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mikimeiko's review against another edition
2.0
Bah.
Non so se dare la colpa all'ingenuità degli anni 50, alla traduzione o allo scrittore, ma non mi capitava di voler prendere a pugni in faccia dei personaggi di libri da parecchio tempo. Una stupidità dilagante.
Non so se dare la colpa all'ingenuità degli anni 50, alla traduzione o allo scrittore, ma non mi capitava di voler prendere a pugni in faccia dei personaggi di libri da parecchio tempo. Una stupidità dilagante.
perilous1's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars
I felt like this 1956 neo-classic was something I owed to my sci-fi fascination to make sure I experienced. I don’t regret it—though I did find it surprisingly more psychological than science fiction. The pacing is well measured, and the steady buildup of trepidation toward the finale gives it an almost horror feel. It is told entirely in the past-tense, first-person POV of Dr. Miles Bennell, a 28-year-old divorcee and general practitioner in a rural town somewhere in northern California.
I think this paragraph gives a decent impression of both Miles, and the prose itself:
“I saw my father’s wooden filing cabinet, his framed diplomas stacked on top of it, just as they’d been brought from his office. In that cabinet lay records of the colds, cut fingers, cancers, broken bones, mumps, diphtheria, births and deaths of a large part of Mill Valley for over two generations. Half the patients listed in those files were dead now, the wounds and tissue my father had treated only dust.”
The author doesn’t try too hard with any scientific explanations. Which is good, because it would likely have detracted from the what-it-means-to-be-human focus. What does attempt to be explained gets a bit boggy, and the effect isn’t entirely satisfactory. (This might be a bit disappointing for anyone hoping for much by way of plausibility.) What we have here is a story wedged somewhere between eerie and campy.
One of the biggest disappointments is Becky Driscoll, former high school sweetheart and new love interest to Mile Bennell. Becky is about as one-dimensional and prop-like as they come. Which I suppose shouldn’t be a huge surprise in terms of standard female portrayal in the mid-1950s. I’m already forgetting her personality, because there wasn’t much there to begin with. The only word I can come up with to describe her is a screamingly bland “nice,” and the only words that Miles uses to describe her all seem to involve the physical attributes he finds most appealing.
Still, the tension became incredibly absorbing at the point where Miles is trying to find help and convince people of the strangeness he’s observed. The confusion and self-doubt are palpable, and the disbelief so understandable yet frustrating. It made me wonder how I might try to accomplish the same thing with any more floundering success than the story’s protagonists… and how much I’d be forced to question my own sanity.
Not exactly spellbinding in terms of characterization, but definitely worth a read.
I felt like this 1956 neo-classic was something I owed to my sci-fi fascination to make sure I experienced. I don’t regret it—though I did find it surprisingly more psychological than science fiction. The pacing is well measured, and the steady buildup of trepidation toward the finale gives it an almost horror feel. It is told entirely in the past-tense, first-person POV of Dr. Miles Bennell, a 28-year-old divorcee and general practitioner in a rural town somewhere in northern California.
I think this paragraph gives a decent impression of both Miles, and the prose itself:
“I saw my father’s wooden filing cabinet, his framed diplomas stacked on top of it, just as they’d been brought from his office. In that cabinet lay records of the colds, cut fingers, cancers, broken bones, mumps, diphtheria, births and deaths of a large part of Mill Valley for over two generations. Half the patients listed in those files were dead now, the wounds and tissue my father had treated only dust.”
The author doesn’t try too hard with any scientific explanations. Which is good, because it would likely have detracted from the what-it-means-to-be-human focus. What does attempt to be explained gets a bit boggy, and the effect isn’t entirely satisfactory. (This might be a bit disappointing for anyone hoping for much by way of plausibility.) What we have here is a story wedged somewhere between eerie and campy.
One of the biggest disappointments is Becky Driscoll, former high school sweetheart and new love interest to Mile Bennell. Becky is about as one-dimensional and prop-like as they come. Which I suppose shouldn’t be a huge surprise in terms of standard female portrayal in the mid-1950s. I’m already forgetting her personality, because there wasn’t much there to begin with. The only word I can come up with to describe her is a screamingly bland “nice,” and the only words that Miles uses to describe her all seem to involve the physical attributes he finds most appealing.
Still, the tension became incredibly absorbing at the point where Miles is trying to find help and convince people of the strangeness he’s observed. The confusion and self-doubt are palpable, and the disbelief so understandable yet frustrating. It made me wonder how I might try to accomplish the same thing with any more floundering success than the story’s protagonists… and how much I’d be forced to question my own sanity.
Not exactly spellbinding in terms of characterization, but definitely worth a read.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. Felt rather meh about this novel, felt to short to properly sink my teeth into and didn't really care for the characters or the dynamic, and the aliens wasn't very interesting. I'm not sure if it being written in the 50's is part of the issue or not. Haven't read nearly enough sci-fi classics to know. Need to try something else
madmissmedic's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
pugslikemybooks's review against another edition
4.0
this was lowkey pretty fun, i liked it. very obviously written by a man in the 50s, but still fun.
abrittlebee's review against another edition
2.0
despite being a classic, for me, this book was incredibly forgettable. a very linear and predictable plot. the "antagonists," weren't especially interesting, and were rather unmotivated far beyond their phlegmatical nature
jellogirl2010's review against another edition
4.0
This first came across my radar after I watched the movie with Donald Sutherland in January/February. I heard there were differences between the novella and film, so I decided to read it and see how they compared.
I haven't read a lot of sci-fi over the last 25 years, so I can't speak to it's standing in the genre and I definitely cannot tell you if I liked the book better than the movie. But it was a solid story that I enjoyed, it took me a little while to get through but it was by no means boring, I was just distracted. When I wasn't reading it - I was thinking about picking it up and finishing it.
I liked the more hopeful ending as opposed to the one in the Donald Sutherland movie, even though that was shocking and one of the best twists I've seen in a film.
I don't have any complaints about this at all. Would reccomend.
I haven't read a lot of sci-fi over the last 25 years, so I can't speak to it's standing in the genre and I definitely cannot tell you if I liked the book better than the movie. But it was a solid story that I enjoyed, it took me a little while to get through but it was by no means boring, I was just distracted. When I wasn't reading it - I was thinking about picking it up and finishing it.
I liked the more hopeful ending as opposed to the one in the Donald Sutherland movie, even though that was shocking and one of the best twists I've seen in a film.
I don't have any complaints about this at all. Would reccomend.
tasharobinson's review against another edition
4.0
I've seen so many body-snatchers movies, but I'd never read the original book until now. It's worth the time. It's a quick read, and a quaint one, very much of its time, with its look at 1950s small-town America, where a single doctor can cover all the people in town, but is expected to be available for housecalls 24/7, and where everyone essentially knows each other. There are so many really smart symbols going on here, as a few people realize their beloved little town is changing into something they don't recognize: fear of the other, fear of change, fear of isolation, fear of growing up. It's a terrific little story, and possibly the only body-snatchers story in this particular vein that I've encountered that has a happy ending, or even implies that there can be one. Though I never realized how closely Stephen King's The Tommyknockers followed this book, right up to the ending itself.