The Man Who Fell to Earth
Ratings41
Average rating4
Man, I do love me a good character driven story that makes me feel things.
So Newton is an alien, sent to Earth to save his race. He arrives, immediately blends in, and starts laying the groundwork for an epic undertaking to send a ship to his planet and save the rest of them. Only, somewhere along the way, while pretending to be human, the lines blur. And while Newton tries to keep his alien eyes on his goal, even the best men, alien and human alike, can fall.
I really found the idea of a representative from a super advanced alien race falling victim to very human vices both compelling and sad. To be up front, not a lot happens in this book at all. There's criticisms here about all Newton doing is drinking and making money, and all of that is very true, but it's also the point of the story. The writing is sparse but compelling, and I really felt drawn into this story of Newton's rise and fall. The ending, especially, had me feeling things I wasn't expecting when going into a classic sci-fi book.
Just a really good read that will stick with me, I think. There's apparently a movie out there that I plan on watching when I get the chance.
Set in 1985 (22 years from the publication in 1963), the main action of “The Man Who Fell To Earth” is 40 years in the past from my current day 2025. I'd love to talk to someone who read this book closer to publication before actually living through 1985 and subsequent times. How ground-breaking did they find Tevis' vision of the future, where we still have elevator operators and gain a six-hour workday and a Cuban space program.
Changing the point of works well in a sci-fi novel because it adds to the suspense and gives the author a lot of room to maneuver. Tevis changes viewpoints every few chapters and sometimes the author forgets to stay in character. For example, in Chapter 8, Betty Jo, Newton's companion and housekeeper, starts off with a wonderfully accurate Southern twang and then switches to non-idiomatic English for most of her chapter; the reader loses most of her personality and charm.
The book seems to be more of a commentary or allegory on how isolated people are in modern America. And how bureaucracy is blind to the humans (and aliens) under its umbrella. While there are a few references to life on Anthea and physical differences between Antheans and Earthlings, the novel mostly avoids world-building Anthea. Perhaps that's why the main characters are constant fixing or having a drink, as a way to deaden the pain of how alone they feel. Or perhaps the excessive references stem from the author's then alcohol addiction (Tevis didn't publish another book for 17 years after TMWFTE). There were sections of the second Part that I found hazy and nearly incomprehensible (not sure if that was on purpose or not).
I'm not sure I would have read the book if I hadn't recently enjoyed the very well-done 2022 TV series. The show riffs on the ideas in “The Man Who Fell To Earth” and moves the action to the 2020s with Thomas J Newton still alive. The book (and, likely, the 1976 movie version starring David Bowie) act as a prequel for those who are introduced to the story via the recent series.
This was my second Walter Tevis book. I found it quite different to The Queens Gambit it was certainly no less enjoyable. I found it very moving, emotional and thought provoking. I look forward to read more of Tevis' books. Highly recommended.
An intriguing if ultimately extremely pessimistic view on the human condition. The idea of an alien coming to earth and using their superior technology as a patent farm to raise funding is an intriguing one. Innovation and technology are an important area of the sci-fi genre and this is a good example of the near future part of that genre. The technologies are fascinatingly realised, believable in their conception. In this one however we see the fears and paranoias of humanity come to its fore, the tendency to lose oneself to ones vices. The premise of the corruption of human society is well done and intriguingly presented. Ultimately humanity is projected onto the alien and some of the worst aspects of it end up being imprinted.
Clever and cerebral sci-fi, definitely worth a read!
Walter Tevis schreibt nicht nur Bücher über Schachspielende Damen, sondern auch Science Fiction. Scheinbar sogar hauptsächlich. Das hier war mein erster Tevis. Hat mich aber mit gemischten Gefühlen zurück gelassen.
Kann dieses Buch schwer beurteilen. Die Hauptfigur war unsympathisch, manche Handlung nicht nachvollziehbar. Aber dennoch liest es sich flüssig. Liegt wohl auch daran dass es auch verdammt kurz ist.
Die Welt der 80er aus der Sicht der 60er ist vermutlich eher dem Retro Futurismus zuzuordnen. Aber von der Welt bekommt man gar nicht soviel mit, leider.
Beizeiten werde ich mir dann Mal den Film mit David Bowie anschauen.
Alles in allem: 3,5/5 .... Oder 7/10.
In 1963 Walter Tevis correctly predicted that human beings would indeed turn out to be hideous scumbags, breaking and ruining everything in their path. Devastatingly sad.
