Kuckuckskinder (Roman)
The Midwich Cuckoos is a science fiction novel written by John Wyndham in 1957.
Plot
The novel is set largely within the titular Midwich, a typical small English village. A series of incidents near to the village one day establishes that anybody who approaches past a certain boundary line falls instantly unconscious; the effect extends completely around Midwich, with the unconsciousness vanishing as soon as a person re-crosses the boundary. Experimentation rules out any chemical or biological effect, whilst aerial photography reveals a peculiar silver object on the ground in the village itself.
After a period of one day the effect vanishes. The villagers wake, apparently with no ill effects. Some months later a follow up study reveals that every woman of child-bearing age is pregnant, with all indications that the pregnancies were initiated on the "Dayout".
When the children are born they appear normal, but as they grow up it becomes apparent that they are at least in some respects inhuman. They experience accelerated growth and are able to force their will on others, controlling their actions, as well as sharing two distinct group minds, one for the boys, and one for the girls. The children gradually begin to exert a bigger and bigger effect on the villagers, killing several of them in retaliation for perceived attacks.
Ultimately, the villagers and government authorities decide that the clearly non-Human children cannot co-exist with the rest of Humanity. An elderly professor uses their trust in him to gather them together and detonate a large bomb, killing himself and all of the children.
The title is a reference to the Cuckoo bird, which lays its eggs in the nest of other birds in the hopes that they will expend resources raising the Cuckoo's children.
Themes
The novel is sometimes described as a British version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and has a similar theme of society being subverted from within by a force which infiltrates one of the most cherished aspects of life - in this case our children rather than our own bodies.
The subtext of the book is subtle and can easily be lost in the text of the book. Throughout the book, many different types of SF and their merits are discussed and argues through as a way of coming to terms with the events told of in the story. Also, we see the Russian/Communist reaction to what is an exactly paralleled plot situation. So a neat double-blind takes place, masking what is, essentially, a type communist invasion, although of a different, other-worldly stripe.
The book could be criticised for being too off-hand with what is a large number of female characters (two central female characters leave the narrative halfway through, never to come back), there are well-developed roles for a couple of them. Most notable is Angela Zellaby who is continually reigning in her high-minded and sentimentally modern husband/academic into the true nature and facts of the situation at hand. She is also the first to grasp the realities of the situation. But it is true to say that no female character takes a direct hand in changing matters or effecting the situation.
Wyndham's writing style is quite accessible and the novel remains popular. In the present climate of Terror Cells, the plot can be even more compelling than if read ten years ago.
Related works
The novel was filmed as Village of the Damned in 1960, with (unusually for a science fiction film) a script that was fairly faithful to the book. A sequel followed shortly after, and there was also a colour remake of the original in 1995 by John Carpenter set in "Midwich, California", and starring Christopher Reeve in one of his last film roles before he was paralysed in a riding accident. This movie also introduced Kirsty Alley as a government official, the female character which the original novel lacked. There have also been several radio adaptations by the BBC, the most recent in 2003. Wyndham began work on a sequel novel, Midwich Main, which he abandoned after only a few chapters.