Audiobook Review: ‘Trouble with Lichen’ by John Wyndham, narr. by Vanessa Kirby

Yes, I’m still on my journey through all of Joh Wyndham’s books, thanks to Audible Studios’ efforts to get all of them narrated by brilliant actors and narrators. This one, in many ways, reminded me of The Midwich Cuckoos in its focus on women’s lives.

Original Pub. Date: 1960
Audible Pub. Date: 11/25/2021
Audible Publisher: Audible Studios

Francis Saxover and Diana Brackley, two scientists investigating a rare lichen, discover it has a remarkable property: it retards the aging process. Francis, realising the implications for the world of an ever-youthful, wealthy elite, wants to keep it secret, but Diana sees an opportunity to overturn the male status quo by using the lichen to inspire a feminist revolution.

As each scientist wrestles with the implications and practicalities of exploiting the discovery, the world comes ever closer to learning the truth....

Trouble with Lichen is a scintillating story of the power wielded by science in our lives and asks, how much trust should we place in those we appoint to be its guardians?

About the author: John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Benyon Harris was born in 1903, the son of a barrister. He tried a number of careers including farming, law, commercial art and advertising, and started writing short stories, intended for sale, in 1925. From 1930 to 1939 he wrote stories of various kinds under different names, almost exclusively for American publications, while also writing detective novels. During the war he was in the Civil Service and then the Army. In 1946 he went back to writing stories for publication in the USA and decided to try a modified form of science fiction, a form he called 'logical fantasy'.

Diana’s actions are entirely fuelled by her desire to buy women more time to make a change. While the first wave of feminism gave women the rights they had been lacking, society has only restricted what seems feasible for a woman’s life. Throughout her time at school and work, the expectation that Diana will abscond with the first man to show interest into a life of domesticity, haunts her. In a life of seventy years it is too easy to look away from the long-term consequences of your choices. If you live for 200 years, however, those consequences become frighteningly relevant to yourself. This resonated very strongly with myself and will with many now that the threat of climate change is no longer merely looming but also already here. If we lived for longer, maybe we would care more. On the other hand, with an evergrowing global population and unequal division of food, would the world truly benefit from a longer human life-span? I loved the questions Trouble with Lichen threw up and I’m going to once again state my admiration for how Wyndham centres women’s issues. He also continues to highlight the relevance of scientists, the importance of following scientific developments, and the not ignoring the future.

Diana Brackley is a highly intelligent young woman, determined to do something in a world that expects her to become a housewife. Fuelled by memories of her suffragette aunt, she sees the potentially life-changing relevance of a lichen sample she encounters while working at a lab. If the lichen can extend life, then perhaps people, but especially women, will finally have enough time to make a change and care for the long-term effects of their actions. But not everyone is as fond of the idea of women and men living for more than 200 years, so Diana faces an uphill battle. She chooses to get started within the beauty industry, selecting clients amongst the wives of the powers that be, cleverly creating a set of powerful women who now have a stake in their long lives. While a lot of Trouble with Lichen is sardonic in its attitude towards the beauty industry and the expectations of women, there is also plenty of truth and relevancy here.

I have said before that I adore the understated tone of Wyndham’s books. While he narrates the impossible, he never grasps for easy cliches or overdone sensationalism. His people are straightforward, love their spouses, care for their children, and are interested in the world. Whether it is life-extending lichen, monsters at the bottom of the sea, or wandering plants, Wyndham combines the weird with the normal like it’s easy. I would also say that Trouble with Lichen is the Wyndham novel with the most interesting structure I’ve read so far. Its opening scene is actually taken from the final act and as such the rest of the reading experience stands in the light of this major event. How will we get there? Why has it happened? And what happens after? The ending is also a lovely little twist which I hadn’t seen coming and yet fit in perfectly with the careful planning throughout the novel. I am giving up on the ranking of Wyndham’s novels, since I’d have to get scientific about it at this stage. But if I were still ranking, Trouble with Lichen would be up there! Vanessa Kirby is a great narrator as well. I have always enjoyed her presence on the screen, the quiet power she exudes, and that really came through in this audiobook as well, especially whenever she narrated Diana. 

I give this novel…

 

4 Universes!

I adored Diana and her mission, and I loved the revolutionary spirit which infuses a lot of the plot. Sisters are doing it for themselves, and if you think you can take life away from them, you have another thing coming.