With “Inverted World” British science fiction writer Christopher Priest has written a work that is beautiful, powerful and profound. These are the words of critic, scholar and science fiction writer Adam Roberts. Equally important, at least for me as someone unacquainted with science fiction, is that Mr. Priest has written an accessible and enjoyable novel. And part of the enjoyment was having my imagination challenged and expanded -- I felt like I do after finishing a rigorous workout, only, in this case, my mind had the workout. Honestly, what a book, one I recommend especially for readers who do not usually read science fiction. More specifically, here are several call-outs:NARRATIVE VARIATIONThe novel is divided into five parts, alternating back and forth between first-person and third-person – our first-person narrator is main character Helward Mann, a newly initiated apprentice guildsman of the city. Helward is pitch perfect as narrator since, in a very real sense, his story is the city’s story. Third-person part two and four underscore and clarify the challenges facing Helward and his city. A most effective narrative devise to drive the story and draw us into its unfolding drama.PACE OF A MEDIEVAL-LIKE CITYAlthough science fiction in that the city is of a future time and must continually move by way of a system of tracks, cables and wenches toward an ideal point termed ‘optimum’, pacing of the day-to-day activities of the city are much akin to a city in 12th century Europe. Matter of fact, compared to the high octane writing of Philip K. Dick, ‘Inverted World’ reads like science fiction in slow motion, which is exactly the appropriate speed to make this story accessible, especially for those of us who ordinarily do not read science fiction.MEDIEVAL-LIKE GUILDSThe workings of the guild system was founded by the city’s founder, one Destaine. The guilds involve the specifics of surveying, laying of tracks, bridge building, securing cables and winching – all of the nitty-gritty of enabling the city to continue moving north. The guilds are exclusive and regimented and central to the overall government of the city. And the guildsmen take their guilds seriously, very seriously. All members have the mindset and work ethic comparable to members of those esteemed medieval guilds.CONFLICT OF SOCIETIESBut, alas, the inhabitants of the moving city are not alone. There are hostile, half-starving tribes in the lands outside the city. And to add further complication, the city engineers need men from these various tribes to contribute to the heavy, backbreaking work involved in clearing land and laying track. And even more complication: the city must barter for the services of the tribeswomen. A nasty business to be sure.JOLT OF THE WEIRDSo, we as readers join Helward moving along at the slow, methodical speed of medieval-like time for the entire first half of the novel. Then it happens: the jolt of the weird. I wouldn’t want to say anything more specific here but let me assure you, as a reader you will be every bit as shocked and jolted as Helward. Such is the high quality of Christopher Priest’s writing. At this point and beyond, the plot thickens, warps and bends.PHILOSOPHY OF PERCEPTIONWe are familiar with George Barkley’s “To be is to be perceived.” Well, on one level “Inverse World” is a meditation on perception within the science of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Would we be upset and disoriented if we realized the way we have been perceiving the world and the physical objects contained within – the sun, the directions of north, south, east, west, the size and shape of those around us -- is completely false? You bet we would. Welcome to the bending space of an inverse world that plays with our mind.MATHEMATICS AND MODERN SCIENCEEven a non-scientist like myself can see the author includes enough math and science to keep nearly everyone with a background in science both challenged and engaged. As a for instance, here’s a reflection from an outsider to the city: “In time a kind of logical pattern appeared . . . but there was one ineradicable flaw in everything. The hypothesis by which the city and its people existed was that the world on which they lived was somehow inverted. Not only the world, but all the physical objects in the universe in which that world was supposed to exist. The shape that Destaine drew – a solid world, curved north and south in the shape of hyperbolas – was the approximation they used, and it correlated indeed with the strange shape that Helward had drawn to depict the sun.”BREAKTHROUGH OF THE ETERNALAt one point well into the tale, Helward reflects, “I did my guild work as quickly as possible, then rode off alone through the future countryside, sketching what I saw, trying to find in line drawing some expression of a terrain where time could almost stand still.” In a way, this is remarkable since the mindset of the inhabitants of the city, including the guildsmen, is totally practical – every drop of ingenuity and effort is geared to sheer, brute material survival. Within the city walls there is no reference to religion, philosophy, literature or the arts – to put it bluntly, these people lack a spiritual and aesthetic dimension. Yet, remarkably, through a stroke of artistic creativity, Helward touches the realm of the eternal, which is perhaps a consequence of being set free from the pull of the city. One theme worth keeping in mind.SOBER CITYThe people of the city deal with life without powerful drugs, hallucinogenic or otherwise. They are a sober lot, not even beer or wine. No Dionysian frenzy; no dancing; not even the singing of songs within the city walls. In this sense, very different from our own world. However there are a number of challenges and problems the people and the city face that will have a most familiar ring. But this book is much, much more than simply social and cultural commentary. Christopher Priest has written a work of extraordinary vision, one to expand your mind and hone your imagination, and even if you become slightly warped in the process, exercising your grey matter will be well worth the effort.This New York Review Book (NYRB) classic contains an informative Afterward written by John Clute, providing historical and social context for Priest’s writing. This edition also has a nifty, eye-catching cover sculpture by artist/futuristic designer, Lebbeus Woods.(Special thanks to Goodreads friend Manny Rayner for clarifying for me the scientific ideas contained within this novel before I wrote my review).
