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Calling Major Tom
Apr. 21st, 2019 08:47 pmWriting Magazine recently had an article about the new-ish genre 'uplit', talking about what it comprises and giving examples of books that fit the criteria. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is usually identified as the most successful example of the genre, but after reading that and finding it rather more traumatic than I expected, I thought it would be interesting to try something else from the list. So, I got Calling Major Tom by David Barnett selected for this month's Family Book Club discussion and I read it yesterday and today.
After my last six book selections being failures (five unfinished and one very much skimmed), I made a conscious decision that I would read Calling Major Tom properly, all the way through, and try as much as possible to enjoy it. Now, without that attitude adjustment, I might have found it utterly preposterous, very unfunny and badly written in quite a few ways. But in fact I really enjoyed it and made an effort to take it in the way it was intended, rather than pulling it to pieces or objecting to its tone or subject matter.
This turned out to be quite revelatory, as I often wish I could turn off my critical brain and just enjoy media without analysing or questioning its quality. I still made nine pages of notes for the book club discussion as I went along, and considered both writing style and themes, often critically. But it was still a fun read and I had no trouble concentrating on it.
Anyway, on to the book itself. The premise is nonsense, which you kind of have to get past right off the bat. A random technician named Thomas Major manages to end up on the first manned mission to Mars (alone) and accidentally makes contact with an elderly lady named Gladys, who has dementia. He gets embroiled in the difficulties facing her grandchildren and everybody learns valuable life lessons along the way.
It definitely has its faults (plot inconsistencies, repetition of things the characters or reader already knows, confusing use of the present tense in flashbacks, problematic romantic tropes, everything getting wrapped up way too neatly) but it's descriptive in an imaginative way that doesn't bog down the narrative, it balances lightness with real emotion very well, it's mostly light and amusing, I liked most of the characters, and it prompted me to listen to David Bowie again.
So, an unexpected thumbs up from me on this one, and perhaps a valuable lesson that I can decide to approach things in a positive way without relinquishing my ability to judge them critically. Definitely something to remember for future media consumption.
After my last six book selections being failures (five unfinished and one very much skimmed), I made a conscious decision that I would read Calling Major Tom properly, all the way through, and try as much as possible to enjoy it. Now, without that attitude adjustment, I might have found it utterly preposterous, very unfunny and badly written in quite a few ways. But in fact I really enjoyed it and made an effort to take it in the way it was intended, rather than pulling it to pieces or objecting to its tone or subject matter.
This turned out to be quite revelatory, as I often wish I could turn off my critical brain and just enjoy media without analysing or questioning its quality. I still made nine pages of notes for the book club discussion as I went along, and considered both writing style and themes, often critically. But it was still a fun read and I had no trouble concentrating on it.
Anyway, on to the book itself. The premise is nonsense, which you kind of have to get past right off the bat. A random technician named Thomas Major manages to end up on the first manned mission to Mars (alone) and accidentally makes contact with an elderly lady named Gladys, who has dementia. He gets embroiled in the difficulties facing her grandchildren and everybody learns valuable life lessons along the way.
It definitely has its faults (plot inconsistencies, repetition of things the characters or reader already knows, confusing use of the present tense in flashbacks, problematic romantic tropes, everything getting wrapped up way too neatly) but it's descriptive in an imaginative way that doesn't bog down the narrative, it balances lightness with real emotion very well, it's mostly light and amusing, I liked most of the characters, and it prompted me to listen to David Bowie again.
So, an unexpected thumbs up from me on this one, and perhaps a valuable lesson that I can decide to approach things in a positive way without relinquishing my ability to judge them critically. Definitely something to remember for future media consumption.
