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Penguin Essential Midwich Cuckoos John Wyndham Books

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Penguin Essential Midwich Cuckoos John Wyndham Books

If you grew up in the 50's and enjoyed movies, you may remember the quiet English village which mysteriously has a small population explosion which results in about 40 similar, yet cherubic, children who look strangely alike, and all seem to have strange, almost golden, eyes. That was the very popular "Village of the Damned," a 1960 British science fiction horror film. That film was based on John Wyndham's 1957 book "The Midwich Cuckoos." Wyndham's 1951 novel, "The Day of the Triffids" established him as a writer and his books as movie material.

"The Midwich Cuckoos" begins with Richard and Janet Gayford, who have spent the night of September 26 in London, returning home to the sleepy little village of Midwich the following day. Then, in ways that are difficult to pin down, the village seems changed. We soon realize that they, as were the main characters in the "The Day of the Triffids," were luckily spared due simply to chance. Here, most women regardless of age or marital status have become pregnant virtually over night. As the children rapidly grow, so too does their intellect and strange abilities or powers.

While Wyndham's writing is best classified as fantasy or science fiction, his themes embody so much more. Although the language is dated a bit and certainly "English" vocabulary rather than American, the power behind the story is strong. Still, "The Midwich Cuckoos" is a relatively easy read. While admittedly not quite as good as perhaps "The Day of the Triffids" or "The Chrysalids," plot and theme wise there is a lot more going on rather than just Sci Fi! If you enjoy Science Fiction and have never read Wyndham, you are missing a significant author and some excellent books. I strongly recommend "The Midwich Cuckoos" and his writings to you.


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Penguin Essential Midwich Cuckoos John Wyndham Books Reviews

The Midwich Cuckoos was a book that questioned what would happen if a superior humanoid race was to try to take over the world. Instead of the classic invasion with superior firepower, it was more insidious. A race of group thinking children were forced upon Midwich, a secluded and insular town, which could will people to do things they didn't want to. The main question was, could the people of Midwich kill the children, or would they survive if they didn't? One of the main characters, Zellaby, seemed to be the sounding board for those ethical choices. There wasn't a whole lot of plot, but mainly discussions into how to interpret the problem of the children.

It was worth reading for at least that question of survival, even if it was verbose and perhaps dated. There was a short section where Zellaby challenged the evolution of our species, but then the book was written before Lucy and many other discoveries were made. However long winded it could be, it was hard to put down, and I finished in two days.
John Wyndham's 1957 British science fiction novel has been the basis for three movies-- the (excellent) "Village of the Damned" (1960), which follows the book pretty closely; the (obscure, but very good) "Children of the Damned" (1963), which was marketed as a sequel to the 1960 film, but is not a sequel at all, rather an entirely new film very loosely based on the book; and John Carpenter's (terrible) re-make, "Village of the Damned" (1995).

Wyndham's novel starts very slowly, but that is not a flaw; the low-key, matter-of-fact accumulation of details of life in a small British village makes the story's horror all the more potent when the reader (and the characters) slowly realize what has been happening around them. Everyone in a tiny village is suddenly rendered unconscious; they awake a day later, seemingly none the worse for wear-- until they realize that every woman in the village (including virgins) is pregnant. Wyndham's title, "The Midwich Cuckoos," refers to the way some species of cuckoo birds leave their eggs in other birds' nests; the cuckoo egg hatches first, and the cuckoo chick destroys the other eggs. That the mysterious Midwich babies have a similar fate in mind for the people of earth is not immediately apparent, but becomes so only when it seems too late to prevent it.

This alien invasion is far less dramatic that the tentacled Martians of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, or the walking plants of Wyndham's own earlier novel, The Day of the Triffids (RosettaBooks Into Film), but is all the more chilling for its seemingly innocuous beginning. Wyndham even has one of the characters talk about how the dilemma they face is so different from that in Wells' novel or in Hollywood's 1950s monster movies (which he skewers brilliantly).

This is an excellent science fiction novel, with both great suspense and some serious ideas. My only caveat is that the edition from Rosetta Books has a lot of annoying typos. But the story is very much worth reading.
The idea that Earth is a testing ground for aliens from long ago is an interesting concept brought to fruition in this tale. Disease, war, discrimination etc. have been introduced here over the ages to see how man adapts and endures. I remember seeding the poorly done movie Children of the Damned when I was young and even in it's mediocre substance it fascinated and frightened me at the same time. Midwich Cuckoos is timeless and written in true proper British prise. Enjoy!!!
If you grew up in the 50's and enjoyed movies, you may remember the quiet English village which mysteriously has a small population explosion which results in about 40 similar, yet cherubic, children who look strangely alike, and all seem to have strange, almost golden, eyes. That was the very popular "Village of the Damned," a 1960 British science fiction horror film. That film was based on John Wyndham's 1957 book "The Midwich Cuckoos." Wyndham's 1951 novel, "The Day of the Triffids" established him as a writer and his books as movie material.

"The Midwich Cuckoos" begins with Richard and Janet Gayford, who have spent the night of September 26 in London, returning home to the sleepy little village of Midwich the following day. Then, in ways that are difficult to pin down, the village seems changed. We soon realize that they, as were the main characters in the "The Day of the Triffids," were luckily spared due simply to chance. Here, most women regardless of age or marital status have become pregnant virtually over night. As the children rapidly grow, so too does their intellect and strange abilities or powers.

While Wyndham's writing is best classified as fantasy or science fiction, his themes embody so much more. Although the language is dated a bit and certainly "English" vocabulary rather than American, the power behind the story is strong. Still, "The Midwich Cuckoos" is a relatively easy read. While admittedly not quite as good as perhaps "The Day of the Triffids" or "The Chrysalids," plot and theme wise there is a lot more going on rather than just Sci Fi! If you enjoy Science Fiction and have never read Wyndham, you are missing a significant author and some excellent books. I strongly recommend "The Midwich Cuckoos" and his writings to you.