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The Twinkling of an Eye or My Life as an Englishman
Some dust marks on edge of pages and general wear to edges of jacket.
- GenresAutobiographyBiography
496 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 26, 2022
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-twinkling-of-an-eye-or-my-life-as-an-englishman-by-brian-aldiss/
One day, back in August 2015 I happened to be in London not too far from Forbidden Planet, and spotted that Brian Aldiss, then almost 90, was doing a signing that evening. I got there just in time to buy this book and get his signature on it before sprinting for the 1935 Eurostar; whew! I knew that there would not be many more chances, and indeed it was the second and last time that I met Aldiss in person before his death, two years later.
I realised on reading this now that I had read it before, around the turn of the century; I don’t know what happened to my previous copy, but it was great to come back to it again. Even if you have no interest in his work, Aldiss is very good at the self-perception of the various elements and experiences that go to make up a human soul. He goes in some detail into his childhood, school days and military service (much of which has been recycled in his novels). He is frank about his marital difficulties, in both of his marriages, and even goes a bit mystical on how he managed to unblock himself psychically to become healthier.
He was also devoted to making British science fiction an accepted part of British literature, pushing hard to find allies. This despite himself not being initially all that strongly moored in fandom – when he woke up one morning to find that the 1962 Hugo Award for Hothouse had been left outside his door with the milk, he did not actually know what it was. But this did not last long; by 1965 he was the guest of honour at the second London Worldcon, and in 2014 the massed members of the third London Worldcon sang “Happy Birthday” to him at the closing ceremonies.
One winces for Aldiss occasionally – he was the architect of most of his own romantic misfortunes (though not of his first love affair, with the matron of his boarding school); a crooked accountant’s bad advice meant that he had at one point to sell his house and, (one senses this was worse) his science fiction collection. But he is admirably devoted to his children and to his second wife, who died after this written but before it was published in 1998. His daughter Wendy returned that devotion.
Recommended.
One day, back in August 2015 I happened to be in London not too far from Forbidden Planet, and spotted that Brian Aldiss, then almost 90, was doing a signing that evening. I got there just in time to buy this book and get his signature on it before sprinting for the 1935 Eurostar; whew! I knew that there would not be many more chances, and indeed it was the second and last time that I met Aldiss in person before his death, two years later.
I realised on reading this now that I had read it before, around the turn of the century; I don’t know what happened to my previous copy, but it was great to come back to it again. Even if you have no interest in his work, Aldiss is very good at the self-perception of the various elements and experiences that go to make up a human soul. He goes in some detail into his childhood, school days and military service (much of which has been recycled in his novels). He is frank about his marital difficulties, in both of his marriages, and even goes a bit mystical on how he managed to unblock himself psychically to become healthier.
He was also devoted to making British science fiction an accepted part of British literature, pushing hard to find allies. This despite himself not being initially all that strongly moored in fandom – when he woke up one morning to find that the 1962 Hugo Award for Hothouse had been left outside his door with the milk, he did not actually know what it was. But this did not last long; by 1965 he was the guest of honour at the second London Worldcon, and in 2014 the massed members of the third London Worldcon sang “Happy Birthday” to him at the closing ceremonies.
One winces for Aldiss occasionally – he was the architect of most of his own romantic misfortunes (though not of his first love affair, with the matron of his boarding school); a crooked accountant’s bad advice meant that he had at one point to sell his house and, (one senses this was worse) his science fiction collection. But he is admirably devoted to his children and to his second wife, who died after this written but before it was published in 1998. His daughter Wendy returned that devotion.
Recommended.
July 8, 2022
Interesting rather than outstanding. I knew Brian Aldiss via his science fiction writing (Non Stop is a timeless classic). He speaks about his lack of love from his parents, his minor role in the late stages of WW2 and his thoughts on all that happened in his sphere of life. The chronology was a tad haphazard at times, making it feel he wrote it as if he was narrating it recalling memories out of order. Yes, interesting.
