Title:
The War Of The Worlds
Author: H.G. Wells
ISBN: 0-14-102418-6
Published: Penguin
Date: 1898
1898, this was published. I had to keep
reminding myself while reading. It’s the first H.G. Wells book I’ve ever read,
and turns out to be a most curious mix of excitement, perspicacity and
sloppiness. Had me quite gripped to the last.
The ideas themselves are extraordinarily
beyond their time. This very fact, and the familiarity of the story (however
much altered in other adaptations) makes coming back to the original and
realising just how venerable it is even more of a jolt.
The writing, particularly in the first half
of the book, has a peculiar propensity to skip little scenes within action
sequences. Such as, we see a man heading away from a cart and crawling into a
ditch, and the next we see of him he’s back in the cart and riding away. Sometimes
it’s a little confusing, but mainly we can piece it together. The effect is one
of strobe lighting: frozen scenes at the height of the action where you have to
join the dots through blackness. In the context of the 19th century
diction it’s unexpected, to say the least.
The writing gives the impression of having
been put down at great speed, warming up towards the second half. In the first
portions there’s a larger percentage of word echo, as if the writer is almost
mimicking the everyday rhythms ongoing before the attack. Later on the
sentences become shorter, more disjointed, but more fluid at the same time.
This was an eye opener of a book and I’m
very glad I finally got round to reading it. Enjoyed every moment. Five
Moose-Hoofs up.
