The Man Who Fell to Earth in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 04, 2021 Tony rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, setting-us, novels, adapted-for-film

I'd heard of the film of the same name, but never realized it was a book first until recently when I saw it on some online list. Since it's relatively short, I figured I'd give it a read and then finally check out the movie. The ostensible plot is that on a planet far far away, an advanced race of aliens have basically destroyed their world through wars. They need to relocate before the remaining few hundred of them die off, and so have managed to scrape together enough resources to send one of I'd heard of the film of the same name, but never realized it was a book first until recently when I saw it on some online list. Since it's relatively short, I figured I'd give it a read and then finally check out the movie. The ostensible plot is that on a planet far far away, an advanced race of aliens have basically destroyed their world through wars. They need to relocate before the remaining few hundred of them die off, and so have managed to scrape together enough resources to send one of their kind to Earth to try and figure out a way to rescue them.

The titular alien in human disguise as T.J. Newton quickly brings his advanced technological knowledge to bear in a series of patented industrial advances that quickly allow him to build up a massive company and fortune. (This aspect is kind of ridiculous, as it all happens way too quickly to be plausible.) At the same time, a lonely chemistry professor in Iowa starts to investigate this unknown company that seems to be making incredible technological leaps. (That's another somewhat silly element -- no journalists or others seem to have noticed this.)

As Newton moves closer to achieving his aim of building a spacecraft, he gets more and more ambivalent about his purpose. Other than the blowsy woman he takes on as an assistant/housekeeper, he has no friendships, and his loneliness eventually finds him hitting the gin and losing his way. I suppose the author is attempting to show how even the projects with the highest stakes and implications can fall prey to the dark side of the human condition, a side that is apparently infectious even across species.

The writing has flashes of real imagination -- as in a scene where Newton (whose brittle physiognomy is very sensitive to gravity) suffers broken legs during an unexpected elevator ride -- but generally is pretty wooden and flat. What few characters there are all come across as types, and not fully fleshed out people. I could never really connect with Newton's ennui, and thus the story kind of fizzled out anticlimactically for me. I've since dipped my toes into the film, but so far have found it similarly uncompelling at the outset.

Note: One oddity is that the book was revised slightly in 1973, and so there are references to Watergate, which initially confused me! ...more

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