A Handful of Time

by Rosel George Brown

These days, when words like space-probe and moon-flight (not to say megadeath and overkill) are common, household terms, it is very refreshing indeed to find a science fiction writer whose primary concern is human beings.

Here you will find people dealing with the common, household problems of how a girl can maintain the proper moral front while secretly living a joyous life of sin, keeping up with the Jones's, car pools, the pitiless omnipresence of small children, love and war between man and woman--and many other readily recognizable joys of living--even if the methods of dealing with them are a bit peculiar.

(excerpt from publisher description)

Genres: Science Fiction

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1963

About the author

Born New Orleans, Louisiana, she lived in the city of her birth with her husband after concluding her formal education at Sophie Newcomb College, where she majored in Greek, and at the University of Minnesota where she received her M.A. in Greek. Several of her books were dedicated to her husband W. Burlie Brown, who was a history professor at Tulane University. The couple had two children. In addition to writing, she worked as a teacher and a welfare visitor in Louisiana. In 1959, she was nominated for the Hugo Award for best new author, but her career was cut short when she died of lymphoma at the age of 41 in 1967. The fourth Nebula Award Anthology contains an obituary written by Daniel F. Galouye, and Anne McCaffrey dedicated her 1970 anthology Alchemy & Academe to Brown, along with several other people. Brown and McCaffrey had met at a Milford Writer's Workshop.

Reviews

[S̶e̶a̶n̶ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rosel George Brown was only 41 when she died from lymphoma. She left behind this collection of 12 science fiction stories—all but two of which had been previously published in magazines—and two novels starring intergalactic detective (and single mother!) Sybil Sue Blue, the second of which was published posthumously. The stories in this collection date from the late 1950s and early 1960s. They project a proto-New Wave science fiction vibe akin to early Joanna Russ stories—not too radical (e.g., Brown still often writes from the male p.o.v.), but certainly beginning to push back against the blatant patriarchal tone of early science fiction. It’s more of a gentle chiding of the sexist tropes, though, than it is an outright condemnation of them.

Many of the stories share similar stylistic ground with Brown’s novel Sibyl Sue Blue (I’ve yet to read the sequel). They can tend toward the soapy and/or the campy. Brown has a good ear for dialogue, although it’s the kind of chatty banter you hear on TV sitcoms. In fact, a lot of these stories read like scripts for sitcoms or soap operas, just set in the future. Many end with glib punchline-type endings. That said, it is clear that Brown is an intelligent and informed writer. Her background in Greek studies shows in her numerous references to Greek mythology. And her insight into and commentary on human psychology can be quite penetrating. In particular several of these stories delve deep into advertising culture—not surprising given the time period in which Brown was writing.

While there are a few stories in this collection which I found to be real duds (e.g., 'Save Your Confederate Money, Boys', an alternative history satire set in the Southern U.S. following a second secession), there are also a couple that really shine. ‘Signs of the Time’ is a subtle story dealing with advertising and the subliminal and not so subliminal messages we receive throughout our daily lives. Even the ending to this story is vague, which is unusual for Brown. 'Of All the Possible Worlds' was easily my favorite story; it was worth reading the collection for this story alone. In this dirge-like tale an interplanetary explorer arrives on a planet and is subsumed into the seemingly mundane yet highly structured existence of its inhabitants, even taking on a romantic partner. Years pass without the explorer’s awareness of such a significant movement of time. Brown perfectly maintains the feeling of trepidation the narrator experiences, using the mystery at the core of the story to propel the narrative forward, even as the narrator continues to lead such a banal life. This story reads like a monument to existential dread. It’s kind of a horror/science fiction hybrid, really unique and I wish I could find more stories like it.

On the whole I probably enjoyed Brown’s pulpy, noirish science fiction novel better than this collection, the standout stories notwithstanding. Sibyl Sue Blue is just such a memorable protagonist, and the characters around her are equally intriguing. But Brown does show her range in this survey of her story output, and I’m once again left wondering where else she would have traveled in her fiction, should her life not have been cut so tragically short.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable little collection of stories by an sf writer who is almost unknown.

[Kate Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each story within the collection is a light read, but intriguing in its perspective on humanity.

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A random pickup in the community bookshop in Lynton alongside some Lester Del Reys, I had never heard of this *female* scifi writer before. But, she's good: there's a lovely take on the Pygmalion myth using fungi (Fruiting Body), and examining how humans interact with alien species (Step IV, Of all possible worlds, (which says more about the humans that it does about the aliens), and how the use of time travel alerts us to the foibles of our own civilisation, including the bringing up of children (the 'breaking in' of Omicron in Visiting Professor and the biting of little Hi-nin by Gail in Car Pool) and morality (Lost in translation). The last story (the Devaluation of the Symbol) is a sideways look at the role of TV advertising and how it shapes us as people and as a culture, being used to first reduce the birthrate, and then to increase it for business purposes.
There are a few gripes with the science: Fruiting body for instance talks of bacteria as being fungi, which they aren't, although the idea of bacterial sex is quite correct. On the other hand, the use of viruses to modify the genetic code in Save your confederate money, boys is the first time I can remember seeing this idea, even if the results are somewhat unexpected.
All in all, a nice selection of short stories. Unlikely to be in print anymore, and only to be found in remote bookstores!
Bought and Started 1-8-2014 and finished 2-8-14.
I'm being picky here not giving five stars I think.... If it is possible it's probably 4.5 stars with a deduction for some of the science.

[Teresa]

One of my favorite sci-fi reads to date. Short dives into different worlds, a perfect escape.