Customer Reviews

Consider Her Ways and Others

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"Consider Her Ways and Others" is another collection of short stories by John Wyndham. A book of stories covering a variety of weird situations, this is a book that is sadly hard to find.

The best story is the first one, "Consider Her Ways". Set in a future where men are extinct, female society is regimented and "perfect". The story has something of a "12 Monkeys" feel to it, especially at the end. It also pre-dates the Women's Lib movement by a decade. Feminists would love this story.

Another memorable story is "Random Quest", in which a scientist is accidentally transported to an alternate reality where his other self is a successful writer. (This story was filmed as "Quest For Love" in the 1970s. Denholm Elliot was one of the stars.)

"A Long Spoon" involves the devil. This is a humorous story that comes at the end.

"Consider Her Ways and Others" is a perfect companion to John Wyndham's other collection of stories "The Seeds of Time". This is genuine science fiction. Overall, there are six stories in the book. And there's not a single space ship in any of them!

Consider Her Ways is the classic John Wyndham novella depicting a future society where all men have gone the way of the dodo, and very grim and ant-like it is too. Would an all-female world really be so regimented? Maybe not, but Wyndham's dystopian take on this subject is compelling. The other five stories in this volume are rather a mixed bag, the best of them dealing with time travel and alternative dimensions. After reading these I wondered why the author never actually wrote a full-length time travel novel, although having said that, the short story formula works exceedingly well.

While I did enjoy the book, most particularly the title story, maybe 5 of the stories have the same conceit--something happens to move someone through time. Whether it's an experimental drug or a physics experiment or a bump from a streetcar, the character is moved to another time and there's the story. Wyndham writes well and this is a quick book, but whoever edited this should have built in some variety. Nonetheless, 4 stars

This book features, for the main part, stories that deal in time travel and distortions in time and place. There are some real gems here, not least the title story `Consider her Ways'. In this tale, a young woman wakes to find herself in a futuristic nightmare in which men have become obsolete and women are divided into groups such as workers, servants, breeders and so on. From being an educated, articulate doctor in her own time, she has awoken in the body of a breeder, a gargantuan woman who is supposed to have no intelligence at all and no thoughts beyond eating and producing babies. Her nightmare is in trying to convince those around her that she is not insane and that she is not who they suppose her to be.
Each story is written in a gentle and thoughtful manner, very different from Wyndham's better-known tales such as Day of the Triffids or the Chrysalids. At a mere 192 pages, this is not a book that will keep you going for weeks and it isn't the greatest work ever produced, but it is entertaining nonetheless and certainly worth buying, particularly if you are a fan of classic science fiction.

This fabulous novella is, in my opinion, John Wyndham's best work. The possibility of a future such as the one painted here is horrifying, and we find ourselves identifying with the torment of the central character. Just when we think it has all worked out, we find a twist in the tale, and the end is truly chilling.

A definite must read.

The title-story is a short novel at 63 pages (in the Penguin edition) and the best thing in the book. The other five tales are shorter, and certainly lighter, many involving time travel or alternate dimensions. "A Long Spoon" regards an accidental summoning of a demon of Hell and the awkwardness that ensues as the protagonist and wife put him up in a hotel and try to find a way to send him back. A very funny story. "Oh Where, Now, is Peggy MacRafferty", on the other hand proves that Wyndham's humor isn't always so agreeable.. it's a fairly awful story that made me pause and briefly consider picking up another book altogether. It seems very out of place here.

Wyndham is almost always worthwhile, and this somewhat slim collection will please Wyndham fans more than others, but even you non-Wyndham-devotees should find entertainment herein, though I hope it won't be the first Wyndham book you pick up. Day of the Triffids is his best work, and I'd start there, ideally.