Report on Probability A by Brian Aldiss
I was saddened to learn last month of the passing of the great British sci-fi author Brian Aldiss, although of course he *had* lived a long and productive life. I own quite a number of his books as you can see:
And yes, I do have two copies of “Saliva Tree”, and no I don’t know why! I’ve only read a couple of his works so far (“The Brightfount Diaries” and some of the short stories) but I’ve loved what I’ve read, so now seemed a good time to pick up one of his books, and I went for the one which had intrigued me most – “Report on Probability A”.
The blurb is interesting, and the plot – well, the plot as such is hard to pin down… The action is set around a house in which live Mr. Mary and his wife. As the book opens, we meet G, the ex-gardener who lives in a derelict building in the grounds of the Marys’ house and who is intent on watching the place even though he’s no longer employed by them. His fascination seems to be with Mrs. Mary (or Mr. Mary’s wife, as she is often referred to) and he watches the house for glimpses of her and pops over the road to the nearby cafe at one point. The second section of the book introduces S, Mr. Mary’s ex-secretary who is lurking in the loft of the Marys’ old coach house. He too is watching the house and Mrs. Mary. Then there is C, the ex-chauffeur, who lives above the garage and yes, you’ve guessed it, is also fascinated with Mrs. Mary and observing away merrily. Add into the mix a pigeon known as X and a black and white cat who stalks the pigeon and you have something of a disquieting set up.
Yet little seems to happen to these people. It rains (and roofs leak); Violet the charlady gives food to some of the watchers; Mrs. Mary goes out and comes back; the Marys have a row. The narrative is repetitious, with details and descriptions being played out again and again with slight variations, and this is unsettling. And then we have the other watchers… Because the descriptions of the events at the Marys’ house are actually a report being read by some observers. However, they in their turn are being observed, as are those watchers, and the chain of surveillance goes back and back until it’s not quite clear who is real and who is not and who is watching who. And will anything of substance happen in this strange little world?
He stared through the window at a road. The road ran south-east. On the other side of it was a wide pavement; a tall man wearing black overalls and a grey felt hat passed along the pavement, followed at some distance by two men in blue carrying a stretcher on which lay a bicycle with two flat tyres; the frame of the bicycle was covered in blood. The surface of the road was of a dark crumbling texture. Cars passed along it, four of them bearing black crepe ribbons tied to their radiators.
“Report…” is a thoroughly intriguing, thoroughly unsettling and very sophisticated book which left my brain buzzing with ideas after reading it. Although ostensibly set on Earth it isn’t really clear if this place is our world or another. Superficially the location seems normal enough, but there are places where there are little jolts, like the sudden insertion of a burrowing, live garden hose, that makes the reader wonder. Unexpected and surreal paragraphs with no explanation are dropped into the narrative and perplex. The repetitions, in themselves, give a sinister flavour to the narrative and there are times when you think you’re encountering something familiar which is then twisted and becomes something else. A case in point is a painting, a reproduction of which appears in the dwellings of G , S and C: “The Hireling Shepherd” by William Holman Hunt. The picture is described in some detail throughout the book, and a number of the watchers appear to know who Hunt is – but the Hunt in their domain is a very different one from the Pre-Raphaelite painter we know!
So what, actually, is the book about, and is there a conclusion? Well, not as such, no (although Pigeon X and the cat reach closure); we can make inferences, draw certain conclusions from the oblique narrative, but there can be no real absolutes and I think that’s Aldiss’s point. I’ve seen the book described as an anti-novel and certainly it seems to deconstruct the usual constraints and structure of such a work. The various observers could be real, could live in parallel universes or could simply be figments of somebody’s imagination. Nothing much actually *happens*, yet the book is somehow gripping, and very much draws on the basic sense humans have of something else in the universe, of being watched by outside forces. Often, when alone, we think someone or something is looking at us, and in this book they really are!
Now they…were subjecting those objects to a second scrutiny. They were having to determine WHAT WAS OF VALUE; until that was decided, this life was valueless. Find significance and all is found.
I felt the need to do a bit of research on the book after I’d finished it, and apparently Aldiss wrote it in 1962 but no publisher would touch it and it eventually appeared in New Worlds in 1967. I certainly found it a stunning read, a refreshingly original tour de force and very thought-provoking, making me appreciate that actually everything *is* relative and there may well be no absolutes. Our view of the world around us is entirely subjective, depending on our own individual perceptions of it, and how do we even know others see things the same way? I’m no doubt going to keep thinking about “Report on Probability A” for some time, and also pondering on what finally happened to Mr. and Mrs. Mary and their watchers…
Sep 04, 2017 @ 08:08:14
Great review. I also saw the report on Aldiss’s death and thought it was, perhaps, the perfect time to read him but after looking at his back catalogue had no idea where to start! You’ve definitely whetted my appetite. I think I’d better trawl through my husband’s sci-fi collection and see if we have something already. Have you read any of his other books? Any recommendations?
Sep 04, 2017 @ 13:49:30
Thank you! I’ve read so little that it would be hard to recommend any apart from this one, and some of his early short stories in the fat 1950s volume. But this one is excellent! Happy hunting!
