A Town is Drowning

by Frederik Pohl, C.M. Kornbluth

From the first edition's dust jacket:

"Torn from today's headlines this novel takes you right into the heart of the new flood country, the Northeast United States which has generally been free of hurricanes and attendant floods. Now disaster has struck, more than once--terrible and grim.

"Although this novel will give you an accurate and brilliantly vivid picture of what it's like to live through a flood, even more importantly it will show you what the people are like who fought the catastrophe and how those who survived are still fighting. Through it all you will sense a growing feeling of pride--that despite the selfishness of some, the people of the town met the terrible onslaught with courage and a sense of mutual help.

"Already well known for their superb science fiction, Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth demonstrate here their equal power in the realistic contemporary novel.

"Five years--twenty-three books. Since 1951 Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth have produced--together, separately or working with others--just under two dozen novels, anthologies and collections of short stories. Nearly all of their works are science fiction--the sharply satirical 'The Space Merchants' and 'Gladiator'at-Law,' which they wrote in collaboration; Mr. Kornbluth's brilliantly executed studies of the near future in 'Not This August' and 'Takeoff'; Mr. Pohl's celebrated series of 'Star Science Fiction Stories.'

"It took an act of God to turn the joint efforts of this team away from the world of tomorrow and make them focus their attention on the dramatic events of today.

"The series of storms that lashed the Eastern states in 1954 and 1955 cost Mr. Pohl a roof and Mr. Kornbluth a cellar, for what missed Mr. Pohl on the Jersey shore turned and drove through the upstate New York area where Mr. Kornbluth lives. 'A Town is Drowning' was begun while the repairmen were still at work.

"Now thirty-six, Frederik Pohl has spent nearly two decades in the world of publishing--magazine and book editor, writer and anthologist, literary agent, advertising copywriter and magazine circulation expert. At thirty-two, Mr. Kornbluth's career has included five years as Bureau Chief of a national news wire service. Both now devote full time to writing, principally novels, with several new titles scheduled to appear within the next year."

153 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Frederik George Pohl, Jr. was an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years. From about 1959 until 1969, Pohl edited Galaxy magazine and its sister magazine IF winning the Hugo for IF three years in a row. His writing also won him three Hugos and multiple Nebula Awards. He became a Nebula Grand Master in 1993.

Reviews

[Anastasija · Rating 3 out of 5]

For all the fans of science fiction that explores important contemporary issues – climate change, environmental destruction, and the human response to crisis. Pohl gives us engaging characters, each facing their own struggles, and a gripping narrative – a suspenseful and action-packed story.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book managed to exceed my very low expectations, particularly given both its premise (a town in the northeastern U.S. getting flooded out by a massive, anomalous hurricane), and its atrocious cover art (a helpless "little lady" with a desperate expression, slumping against a stereotypically strong and assured male protagonist, complete with rumpled three-piece suit, rugged features, and a look of haughty contempt, both of them thigh-deep in the flood waters). The authors have collaborated before with mixed results, and while this story does broadly fall within the realm of speculative fiction, it would be a stretch to classify it as sci-fi. It's really more of a character study which examines how people of different temperaments react under extreme pressure.

Although the authors are guilty of employing ethnic and gender stereotypes, which one would expect from a novel written in 1955, they also, at times, make some effort to break those stereotypes down. Although the ethos that "everybody's really the same at their core" has fallen out of favor -- and for very good reasons, at that -- these authors were, arguably, a decade or more ahead of their time in regard to cultural awareness. (Still, and again as one might expect, the characters are unanimously white, cis, privileged.) The dialogue is somewhat stilted and cliched as well.

All of that having been said, what the authors get right is a very vivid description of a small town being flooded nearly out of existence, and the struggle to survive, regain footing, and prepare to rebuild. The interpersonal dynamics between the various characters, which comprise a sort of ensemble cast orbiting around a main protagonist and a main antagonist, mostly rise to the challenges before them. The author also wisely avoid too many happy endings: for example, one of the small band of central characters loses his life about a third of the way through the book. But in the end, the good folks survive with their hope intact, the bad folks get what's coming to them, and those who hovered somewhere in between are given a shot at redemption by reconnecting with their higher qualities.

Hackneyed? Certainly. Lightweight? Definitely. An engaging read? Absolutely. Fans of Pohl and Kornbluth will be pleased. Others may want to approach with caution.

[Lhyriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been a somewhat dull, somewhat intriguing read, if I do excuse myself for my vagueness. What I mean is that the characters are well thought out. In fact, better written than I had anticipated. There is a lot of assesment on the nature and core qualities of characters, once their surface has been stripped down by a catastrophic event (in this case, a flood). However, one criticism is that although I enjoy the thought in crafting these characters, I do not appreciate the little thought taken into their uniqueness. This book is filled with tropes, from the stuck-up business man to the damsel in distress. As a reader, it can be quite boring due to this aspect, as well as the fact that there is little diversity between them (however, I partly excuse this fact due to the book's age). I believe that the majority of characters are white adults, and the only relationships are also, not so surprisingly, heterosexual. However, the latter is of little importance considering there is little emphasis on romantic relations between characters, as the focus of the story is primarily on how the flood affects the individual, and not romance.

But one thing I love about this novel is the way it is written. There is uniqueness, and perhaps even freshness, about the way the authors have crafted words across the page. For example, the shift between perspectives. One thing I have not yet read in another book is the lack of signalling to differentiate between inner dialogue and the narration of the author. There is no italics, nor any speech marks or marks of any variety to show that we have now switched to first person, which is now in the voice of a character. This may not be every reader's cup of tea, but for me, I think this was something I liked about the writing style. I also liked how much detail was given in an event that lasted for a short period of time. And readers, we get lots of detail and insight into each character's mind and thoughts. Whilst there is little left to be guessed, it brings a lot of knowledge about what is going on, and it also brings us deeper into the minds of the characters. The authors do this effectively for many different people, and even irrelevant characters who may only feature in a few paragraphs. That way, we really get to see how this catastrophe affects everyone.

To summarise, this is a detailed and well-written book (in the sense of the writer's voice and skill) but bland and average at best in terms of entertainment. There are better books to be read, but if you really want to get your nose stuck in this book, there is no one stopping you.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Environmental disaster fiction circa 1955, involving a small town besieged by a flood, from a pair of old-hand science fiction writers. Reasonably entertaining.

(I happened to read the book while an atmospheric river was hitting my area, possibly making it a little more relevant than it needed to be!)

[MH · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story about a flood, by a pair of science fiction writers, from an era when such stories weren't sold as science fiction. Dated, but there's nothing really wrong with it.