Rebecca McCombe &
Chocky by John Wyndham

A short but intriguing situational novel about an imaginary friend who turns out to be an explorer communicating from the depths of space. The incongruously cosy, urban setting makes everything uncanny and acts as (an intended?) counterpoint - the known space to the unknown reaches. The most interesting bit was that the comforts of the time turn hostile at the end and a kind of knowledge/wisdom of something else beyond/under that cushy domestic nest, both of the evils of our world and the potential strangeness of other worlds, is gained. Like most well-written, thoughtful s/f novels, it prods at the foundations of our truth and the limits of our perception. The female characters could've been less annoying; I wanted to sympathise with them but it was difficult.

I read "Chocky" many, many erm... many years ago when I was a child. It stayed with me . Rereading a novel that you loved in the past can be risky but luckily I fell in love with "Chocky" again. Wyndham's last novel, it tells of an eleven year old boy who suddenly has an "imaginary" friend, Chocky. There are many strange things about this imaginary friend resulting in even stranger events. The novel touches on many ,many topics and although written in the late 1960's many of those topics are still relevant today, including references to the moral obligations of the media and the medical professions, the need for sustainable sources of power and the damage human beings are inflicting on this beautiful planet. I picked this edition because of the art on the cover by Grayson Perry but there is also an afterword by Margaret Atwood, which I enjoyed. It is a short novel but well worth a read for any reader whether you enjoy Sci-Fi novels or not.