The Man Who Fell to Earth

This book reminds me of others from the same era, that were required reading in our high school: Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, 1984.... The authors did a fair job of predicting some technological advances, mind-numbing practices, and human blind spots. The sad reality is that many of their inherent warnings were not heeded. The only thing we seem to have forestalled is our mass annihilation by weaponry. The current trends in politics and mass psychology (thought control by ‘political correctness’ and the overwhelming output of the entertainment culture) allow for little in the way of critical thinking, once a prized filter for all educated people. Our world, our societies are crumbling from within. This novel stops short of Orwell’s dystopian predictions-notably the “Big Brother” technology that we all tote around and now welcome into our homes- but it does address well the challenges of managing one’s uniqueness and vision, while trying to function in a society that is drastically different from the one you were raised in. The main characters are fleshed out sufficiently to tell the story, although the female lacks depth. The ambiguity that afflicts them as they create their lives is recognizable, and relatable. The consumption of alcohol by them is excessive and seems, as a device, too easy a way for the author to avoid delving more deeply into the characters. The book was a letdown in that regard. It is not that you won’t care about them, but they seem unknowable. They are people met in passing, not people you get to know and care deeply about. Still, reading the book brought to mind the richness of education in the 1960’s, the questions we were asking, and the mysteries that the future held for those of us not yet jaded. All things seemed possible, and even probable!