Inverted World by Christopher Priest

Synopsis

A uniquely powerful novel of a society in decay. On a planet whose very nature is a mystery a massive decrepit city is pulled along a massive railway track, laying the line down before it as it progresses into the wilderness. The society within toils under an oppressive regime, its structures always on the point of collapse, the lives of its individuals lived in misery. No one knows where they are going, why they are going or what they will find when they get there.

What Did We Think?

Christopher Priest's Inverted World (1974) delighted the majority of our book club members. It was considered to be, on the whole, beautifully crafted although the structure of the novel did cause some debate, oscillating as it does not just between focal characters but also through first and third-person perspectives. Some readers found this a peculiar and seemingly unnecessary added confusion whilst others found it to be a jolt against complacency and thus a form of hint at the novel's twist ending. There was a practical element too, it was widely agreed that the second section of the novel would not have been half as effective, or indeed affective, had it been in the first person. One reason for this is the emotional detachment which third-person narration allows: our protagonist, Helward Mann, couldn't understand what was happening him as he travelled south 'down past' and a first-person narration would have had to replicate his confusion and bewilderment, making the task of understanding this crucial episode far harder for the reader during this "journey through faerie". In addition, a third-person narration allowed the numerous sex scenes in this part of the novel to avoid falling into the realms of erotica.

The sexual content of the book was another focus for the group. The motivations of the women as they become seemingly more and more sexually promiscuous were unclear. Whilst we acknowledged that Helward had different moral and emotional boundaries to us due to his very different upbringing, this element of the novel, dubbed a "sexcapade" was largely seen as peculiar and mostly unnecessary. Certainly it did nothing to advance the plot other than provide something for Helward to do on his journey south. In many ways the fact these scenes were not intended to be titillating - as so many similar sections might be in lesser sf fare - made their inclusion all the more confusing.

Criticism of the sex scenes should not be taken as criticism of the gender roles in Inverted World. On the whole Priest does a brilliant job of providing interesting and faceted female characters who prove crucial in driving the plot. Indeed, Victoria and Elizabeth prove to be far more important characters in the novel than Helward in that they are the driving forces behind the plot whilst Helward is simply the catalyst who brings them all together.

Overall, Inverted World was seen as being a novel which despite its age felt fresh and modern. It was enjoyable and absorbing despite, or perhaps because of, being at times remarkably complex. A worthy Masterwork.

Votes were as follows: 7 (in absentia), 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 9.