Chocky
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Chocky
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Narrated by:
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Daniel Weyman
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By:
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John Wyndham
About this listen
Matthew is a normal 11-year-old boy living with his parents and little sister in Surrey. He's too old and sensible to have an imaginary friend really. Yet when Matthew's parents keep finding him talking and arguing with a strange presence whom Matthew calls Chocky, that's what they believe it must be…at first. But Chocky is oddly sinister, and keeps asking Matthew all sorts of complicated questions about the world and making him behave in unusual and erratic ways. Then Matthew suddenly does something heroic, well beyond his capabilities; the media become interested and the interest in Matthew widens. His parents refer him to a psychologist. Who is Chocky? And what could he or she want with their son?
©1968 John Wyndham (P)2013 Canongate Books LtdListeners also enjoyed...
Gentle but enjoyable story
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Compelling!
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oldies
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Too good
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Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, for me, this is near perfect science fiction.What did you like best about this story?
John Wydham's reserved non-sensational style is so very powerful and convincing.Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Brought tears several times.An outstanding story.
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Hopeful
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Highly recommended!
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If you could sum up Chocky in three words, what would they be?
Mysterious, plausible, engaging.Who was your favorite character and why?
Chocky - without giving too much away, the character themself is interesting and made more so by the obscured view we get of them.Which scene did you most enjoy?
The final, where all is revealed.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes, and the short length made it easy to enjoy over one day at work.Any additional comments?
I love science fiction which plausibly inserts its sci-fi premise into 'our world' (as opposed to that set in 'other worlds' or too far into the future). This book is an example of that, in my opinion. I think the way that the sci-fi element gradually unfolds and the events through which this occurs are done very well. I think the short length of the book is appropriate for exploring and revealing the full extent of its premise, it is paced well and never becomes tedious.I remember reading this when I was a young teen and enjoying it. Returning to it now I enjoyed it again, but I now noticed a fairly strong note of misogyny towards the book's female characters. I imagine this is just a sign of the book's age. It would probably put me off recommending it to young readers until they are at a point where they are able to read critically though.
A little dated, but otherwise greatly enjoyable!
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What is possible
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John Wyndham was described, somewhat unflatteringly, as the Master of the cosy catastrophe. Certainly this story seems to fit the bill. The family are the epitome of middle class Britain in the 1950s. Daddy is an accountant and Mummy is a housewife educated to degree standard, but is content to clear the dining table, helped by her young daughter, while father and son have a man-to-man chat about important family problems. The alien visitation and possible possession are handled in a very stiff upper lip kind of way, with only a slight wobble from Mummy, and anybody who is looking for a rip roaring kind of plot will not find it here. What I did enjoy was the insight into life in the middle part of the last century. As we are now, people were concerned about mankind’s dependency on a degenerating asset, the Earth’s resources, but remained cynical about our ability to tackle the problem in a mire of corruption and big business vested interests. These are big problems but Chocky is mainly a moving and tender story revolving around a family’s undying love for their adopted son and their desire to protect, but also to understand what is happening to him.
John Wyndham is a master storyteller and some of the most frightening things happen when our cosy lives are threatened. For this reason his science fiction continues to be relevant despite all the social and technological changes we have gone through. Daniel Weyman reads this story with admirable restraint and portrays the father’s compassion for his boy with perfection.
A view through Chocky's eyes
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