The scarce inhabitants of a dying planet (called Anthea in the novel, though presumably it's about Mars) bring their last material resources together to send an explorer to planet Earth. This explorer, of an almost identical to the human one's race and who, while he camouflages himself among earthlings, will be named Newton, has the mission to use his technological knowledge to search various patents that allow him to earn an immense fortune. With that money, and in total secret, Newton will try to build a spaceship to rescue the scarce survivors that have remained in his world —including his own family— and bring them to our planet to guarantee them a future with.
Under this more or less stereotypical premise, Walter Tevis built one of the most original emotional novels in the science-fiction genre. The alien of his story, despite his technological superiority and his sharp intelligence, will be the victim of his ferocious non-adaptation to this world of ours, which looks strange and threatening to him. Not only the earthly gravity will make him prone to bone breaks and to feel pain by any sudden movement, but constant loneliness and dread that his real identity is discovered lead him to a destructive lining up process that winds up turning him into an apathetic bitter alcoholic individual.
The man who fell to Earth is one of the novels that set the alien topic turnaround in science-fiction: the extraterrestrial isn't just a threat or a superior being willing to guide and re-educate mankind anymore, but a being captive of our same fears, for whom contact with human race seems terrifying and psychologically destructive. In fact, the main character of the book is human —his anatomical differences with earthlings are minor; his emotional differences too—, and he's human even in disorientation and the constant feeling of defenselessness that he experiences on seeing himself surrounded by a culture that he finds it hard to understand, as it may happen to any immigrant. The tone of tragedy is what differentiates this book from other literary experiments similar to Stranger in a strange land by Robert A. Heinlein's style: in that book of Heinlein's (absorbent intelligent reading, nothing to do with his celebrated but arguable Starship troopers) the alien had important lessons to transmit to earthlings. In The man who fell to Earth, however, the only thing the extraterrestrial has to show us is some technological superfluous novelties because he can't give us any lessons on all the rest, feeling as lost and confused as ourselves, or more.
To sum up: The man who fell to Earth supposed a refreshing turnaround for the genre in a historic moment when science-fiction needed to transcend technological fantasy towards a more humanist perspective. There exists an irregular cinematographic version starred by David Bowie (who isn't a great actor but he looked surprisingly suitable for the role) but the point is that the movie leaves something to be desired and it doesn't capture the multitude of nuances of the original. The book, however, is the sort of novel that even those who aren't usual consumers of the genre may like. Very recommendable.
Under this more or less stereotypical premise, Walter Tevis built one of the most original emotional novels in the science-fiction genre. The alien of his story, despite his technological superiority and his sharp intelligence, will be the victim of his ferocious non-adaptation to this world of ours, which looks strange and threatening to him. Not only the earthly gravity will make him prone to bone breaks and to feel pain by any sudden movement, but constant loneliness and dread that his real identity is discovered lead him to a destructive lining up process that winds up turning him into an apathetic bitter alcoholic individual.
The man who fell to Earth is one of the novels that set the alien topic turnaround in science-fiction: the extraterrestrial isn't just a threat or a superior being willing to guide and re-educate mankind anymore, but a being captive of our same fears, for whom contact with human race seems terrifying and psychologically destructive. In fact, the main character of the book is human —his anatomical differences with earthlings are minor; his emotional differences too—, and he's human even in disorientation and the constant feeling of defenselessness that he experiences on seeing himself surrounded by a culture that he finds it hard to understand, as it may happen to any immigrant. The tone of tragedy is what differentiates this book from other literary experiments similar to Stranger in a strange land by Robert A. Heinlein's style: in that book of Heinlein's (absorbent intelligent reading, nothing to do with his celebrated but arguable Starship troopers) the alien had important lessons to transmit to earthlings. In The man who fell to Earth, however, the only thing the extraterrestrial has to show us is some technological superfluous novelties because he can't give us any lessons on all the rest, feeling as lost and confused as ourselves, or more.
To sum up: The man who fell to Earth supposed a refreshing turnaround for the genre in a historic moment when science-fiction needed to transcend technological fantasy towards a more humanist perspective. There exists an irregular cinematographic version starred by David Bowie (who isn't a great actor but he looked surprisingly suitable for the role) but the point is that the movie leaves something to be desired and it doesn't capture the multitude of nuances of the original. The book, however, is the sort of novel that even those who aren't usual consumers of the genre may like. Very recommendable.
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