I've enjoyed an ongoing debate for a few years with a friend about the role of characters in literature. My friend argues that great characterization is more than just a hallmark of great writing. According to him, it's kind of the whole point. I disagree. In the main he's right, but there are exceptions. Borges comes to mind immediately. And also this novel by Christopher PriestWhen I first read Inverted World some thirty years ago, it made a huge impression on me. It might make an impression on you, too, if you approach it as I did, which is to say: I was young and, well, impressionable. Also, I had no idea what the book was about. There were no back-cover blurbs to spoil the discoveries within. That's key, because the sense of mystery is one of the things I found most appealing.(Needless to say I won't reveal any such details here. Just go and read the book if you're curious. And I hope you are.)For thirty years I've recounted the basic premise of the book to people I knew were unlikely to ever read it. The fact that I could recall so many details for so long, while other books fade away, surely says something. Perhaps my friends were just humoring me, but nearly everyone to whom I've described the book has been intrigued if not astonished.Therefore it was with great relish that I returned to this book when it was selected by another member of my reading club. I also felt a little trepidation. What if it did not live up to my memories?To my delight, the book was just as I remembered it. It's a fascinatingly bizarre story. While there are people in it, I don't think anyone would call them "great characters." The building of another world is the main thing.It was just as I remembered it — up to a point. About three-quarters of the way through, I encountered developments which I had entirely forgotten. Significant events from the latter part of the story had simply evaporated from my recollection. I was also surprised to see how the mysteries of the book were resolved in a rather satisfying fashion. I'd forgotten that they were resolved at all. The story in my mind was one of insoluble weirdness. I remembered the final image more or less correctly, but the details of the last quarter were mostly forgotten.This edition includes a splendid afterword by John Clute. (How fortunate the editors had the wisdom to put this essay at the end rather than the beginning.) As Clute points out, the structure of the novel adheres closely to certain genre conventions — up to a point. It's precisely at that point at which the narrative begins to subvert (and invert) conventional expectations that my teenage memory failed. In other words, I read and understood the book on a very basic level when I was younger. The wonder and the strangeness of the basic premise are what stuck with my youthful imagination. The subtleties of how Priest turns the heroic structure in on itself were lost on me then, simply discarded, but it gave me something to appreciate as an adult.Now that I've gotten the whole of Inverted World inside my head, I can spin it on its axis, regard it from different angles, and aver that it is indeed a thing of weirdly elegant beauty.
What do You think about The Inverted World (1974)?
Though my knowledge of SF is obviously nearly less than zero – surpassed only on the downside by my understanding of science in general, I’m going to hazard a few thoughts about what seems (from my point of view, at least) to be wrong with this genre.Browsing today through the Sci-fi lists of some of the GR people I follow, I’m stunned to see that even those who are big, BIG readers of this genre think most of the books that they’ve read are, basically..., crap (or mediocre, anyway – two and three stars abound). That’s DEFINITELY not a good sign….I think the problem is two-fold. First of all, SF – *good* SF – must be incredibly hard to write. It requires that one be a good writer, obviously – no, an excellent writer – and be able, of course, to develop wonderful plots and characters…, and ALSO have the imaginative genius of a Nabokov… (otherwise, all the fantastical material comes off, as it often does, as merely contrived)…; well, ALMOST Nabokovian, since a REAL Nabokov would be producing literature, and not genre.On the other hand, there’s a huge appetite for SF; …hence, a supply-demand imbalance…. In other words, a lot more SF, than there are brilliant writers around… Moreover – this appetite comes heavily from that part of the brain that’s (still) a 12-year old boy (when a lot of these GR reviewers admit they read this-or-that book which they say they loved so much….). This creates a problem for someone approaching this genre in maturity and without any baggage.Also – a lot of this stuff is simply written too quickly – people writing 20, 30 books in a career shows a certainly carelessness… That sloppy use of phony-sounding names that I keep harping (let’s take anything that pops into our head approach) is a sign of this…My guess is that a lot of the best SF probably comes in the form of short stories, rather than novels, where the shorter format is probably better able to sustain the reach that’s necessary… So maybe I should try to focus more on those.Anyway – this may all be completely wrong.... So I reserve the right to look unashamedly stupid here six months from now…And that said – this PARTICULAR book just knocked me out – flat-out loved it.
—AC
I read this in 1981 - and thinking back so many years, I realise that it was the book that kindled my love for physics based science-fiction, and how we might have to adapt if we lived under different laws of physics. It is a gem, and has hardly aged after so many years. The protagonists are well rounded, their society well portrayed, and the extrapolation of the implications of a different physics have been carefully thought through. It is obvious that this is a work that was several years in gestation and not hurridly dashed down on paper - Priest says in the afterword that he wrestled with teh concepts for eight years, and discussed them with mnay of his friends.It is a classic, a must for any serious science fiction connoisseur.
—Andrea
Ever had that feeling of the world moving beneath your feet? Perhaps it's more than just a feeling. Or perhaps not.... My brain has been boggled all the way through this. Just when I thought I had it figured out, he throws in another shocker. It is just so, so good. It's a wonderful dystopia mixed with a kind of pyscadelic Victorian thought experiment piece of fiction, mixed with bizarre sci fi... and it makes for such engaging and page-turning reading. The main focus of this book is a "city" on wheels, which is being continuously dragged through wastelands. It's got to keep moving to keep up with the optimum, and if it falls too far behind, this gravity pressure is going to get it. Most of the residents don't really know about the outside world and the situation the city is in. That side of thing is looked after by a men-only guild; a lot of which seems to be hereditory. The constant movement is so important that time is not measured in days and years, but in miles. You first meet the main character by him telling you how many miles old he is. I keep thinking this is all a lot of commentary and parody on rural v. city living, class warfare, repression of women, religion and blind faith and the whole of the human experience bundled up into one story. And the main character's name is Helward Mann. Just say that name out loud to yourself. If that's not trying to say something, I don't know what is.
—Ape