February 10, 2020
Aldiss is one of those writers that takes some decent ideas and settings and then never quite gets them to work for me. Hothouse was interesting, for example. And I've always been a fan of Barefoot in the Head, just because: the acid wars in Europe! But this biography is pretty bad. I think that Aldiss was trying to show that he could write about any episode of his life, no matter how humiliating, but the results are... skin-crawling bad in places. You just didn't need to know *that* about his childhood, really. And his wartime experience in Burma is simply not spectacular. This book is tepid at best.
February 17, 2024
Wide-ranging, fascinating memoir of a fine writer. Remarkably honest on a personal level, with much insight to influences on his writing. Brian did far more in the writing world, and travelled more widely, than I suspected. Amongst other jaw-loosening events is his interview with Deng Xiaoping, as Chinese premier. Science fiction fans will find it, especially the later sections, particularly interesting. It has inspired me to read (or re-read) more of his work, this time with a better idea of the context in which he was written.
September 20, 2014
Brian W. Aldiss is famous in some circles as an award winning science fiction author. I feel sure that once upon a time I've read a book or two of his.
He grew up the son of a WWI vet. He went to boarding school as many English lads did. And went off to war when drafted into the British army for WWII. He spent his time in service in Asia. First in Burma and then into Singapore once the war ended. He was a radio Morse code operator and never shot any Japs but saw people shot and plenty of bodies after combat had occurred.
He speaks very frankly about childhood trauma. He came down with whooping cough as his mother was giving birth to his sister. He was bundled off to stay with cousins in a nearby town. In his memory his exile lasted for 6 months of abandonment. It wasn't until middle aged he could speak of it again and when he did he was shocked to find it had only been six weeks.
Aldiss was acquainted with both C.S. Lewis and Tolkien when he lived in Oxford but he speaks very briefly in passing about this.
Aldiss is frank in his story about things like sex, his war experience, and the traumatic events of his life (divorce included). Not always a happy read but it's clear Aldiss is an intellectual. Reading about him you experience his experience and have a chance to consider his musings on life and his adventures and decisions.
He grew up the son of a WWI vet. He went to boarding school as many English lads did. And went off to war when drafted into the British army for WWII. He spent his time in service in Asia. First in Burma and then into Singapore once the war ended. He was a radio Morse code operator and never shot any Japs but saw people shot and plenty of bodies after combat had occurred.
He speaks very frankly about childhood trauma. He came down with whooping cough as his mother was giving birth to his sister. He was bundled off to stay with cousins in a nearby town. In his memory his exile lasted for 6 months of abandonment. It wasn't until middle aged he could speak of it again and when he did he was shocked to find it had only been six weeks.
Aldiss was acquainted with both C.S. Lewis and Tolkien when he lived in Oxford but he speaks very briefly in passing about this.
Aldiss is frank in his story about things like sex, his war experience, and the traumatic events of his life (divorce included). Not always a happy read but it's clear Aldiss is an intellectual. Reading about him you experience his experience and have a chance to consider his musings on life and his adventures and decisions.
January 4, 2016
This was a fascinating autobiography. Aldiss tells us about his childhood living above a sprawling shop in Norfolk, his wartime adventures in India and Burma and his huge presence in the science fiction world in the late 20th century. However I would say that I struggled with the structure of the book, Aldiss revisits things again and again. I am sure there was a reason why he didn't present things in a straightforward chronological timeline but I didn't really get it.
On the whole though this was an extremely interesting book. I must read the Helliconia books again!
On the whole though this was an extremely interesting book. I must read the Helliconia books again!
January 2, 2013
Interesting personal account of pre-war provincial England, wartime service in Burma, then a career as an author. It didn't surprise me that the future science-fiction writer should have opted for service as a signals operator in the army. With anecdotal tales from his work as a sales assistant at an Oxford bookshop while he was beginning as a professional writer.
September 10, 2015
The book is about Brian Aldiss life from childhood until marriage life. The part of being Forgotten Army is not too much, but still contain a lot of important historical details that are really interesting. The book is written brilliantly, almost sounded like literature. Love the books love the stories.
November 14, 2015
An autobiography. Interesting light is shown on various works of his and it's entertaining and informative.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews