Chocky: One Day’s Read
Posted by turquoisefloyd on July 10, 2004
I read Chocky in a day. Under a day. Less than 24 hours, but not much more than 12. I had to work for part of that time and I stole half an hour to read more, which was wicked of me, I know.
(Work’s not exactly stimulating)
(But John Wyndham is)
There was a gentleness, an innocence to this novel (novella?) that you simply do not see in modern fiction. Society today, the ‘we’ve been there, we’ve seen it all and we came back with a film full of photos and a crummy t-shirt’ generation that sits back in our wicker chairs on the veranda and says “Meh. Done that.”‘ That generation. There was no malevolence, there was no real fear… well not for me anyway. Chocky was just an enquiring mind from far away, with a childlike need to learn more about this world. She never meant any harm and I never perceived her as meaning harm, either.
If only the world could return to such times. I think we’d all be happier to less bothered with the pursuit of objects and trends, and more concerned with contentment and simpler things.
Later on, last night, I went back to Anna Karenina. But I tucked a bookmark in Day of the Triffids, ready to take it travelling…
