THE INTERPRETER, A NOVEL BY BRIAN ALDISS (BOOK REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION)

 Hi there! Today I'll review The Interpreter, a novel by Brian Aldiss. Published in 1960, this science fiction novel examines a future that's not too optimistic. While some authors believed that a contact with aliens will save us, others like Stanislaw Lem and brothers Strugatsky were not so optimistic. This novel was one of my summer readers. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I expected. I would recommend it, but mostly to fans of this writer. Scroll down to read my full review. 

THE INTERPRETER, A NOVEL BY BRIAN ALDISS 3/5

The human kind has been colonized and exploited by an alien race. This alien race goes under the name of Nul.  In fact an alternative title for this novel is Bow Down to Nul.  Nuls are efficient and cold, not cruel by temperament but prone to looking down on everyone. They believe in their own superiority and back by a long rule, there's little to oppose their beliefs.

Colonization is one of the major topics in this novel. The Interpreter is said to be the mirror of British Imperialism. However, the tables here are turned. The entire planet Earth is a colony. Not just planet Earth, but a large part of known space. There's some wonderful humour to be found in this book. I also quite liked the concept of humans falling into their own trap.

You see, Nuls don't just come and take planet Earth by force. They  are huge but they fight with diplomacy, not brute force. Nuls just show up and humans are more than happy to beg to be admitted into their Empire. Human leaders, blinded by greed, hurry the admission of Earth into this Nul Empire. How familiar that sounds!

The main character is an interpreter Gary. He's a human man who works for the alien race. Like everyone else, it's something he's forced to do. Gary occupies a high position  (Chief Interpreter) so he is not well liked by other people, who are not aware of the fact he also works for the resistance. He fancies this girl Elizabeth, but she gives him the cold shoulder at first.

The character development in this novel wasn't impressive. One doesn't really have the feeling one has gotten to know the characters. At times, the novel felt like a script. We were left to imagine everything for ourselves. For example, there were a few touching moments between Gary and Elizabeth (his love interest) but without character development, it's hard to buy their love story.

The plot simply isn't well written. It drags at times and fails to enchant the reader. It doesn't seem like the writer put that much thought into it, honestly. The ending contained a wonderful ironical twist, but on overall it felt a bit slow and predictive.

What saves this novel is a pretty cool concept, wonderfully fresh ideas and a refreshingly ironical sense of humour. For these things alone, it's worth reading! I do recommend it to those who aren't too picky about predictable plots. The Interpreter is definitely not one of Aldiss' best works, but it's still quite an interesting read.

LOCATION MOSTAR

WHAT ELSE HAVE I READ FROM BRIAN ALDISS?

HOTHOUSE, A NOVEL BY BRIAN ALDISS

Hothouse is set in future. Far, far away kind of future- with practically no ties with our civilization as we know it. Here are some facts about this new world that bears almost no resemblance to our own. The Earth has stopped rotating a while back hence life on Earth is now very different from our own. The sun has been growing and growing, until it has grown enormous. So, as the Sun approaches its natural end, the life on Earth is mostly plant life engaged in a crazy frenzy of eating and being eaten, speedy growth and decay, something like a tropical forest on steroids. It’s a jungle of the wildest sort and the writer does a great job describing it. Is there a place for us in this crazy place?

THE BOOK OF BRIAN ALDISS 4/5

Aldiss is a wonderful author, he really is. His writing style often makes me think of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. I wonder is there a cultural reason why some readers can't get into Aldiss' writing.  I honestly don't know why this collection doesn't get more love. It is a great collection of science fiction stories, but it doesn't seem that well known.  Sure, it is a bit dark in its humour, but that is what Brits do best, isn't it?  As I already said, this book is a fine collection of SF stories and novelettes. However, it is worth pointing out that the stories and the novelettes are very different in tone and style of writing. Consequently, the book feels quite unbalanced. Maybe that is it (I mean the reason why this book isn't that widely read)? The stories seem to be a bit randomly collected-I think they were selected by the author himself but following what criteria, I cannot tell. Not that I mind that much, honestly. Not all editions of short stories need to be organized by style or set in similar worlds. However, this makes reviewing the book a bit of a challenge.  Visit my old post (link at top) to read a separate review for each short story. There are in total nine stories in this collection: Comic Inferno , The Underprivileged , Cardiac Arrest, In the Arena, All the World's Tears, Amen and Out, Soft Predicament, As for Our Fatal Continuity and Send Her Victorious and they differ both in style and length. 

DID YOU KNOW THAT TOLKIEN PRAISED HOTHOUSE? HE SENT NOT ONE BUT TWO LETTERS TO ALDISS, PRAISING HOTHOUSE!

10 MORE DYSTOPIAN READING IDEAS HERE!

 1) WE BY YEVGENIY ZAMYATIN 

2)  1984  BY GEORGE ORWELL

3) THE HANDMAID'S TALE BY MARGARET ATWOOD

4) FAHRENHEIT 451 BY RAY BRADBURY

5) BRAVE NEW WORLD BY ALDOUS HUXLEY

6) A CLOCKWORK ORANGE BY ANTHONY BURGESS

7) DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? BY PHILIP K. DICK

8) PLAYER PIANO BY KURT VONNEGUT 

9) NEUROMANCER BY WILLIAM GIBSON

10) THE DISPOSSESSED BY URSULA LE GUIN

Thank you for reading. Take care!