
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http://bookmooch.com/014118146X |
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