One Side Laughing: Stories Unlike Other Stories

by Damon Knight

One of science fiction's preeminent writers for more than forty years, Damon Knight has always been considered a master of the short story. Deemed "a brilliant craftsman who can handle any story form with crisp finesse" by Alfred Bester, and considered "one of the very finest short-story writers ever to work in the genre" by Gardner Dozois, Damon Knight has authored classics such as "To Serve Man," "Four in One," "Stranger Station," and "The Big Pat Boom." In these seventeen tales, ranging from visions of the infinite to perceptions of the pedestrian, Damon Knight remains relentlessly at the top of his form. His vorpal wit glitters in "The Time Exchange," while "La Ronde" glows with polished beauty; the utopian insight of "I See You" is as sharp as the jagged pain of "Each Prisoner Pent." "The Very Objectionable Mr. Clegg" turns things on their heads, while "Strangers on Paradise" depicts a world set right—perhaps too right. Throughout these stories runs a deep commitment best called art. Frequently reprehensible, consistently unclassifiable, elegantly beautiful, and entirely enjoyable, One Side Laughing is a collection of vintage Damon Knight. As powerful as they are pleasurable, these tales are treasures to be read, and read, and read again. Forever. "[Damon Knight] has not only a scintillating imagination but also the mastery of words necessary to describe his visions beautifully."
—James Michener "Damon Knight's own writing has always been a showcase for the best of New Wave ideals. He knows English; he thinks through implications; but his characters live and breathe, and any of the stories in this book may shake your notion of what shape a story may have."
—Larry Niven "The fiction of Damon Knight...has that unpretentious ease and rightness which a reviewer calls, for lack of a more analytical term, readability. Though it deals always with ideas and often with technologies, it is miraculously clear even to the reader who has never before encountered science fiction. Knight is surely one of the most civilized of science-fiction writers."
—Anthony Boucher "Knight is a man of stature and quality, a writer of importance, and a writer whose works will be a new and perhaps jarring experience for many people."
—Barry N. Malzberg

Genres: Short Stories

230 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1976

About the author

Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A vision of radical social change, brought about by the invention of one man, loosed upon the world. The 'viewer' known s the Ozo allows anyone to see anything: anywhere, at any time.

There's not much plot, but the extrapolation is fascinating. (Originally published in 1976.)

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of Damon Knight's story "I See You" is excerpted from my review of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November, 1976, in which the story first appeared.

"I See You" is about the development of what has been called a "time-viewer," a machine that lets the user see any place at any time in the past. This means that you could watch Columbus land, see John Kennedy's assassination, or watch Marilyn Monroe make love. You can also watch your next-door neighbor make love.

Knight was not the first science fiction writer to consider this type of invention. These are some well-known examples:

In the superb story "E for Effort" (Astounding Science Fiction, May, 1947) by T. L. Sherred, this brings on Armageddon, as every country spies on - and then attacks - other countries.

In Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore's "Private Eye" (Astounding Science Fiction, January, 1949), the time viewer is used to fight crime. There's not much point in committing a calculated murder, knowing that there is (almost) no chance you won't get caught. In this story, the viewer is not available to everyone.

Isaac Asimov's story "The Dead Past" (Astounding Science Fiction, April, 1956) ends with the introduction of the machine and the realization that privacy has gone forever.

Damon Knight posits that the effect of the machine might be very positive, freeing mankind from anxiety about keeping things such as nudity, excretion, and sexuality secret. He shows the viewing machine as ending war and almost stopping crime.

"I See You" was a Hugo Award nominee and finished in second place for a Locus Award. It has appeared in at least four "Best of..." anthologies.



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6/19/20

I see that once again Goodreads has decided that I read a book that I've never even heard of. If I had wanted to write a review of One Side Laughing: Stories Unlike Other Stories, I would have done so - after reading the damned book. I note in my review of the story "I See You" that the story has appeared in several anthologies; why did the Goodreads bozos decide that I read it in this book? Is this something that is done by a really poor computer program or are people at Goodreads actually this rude and this stupid?

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in college, and for the life of me I can't remember much about it. I remember picking it up because I'd loved his story "Stranger Station" in another collection, but none of the stories in this book really measured up. I seem to recall that one of the stories was about an alien in a zoo accidentally switching bodies with a young journalist. Then there was a story about a colonist from Mars getting a vacation on Earth and being shocked at what the new idea of "beauty" entailed. And there were at least two stories where the main character reads a story about someone having an adventure, who then picks up a book and starts reading a story about someone reading a story about someone having an adventure...very MC Escher-like stuff. But that's about it.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compilation is excellent with only a few totally skippable stories. Most are speculative fiction. It also has many of the tell-tale signs I associate with adult ADHD: hyper-creative genuinely original ideas wrapped in a cavalier write-once-edit-never package.

Strangers on Paradise is a thought-provoking look at an off-world theoretical human utopia and the price to acquire such.

The crown of the compilation is a novella called The Other Foot. It's a body swap story between a human and an alien, and has a very compelling narrative.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nah, this didn't grab me. I recommend Robert Silverberg's Downward to the Earth or Book of Skulls instead.