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harpweaving's review against another edition
4.0
I learned about this book in a NY Times article which described its genre as “cozy catastrophe” and thought “sign me up”. Originally published in 1939 and recently rereleased, it tells the story of a small British town preparing for an apocalypse (the moon has left its orbit and is gradually hurtling towards the Earth) in the most humdrum fashion possible, told through the eyes of a retired teacher and prize chicken breeder who is at turns outrageously petty and quietly heroic. There are many amusing parts but it’s ultimately a dark story about humanity’s — particularly the West’s — commitment to a fantasy about its own superiority even in the face of its certain annihilation. As in most apocalyptic tales, the survivors of the initial disaster are usually their own worst enemies.
dougb's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
flajol's review against another edition
4.0
A friend introduced me to Persephone Books a few weeks ago, and of course I was immediately drawn to the science-fiction and horror titles. [b:The Victorian Chaise-Longue|23452034|The Victorian Chaise-Longue|Marghanita Laski|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1414352351s/23452034.jpg|1152804] was OK- more creepy than frightening, but I loved 'The Hopkins Manuscript'.
As noted in Moorcock's introduction, Sherriff's book falls firmly within the same sphere as John Wyndham & HG Wells' works. I loved those stories as a teenager, along with John Christopher's books, and 'The Hopkins Manuscript' sits very comfortably alongside them.
Edgar Hopkins is such a self-important, fussy, and blinkered character, and it's a testament to Sherriff's skill that we still want him to survive and thrive, no matter how often he makes us cringe (or occasionally bellow in outrage at his awful attitudes towards those he deems beneath him).
Sherriff captured his characters so well, even through the lens of Hopkins' narrow view. I'll be seeking out his other novels, which means at least one more purchase from Persephone...
As noted in Moorcock's introduction, Sherriff's book falls firmly within the same sphere as John Wyndham & HG Wells' works. I loved those stories as a teenager, along with John Christopher's books, and 'The Hopkins Manuscript' sits very comfortably alongside them.
Edgar Hopkins is such a self-important, fussy, and blinkered character, and it's a testament to Sherriff's skill that we still want him to survive and thrive, no matter how often he makes us cringe (or occasionally bellow in outrage at his awful attitudes towards those he deems beneath him).
Sherriff captured his characters so well, even through the lens of Hopkins' narrow view. I'll be seeking out his other novels, which means at least one more purchase from Persephone...
slippy_underfoot's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating book. Written in the 30s, it purports to be the journal of a priggish, petty, Englishman detailing the years following a cataclysm which destroyed Europe. It is unearthed several hundred years later by the new, largely eastern civilisation, frustrated that the only surviving document is from such a small-minded, dull, man while also enjoying the end of European empire building and colonisation. Funny and dark.
_lj_'s review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
marriedtopages's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tom_f's review against another edition
5.0
After savouring this for as long as I could handle, I've finished it and, despite its comparatively unambitious narrative conclusion, I confirmed my initial impressions that this is an essential piece of British science fiction, of C20th sci-fi in general.
As entertainment it successfully blends the most recognisable qualities of its two most obvious generic labels, social satire and disaster sci-fi: its keen psychological sketches and moral arc are as classic as the pulpy panache of its eschatalogical foreshadowing. Though the initial appeal is seeing these literary worlds colliding, like the moon hurtling impossibly towards Beadle village, the way Sheriff quietly tesselates and interweaves them provides a more lasting pleasure. Above all, Hopkins' repeated commitments (whether stated plainly or by some amusing conceit) to tell the world's incredible story from his own perspective makes the novel's republication by Penguin in 2018 satisfyingly timely (see High Life, Ad Astra).
But its strongest and most consistent (though most twistingly variable) strength is the way it reflects backwards and forwards onto different questions of human experience. Its contemporary relevance in 1939 is Chaplinesque and undoubtedly haunting, but more unnerving are its echoes of climate change and even Brexit. The novel works as a grim warning about the capacity of individuals (and our nation), privileged through insulation against the world's slide towards boiling point, to overcome our parochialism, our outdated morality, our inability to hold personal responsibility in perspective, and our essential, misguided lack of compassion.
The novel's two faults dovetail in the conclusion, in which Robin's and Pat's natures as narrative functions rather than actual characters are revealed through the moralistic twist, which plays a frustratingly straight line. But even here the spectre of our colonialist past casts a long shadow onto the possible futures (Sheriff's and our own) of space exploration. In a final twist of the knife, Sheriff's own voice is swallowed up in this encroaching darkness alongside its protagonist.
It's like PG Wodehouse meets Kurt Vonnegut, or if Mike Leigh cast Hugh Bonneville in a remake of Melancholia. But it's also like Threads, Children of Men, Joseph Conrad and Franz Kafka, except its ambiguities are achieved through a levity not present in any of the above. Sheriff's touch is that of a master ironist: it casts early C20th provincial British life forwards into today while also eerily chiding us for our fundamental lack of progress.
A
As entertainment it successfully blends the most recognisable qualities of its two most obvious generic labels, social satire and disaster sci-fi: its keen psychological sketches and moral arc are as classic as the pulpy panache of its eschatalogical foreshadowing. Though the initial appeal is seeing these literary worlds colliding, like the moon hurtling impossibly towards Beadle village, the way Sheriff quietly tesselates and interweaves them provides a more lasting pleasure. Above all, Hopkins' repeated commitments (whether stated plainly or by some amusing conceit) to tell the world's incredible story from his own perspective makes the novel's republication by Penguin in 2018 satisfyingly timely (see High Life, Ad Astra).
But its strongest and most consistent (though most twistingly variable) strength is the way it reflects backwards and forwards onto different questions of human experience. Its contemporary relevance in 1939 is Chaplinesque and undoubtedly haunting, but more unnerving are its echoes of climate change and even Brexit. The novel works as a grim warning about the capacity of individuals (and our nation), privileged through insulation against the world's slide towards boiling point, to overcome our parochialism, our outdated morality, our inability to hold personal responsibility in perspective, and our essential, misguided lack of compassion.
The novel's two faults dovetail in the conclusion, in which Robin's and Pat's natures as narrative functions rather than actual characters are revealed through the moralistic twist, which plays a frustratingly straight line. But even here the spectre of our colonialist past casts a long shadow onto the possible futures (Sheriff's and our own) of space exploration. In a final twist of the knife, Sheriff's own voice is swallowed up in this encroaching darkness alongside its protagonist.
It's like PG Wodehouse meets Kurt Vonnegut, or if Mike Leigh cast Hugh Bonneville in a remake of Melancholia. But it's also like Threads, Children of Men, Joseph Conrad and Franz Kafka, except its ambiguities are achieved through a levity not present in any of the above. Sheriff's touch is that of a master ironist: it casts early C20th provincial British life forwards into today while also eerily chiding us for our fundamental lack of progress.
A
sfletcher26's review against another edition
3.0
The Hopkins Manuscript is an odd book, a 1930s political satire wrapped up in a science fiction story. Not a great novel but in some ways a clever companion piece to Sherriff's more well known work 'Journey's End'.
bookwormrj's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. I’m honestly surprised I hadn’t heard of this book before. Moving, tender, charming and so damn prescient for when it was written. Excellent stuff.