What do you do when your child is going through a phase of talking to himself or possibly an imaginary friend? Or – gasp – what if there is an actual voice inside his head?
On the surface, 12-year old Matthew has the appearance of an average boy. There is just one thing. Matthew has been observed talking to himself. And not just about normal boy’s stuff, but about questions, which are way beyond his normal sphere of interests and abstraction level.
Gradually, it is revealed what is behind all this. But Chocky is by no means a suspense read. A large part of the story revolves around how Matthew’s surroundings react to his unusual behaviour, including his parents, the media and society in general.
Chocky is novella length and written in a simple style, which mimics children’s fiction. And yet, in these 154 pages Wyndham manages to tell a gripping, thought-provoking and entertaining story.
Like in other of his novels, Wyndham conveys his messages and provides food for thought in a way that you hardly notice it, because it is such an integral part of the story and it doesn’t normally get preachy. The themes discussed in Chocky include:
Conformity to norms & expectations; the unusual is always bad.
The themes of norms and normality flow through the entire story. We first meet it, when Matthew’s father, David, talks about the strong pressure they felt to produce a baby after they had married, because ‘that is what you do’. David wonders how much of his wife’s urge to have a baby comes from herself rather than from norms and expectations.
The present issue of Matthew talking to the voice in his head is bad, because it doesn’t conform to normality. Matthew seems to cope well with life and actually his ‘special feature’ helps him on several occasions. But it is not normal, ergo it is not good. One cannot help to wonder about, where to draw the line. By all accounts many of the biggest artists and creators through time were beyond, what may be considered normal by today’s standards.
Like all parents she is dichotomous, what she really wants is a child genius who is perfectly normal.
Our preconceptions about alien life
Are foreigners (i.e. the unknown) always a threat? Is it a natural instinct in humans to believe foreigners from unknown regions are an enemy? And we find it difficult, bordering to impossible, to believe they have come here to help? Well, given our history of warfare and invasions, perhaps that is completely rational, but it does make you think.
On a smaller scale, is it easier to truly know a biological child compared to an adopted one, because the former presumably has some of traits from the parents? And is the biological child therefore better?
Some babies confer a little more equality than other babies.
Utilisation of energy resources
The unsustainable use of limited energy resources on earth turns out to be one of the key themes of the story. That aspect of the story is as relevant as ever today.
The significance of intelligent life in the universe
I love to ponder on philosophical questions like the meaning of life, the universe, etc. John Wyndham throws in quite a few treats in the closing chapters of Chocky. My favourite is:
Intelligent life is the only thing that gives meaning to the universe.
That is a great one. With some similarities to the classic, does a chair exist if nobody is there to observe it? Does the universe make any sense if no intelligent life is around to wonder about it?
I enjoyed Chocky immensely, however, one small criticism were the female characters. There weren’t too many of them, but Matthew’s sister, mother and aunt were all ignorant, unreasonable and unlikable to various extents. I am not sure this reflects Wyndham’s general view of women, but I did wonder.
Still, four big stars to Chocky. And thanks to Nicki from The Secret Library Book Blog for recommending.
Title: Chocky [1968]
Author: John Wyndham
Format: Audiobook, narrated by Daniel Weyman
Genre: Science Fiction
How unusual and yet completely engaging this one sounds! I think I’d enjoy it, too! I missed Nicki’s review somehow so am grateful to see your lovely review to put this one on my radar!
Yes, it was quite unusual, but I’ve read a couple of books from this author and they have all been unique (and very good) as well. I think you might enjoy this one! 🙂
I haven’t read this particular Wyndham yet but I definitely plan to! It’s a shame to hear he doesn’t handle the female characters very well. I didn’t find that was the case in a couple of his other works, so hopefully that was just a blip here, and doesn’t prove characteristic of his writing. Great review!
No, you are right! I’ve read a couple of Wyndham books and I didn’t find the female characters there particularly ignorant or annoying. Josella in The Day of the Triffids wasn’t the most interesting protagonist and (as I remember it) she was a bit of a ‘come and save me’ girl in the beginning. But later on she rose to the occasion. Thanks! 🙂
Brilliant review! So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the shout out!
You are welcome! I am so glad, you mentioned it was available via the library app (actually, I don’t think it is available anymore) otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up!
I loved Wyndhams books when I read them many years ago; they are among the very few books I’ve held on to from past decades. But Chocky was not one of my favourites. Reading your review makes me want to read it again and see what I clearly missed first time around :-).
Chocky isn’t my favourite Wyndham either, but nevertheless, I enjoyed it very much. Compared to the other Wyndham novels, I’ve read, Chocky is very quiet and domestic. Everything revolves around the family and how they deal with the situation. But actually, I found that quite nice, in a way it made it a bit more realistic.
For a novella, this had some pretty weighty themes explored. Excellent review, Stargazer💜
Yes, it certainly did and it was even entertaining at the same time 🙂 . Thanks so much!
I loved this one but it’s clearly time for a re-read since you brought up aspects I either didn’t notice or have forgotten – like the question of finite resources. It’s odd about the women because I remember thinking that Wyndham’s women in The Day of the Triffids were pretty modern feeling and resourceful for women in sci-fi books written by men in that era. I enjoyed seeing the parents trying to work out how best to handle Matthew’s problem, and I thought Wyndham raised some intersting questions about how we bring up our children. I wonder what the friend would think of today’s parenting…
Of course, you are right, it was a different era when this book was written. It doesn’t change the fact, that I found the women somewhat annoying. But since I haven’t felt like that with the other Wyndham books, I’ve read, I suppose it could be a coincidence. Yeah, I thought the discussions of bringing up children and what is really in the best interest of the child (rather than the parents) were really interesting.
This sounds like a gripping read.I’m sure i talked to myself as a kid but I don’t recall hearing voices in my head. That must be pretty scary. Great post!
Haha, I’m sure lots of kids talk to themselves occasionally. But probably not about the difference between arithmetics in the binary and decimal number systems or about specifying earth’s location in the universe without a common reference point. Anyway, it was a great story! Thanks 😀
I love Wyndham. Really great review. Thank you.
So do I! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I really enjoyed this book! thank you for the advice 😀
You’re welcome! 😀 Thanks for stopping by.
Unfortunate to hear about the portrayal of women in this one. It sure does sound like there was no intention to put forth a woman that doesn’t rub off as a good-for-nothing! 🙁 Great review nonetheless. Love the existential questions that it had you pondering on about! 😀
It wasn’t a big deal with the women, but it would have been nice if just one of the female characters had been sympathetic or just more nuanced. Haha, yes, that part was good fun!