The War Of The Worlds - H G Wells

Despite its legendary status I had never got around to reading H G Wells' novel "The War Of The Worlds". Until recently, that is. I found it a most stimulating read, even if it was not quite what I expected.

 

First published in 1897/98, it is divided into two "parts", Book One - The Coming of The Martians, and Book Two - The Earth Under the Martians, although in the actual reading I did not discern any great demarcation between the two sections.

 

The story is told largely through the eyes of the narrator, who is evidently some form of philosopher type, although part of the novel is given over to his own brother's experiences. This method, of relying primarily on one person's eye-witness accounts and recollections, gives the story a rawness and grimness which would have been absent had the tale been related from the perspective of the authorities, or "the establishment" in general.

 

The author's scientific inclinations and interests are evident throughout, and little touches here and there add to the aura of authenticity. Indeed, one gains the impression that much of the text is rooted in science-fact. This strengthens the impact and the sobering nature of the story.

 

"The War Of the Worlds" must have been quite shocking and frightening in its time. The "good news" angle is firmly eschewed, and we are left in little doubt that beings from other worlds might not be too friendly or accommodating, and might not be cute or cuddly humanoids either. Very little sugar-coating takes place. The fact that the initial actions occur in suburbia and what would now be termed "commuter country" adds to the shock element. This could happen anywhere, Wells appears to be hinting.

 

There is very little in the way of "softening up" at the start of this novel, and we are almost straight in to the descriptions of the traumatic events. This only deepens the starkness and disorientation. It also seems quite incongruous to modern sensibilities to be discussing an "alien" invasion which occurred over a century ago, even if it is fictional. The Martians would therefore have to be confronted without computers, aircraft and full mechanization, implements which we associate with most "science fiction" stories set on Earth. It is also curious to hear the chronicling of a disaster of this kind unfolding before the age of mass electronic communication, let alone social media!

 

People, myself included, tend to perceive "The War of The Worlds" in visual and cinematic terms, because of the various screen-based and pictorial renderings and interpretations of the story which have been composed. Reading the novel, the imagination has to be exercised and tapped into. Much more challenging...

 

The overriding impression which I derived from much of the book was of the helplessness and insignificance of individuals. This is captured with some acuity in the chapter (s) dealing with the narrator's journey from Leatherhead to Maybury. Tripods, thunderstorms, human corpses, empty houses, deserted towns, fear and chaos all make themselves felt.

 

As I read the more harrowing passages, a few random thoughts swirled around my mind. One was whether social cohesion, or lack of it, in any way contributed to Earth's inability to stem the initial Martian tide. The human race was, and is, fragmented along class, economic, nationalistic and tribal lines. Our adversaries may be more homogeneous in these respects. An absence of uniformity, which many of us perceive as an actual virtue in "normal" times, could be our undoing in a time of real crisis and peril. On the other hand, the remote possibility that a real alien invasion will happen is surely not an excuse in itself to undertake root-and-branch social change. If this change is to happen, it should be implemented for other, more earthly reasons, based on other more pressing and mundane factors.

 

In the descriptions of the upheaval and civil collapse in Southern England detailed here, one sees classic symptoms of the beginning of a "dystopian" society, a staple of much later science fiction and other literature. However, there is also the occasional mention of true anarchy, in the form of spontaneous convened committees and elements of self-government.  I wish that Wells had developed these themes more thoroughly here. Whether or not Wells was seeking to be symbolic in the pointed depiction of church buildings being destroyed by Martian contraptions, I am not entirely sure.

 

In this time of adversity, did everyone revert to the hunting and gathering role, with the instinct of self-preservation very much to the fore?  In reality, would the nature and gravity of the threat engender a solidarity of purpose, with tribal differences overlooked?  In this instance, it would seem that government collapsed, leaving no authority to maintain a semblance of cohesion. Was it better therefore to wait for a new equilibrium to establish itself, and a remedy spontaneously arise?  In the event such a remedy did appear, but not from a "man-made" source...

 

I was quite impressed by Wells' descriptions of the physiological and psychological differences between Earth dwellers and the "actual" Martians. The latter appeared to be devoid of the caprices and urges instilled by human digestive and reproductive systems.  I would quite liked to have been one of Wells' Martians, at least for a day!  On the other hand, don't our flaws, imperfections and idiosyncrasies make life worth living?. One could argue that the ultimate demise of the invaders was, in its way, down to the "curious" way in which humans have evolved. That was the acid test....

 

The novel contains some agonizing about mankind's position in the grand scheme of things, in the light of this invasion from further afield. No longer the masters, but just another animal in this brave new world?  This not only tapped into the late 19th century vogue for anti-imperialism and Darwinian theory, but also perhaps a little ahead of its time in these speculations about how our perception of ourselves might shift if confronted by "intelligent" beings from elsewhere.

 

One of the characters, the artilleryman, at one point wonders which types of people would react in which ways to being ruled by the Martians. Some would doubtless acquiesce;anything for a quiet, comfortable and stable life. Some of these people would probably also assist the invaders in subjugating and enslaving the more recalcitrant elements of the remainder of the population. For those who resisted, would savoir faire, flexibility and adaptability be more useful than theorizing and preachiness?

I expected "The War of The Worlds" to contain a lot more moralizing and late Victorian angst. It is only touched on spasmodically, and then the tone is hardly abrasive or pious.

The fact that the Martian invaders were vanquished by a bacterial disease was intriguing. Maybe there is more to "progress" and sustainable civilisation than just technology. The endowments of Nature, and the vagaries of evolution and science, can sometimes prevail over brute force, and even the most insidious enemy is not infallible or invincible. It is quite a comforting thought, in a way.