“Famous Science Fiction Stories – Adventures in Time and Space”

I managed to get hold of a PDF version of ” Famous Science Fiction Stories – Adventures in Time and Space” – an anthology of some of the best short stories by some of the greatest sci-fi writers outside of the Clarke- Asimov-Bradbury- Dick quartet. This anthology is edited by Raymond J.Healy and J.Francis Mccomas.

The four page introduction to the anthology is a comprehensive treatment of the editor John W. Campbell Jr.’s contribution to the rise of popularity of science fiction genre and the shaping of some of the rock stars of the genre viz. Chad Oliver, Arthur C Clarke, James Blish, Cyril Kornbluth, Robert Sheckley, Richard Matheson and Zenna Henderson.

It is said that Campbell always insisted 5 things in a Science Fiction story he published in his magazine “Astounding Stories” viz. Science, Fiction, Detail, Humour and Liberality… and the editorial guillotine was unsparing if these criteria were found to be diluted or neglected. The massive popularity of “Astounding Stories” magazines gave rise to the publications of many copy cats of which two really did well viz. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Galaxy Science Fiction … the 3 together were called as the “Aristocrats” of the field by Life Magazine. A large number of these magazines have been digitized now and are available at Gutenberg.org and Internet Archives for Books for downloading… And in the meanwhile if anyone wants this anthology, I will be happy to share.

Yesterday night I sampled one of the stories called “Requiem” by Robert A. Heinlein and felt that in exploring the human condition, science fiction as a genre is second to no other genre in literature. Look forward completing this anthology and more after that…

The Turning Wheel – Philip K Dick

As my views about religion kept changing, I started to develop a point of view that the varying nature of religions lies mainly in the degree or intensity with which they emphasize a kind of uncontested “faith” in certain unexplainable, unproven concepts/ideas/beliefs. Soul, Karma, Wheel of Life, Afterlife, Rebirth, Hell, Heaven, Divine Retribution – are some of these concepts. Even here, I used to think that Buddhism was an exception in its rationality and logic till I read Philip K Dick’s short story “The Turning Wheel”… The story has managed to plant a seed of doubt in me regarding my perception of Buddhism too… In some way it has begun to unsettle some settling ideas.

For its imaginative quality, style of story telling and overall thought, I felt “The Turning wheel” was in the same league as Arthur C Clarke’s ” The Possessed” and Ray Bradbury’s ” Fire Balloons”

A deeply satisfying read….

Of Barbers and Haircuts – 4 Stories and a Poem

Barbers – One of the many categories of self employed whose importance was highlighted for a brief while during the pandemic and then subsided back to its original position once the unlock-down began. With the unlock-down things changed a bit: Higher charges, disposable sheets, sanitizers, extra cleaning, prior appointments, physical distancing of waiting customers and the works….But how this segment of workforce survived for 3 months without earnings, no one knows or cared to know (including myself). Unlike the indifferent real world, the world of fiction has been kinder to barbers. A barber’s shop has been the stage on which some interesting action was made to take place by some high caliber writers. Here is a reference list of 4 stories and a poem (that I know):

Hair by William Faulkner: I liked the story for its poignancy. And the true character of Hackshaw the barber, gets revealed only towards the end. Faulkner makes it appear as if story telling is easy and dialogue easier.

Haircut – Ring Lardner: Lardner brings out a rich slice of middle America through a barber shop. Some awesome storytelling and characterization.

Barber – Flannery O’Connor: Views on Left and Right wing politics gets portrayed brilliantly on the floor of a haircutting saloon in this story. Superb dialogue

A Short History Of Hairdressing – Julian Barnes: A man’s process of ageing is laid in front of us through the protagonist’s visits to a barber shop at various stages of his life. Funny and poignant.

Owl Critic – James T Fields – A cutely hilarious poem set in a barber’s shop

The Hound of Heaven – Francis Thompson

I became aware of Francis Thompson’s poem “The Hound of Heaven” through a short story of Maugham called “The Pool”… a character in the story refers to this poem to indicate that he is well read and cultured… Spent most part of the day to understand the poem and its significance and in the process got to know a lot more about Thompson, his poetry and his place in English poetry… The poem deals with the concept of God’s love for human and also its ultimate redeeming power…. I learnt that when it was published it was instantly embraced by Catholic Church as a new and major endorsement to their cannon…. Surprisingly it was also picked up and recited by Paramahansa Yogananda (“The Autobiography of a Yogi” fame) for its strong alignment with Hindu scriptures especially certain aspects of “The Gita”….

I also managed to listen to a lecture on this poem by Eknath Easwaran who was a professor of English literature at the University of Nagpur in India, and in 1959 he came to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley where he taught courses on meditation. Interesting lecture….

As a person whose belief in formal religion is thinning by the day, I was not at all moved by the spirituality of the poem and its reinforcing message but quite liked some of the sentences for their dexterity and thoughtfulness . Here is a sample:

I tempted all His servitors, but to find
My own betrayal in their constancy,
In faith to Him their fickleness to me,
Their traitorous trueness, and their loyal deceit.

The “Him” and his “Servitors” did not sound like God … it sounded more like a Ganglord and his chums…  😦

Rain – Somerset Maugham

“You men! You filthy, dirty pigs! You’re all the same, all of you. Pigs! Pigs!’

Dr Macphail gasped. He understood.”

Thus, in two short sentences, collapses the entire edifice of Somerset Maugham’s “Rain” – a complex and brilliantly written short story of 48 pages set in the South Pacific Islands of colonial times. I read this story almost every year and sometimes twice but the sense of marvel never ceases for me.The story operates at multiple levels but comes together perfectly. Maugham explores the themes of human temptation and its consequences, the power of evil ( if one were to consider prostitution a evil), religious dogma and its ugly coercive power, liberalism vs. conservatism, colonizers and the colonized, Western vs. pagan approaches to life in a way that very few writers could.

That it took 4 years from the germ of an idea of the plot to form in his mind to complete fleshing of it into a gem of exceptional literary beauty ready for publication for someone of Maugham’s writerly talents speaks volumes of the difficulties involved… Maugham has written some great stories of moving quality but nothing comes close to “Rain” – it stands in a class of its own…. And.. Ya.. the sense of rain as a backdrop against which all the sordid drama plays out is simply unforgettable….

I have read quite a few great stories but this one from Maugham is a special favourite of mine….