Trollope is better known for his political novels but this work (and the others in the Barsetshire Chronicles series) is well worth a look both because of the gentle irony which pervades the book and because of the window it provides into 19th century conservative attitudes.

I still remember finding this when on holiday with my parents when I was probably no more than 10 – I immediately read it cover to cover and sought out the others in the series. When I came to re-read it however, I was immediately struck by a certain amount of casual racism (not uncommon in 1928) and of course its attitudes toward women were also pretty retrograde. Moreover, with their powerful weapons the heroes seem quite happy to kill off hordes of alien ‘bad guys’ even when they can’t shoot back. The racist and eugenicist undertones became stronger and stronger near the end however. The ‘bad aliens’ are darker skinned than the ‘good’ ones, and I just got to the point where the hero describes the religious system of the good aliens, seemingly without dismay:

“They are magnificently developed for their surroundings. They have attained this condition by centuries of weeding out the unfit. They have no hospitals for the feeble-minded or feeble-bodied—abnormal persons are not allowed to live. The same reasoning accounts for their perfect cleanliness, moral and physical. Vice is practically unknown. They believe that clean living and clean thinking are rewarded by the production of a better physical and mental type.”

Ugh… I didn’t remember that part!

It’s available in a variety of free text formats via Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/20869

I remember this made a big impression on me when I was a young boy but rereading now I am a bit put off by this on the first page:

“He was aroused from his stunned inaction by the entrance of his colored laboratory helper, and silently motioned him to clean up the wreckage.

“What’s happened, Doctah?” asked the dusky assistant.”

I only wish it was actually as interesting, thoughtful or even as visually spectacular as it thinks it is.

This distinctly reminded me of one of my favourite romcom thrillers. Some critics thought this was too long and twisty – I enjoyed the whole ride. If I had felt the two leads had any chemistry it would have been a great night out – as it was I still thought it well worth the price of admission.

In fact two opposing character actors, Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson put in much better performances – I wish they had had more screen time…

It doesn’t take itself seriously, it’s darkly funny and it’s violent. Reminds me of Reservoir Dogs in that way. Surprisingly little fairy-tale Bruges imagery as most of the shooting is outside. Not at all plausible – more a fable but I felt it pulled me along.

My favourite anecdote in the book on p.14 The author gets access to a gang and whips out his questionnaire. “How does it feel to be black and poor? Very bad, somewhat bad, neither bad nor good, somewhat good or very good?” The triumph of quantitative sociology! The answer didn’t quite fit the options – “Fck you! You got to be fcking kidding me!” (Fortunately, he takes a more ethnographic turn later).

I’m finding this fascinating reading. If you’re a fellow sociologist and want to see what he produced academically based on it, look for American Project

It’s a visual treat and never dull but I was left wanting more – particularly more depth in characterisation of the main characters. The film was very plot-driven and the characters rather broadly drawn as heroes or villains so I found it hard to really empathise with their travails. But the film is (as Dr Mark notes) a fable so perhaps I simply had the wrong expectations.