Sep 04, 2017 @ 10:36:38
Now, although I say I don’t do sci-fi (there have always been a few exceptions) this sounds like one I would read and enjoy.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 13:48:44
Ah, but you *do* do sci-fi Ali – sometimes, anyway! :)) I can recommend this one – very strange and unusual!
Sep 04, 2017 @ 12:53:39
I used to read a lot of Aldiss, though I don’t think this one. His masterpiece is probably the Helliconia trilogy, which opens reading like a fantasy novel but which over time explores differing perspectives and becomes much stranger (but never surreal).
Non-Stop is probably one of the best starting places to my mind. The Helliconia books are excellent, but they’re quite long and there’s three of them and the power of the combined trilogy is much greater than any single volume.
He was quite prolific – some titles I seem to recall were much slighter than others. I think you got one of the good ones here though.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 13:48:13
I think so too – I found it unexpectedly gripping and quite deep. Maybe Non-Stop will be the next one of his to pick up.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 13:08:24
One of my favorite authors! However, I’ve tried several times to finish ‘Report On Probability A’ and just can’t get through it. I do admire the uniqueness of it though, it’s not like anything else.
I’d also recommend adding ‘Greybeard’ to your list. The main characters are a married couple who are the most well written couple in Sci-Fi. I’m convinced they’re based on his own marriage. He also wrote a few memoirs which I haven’t read yet, but are supposed to be very good.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 13:14:51
Yes! Greybeard was very good. Nice shout.
It also led to an odd argument over plagiarism, as the novel Children of Men was accused of being plagiarised from Greybeard. Ultimately Aldiss was persuaded that the similarities in story were utterly coincidental and that there was in fact no copying involved, but I can see why he initially thought there had been as they’re pretty close.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 13:46:19
Interesting stuff – thank you! I definitely need to look out for this one!
Sep 04, 2017 @ 17:38:47
I have not read ‘Children of Men’ , it would be interesting to compare the two. A premise like that might have only so many conclusions – though I might not be creative enough to think of all the possibilities.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 19:45:17
Very interesting! I haven’t read (or seen) Children of Men either, but it does seem that Aldiss was very inspirational!
Sep 04, 2017 @ 13:47:18
Thanks for the suggestion! The ones I have are simple those I’ve been able to find in local charity shops. I daresay I’ll be looking out for more after the success of this, and I’d like to read the memoirs too, as I really enjoyed “Brightfount” which was based on his time in a bookstore.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 17:35:14
I had not heard of ‘Brightfount’, I’ll have to look for that. ‘Twinkling of an Eye’ and ‘When the Feast is Finished’ are two of his other memoirs.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 19:44:01
I reviewed The Brightfount Diaries earlier on the blog. It’s fiction, based on his time as a bookseller, and I loved it – captured brilliantly a lost English world and it was funny too. Definitely recommend it!
Sep 04, 2017 @ 13:56:39
This sounds like an unsettling novel and even though written 50 plus years ago the questions it raises still seem pertinent in age where we have CCTV, our purchasing habits are monitored closely via credit cards and cookies trace all our activity on line.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 14:41:50
Very much so – we’re so used to surveillance we almost take it for granted which is dangerous. Sometimes I draw out a wad of cash and spend it without using loyalty cards and the like, just to confuse things….
Sep 05, 2017 @ 17:06:09
we’ll also have to get into the habit of switching off mobile phones in some stores because they can now follow your path through the shop and send you ‘relevant’ messages
Sep 05, 2017 @ 18:58:30
Now that’s just plain scary!
Sep 04, 2017 @ 20:38:00
Hearing of Aldiss’ death made me wonder again how I completely missed him when I was reading nothing but science fiction in my teens. Luckily I now have some good suggestions of where to start!
Sep 04, 2017 @ 20:45:15
🙂 I confess that although I’ve always been aware of him, I’d never read anything until recently – which is my loss! Hope you track down something by him.
Sep 04, 2017 @ 21:58:22
I’ve read the Helliconia Trilogy plus Frankenstein Unbound (which I can’t remember anything of!) I must read some more – I have a couple on the shelf – his last novel Comfort Zone and an earlier one Hothouse. This one sounds rather brill though so I shall be looking out for it after your review.
Sep 05, 2017 @ 10:17:38
I certainly loved this one, and I’ve heard good things about Hothouse so maybe I should be trying that next!
Sep 05, 2017 @ 14:47:58
Peter, just responding to a comment of yours on Children of Men and Greybeard, I actually think you’re right that once one has the basic concept the plot as such pretty much naturally follows. I think there is a natural story to be told from that conceit and it’s not surprising different writers separately struck on it. The question then becomes execution, and in Greybeard the depiction of the failing marriage.
Sep 06, 2017 @ 16:22:11
Goodness, this sounds a fascinating novel and a good reminder that sci-fi is full of gems and so easy for people like me to dismiss. Judging by your review I had a completely false idea of Aldiss as a writer of pulp who just churned it out. I will definitely look out for this and for his other work.
Also I am SO heartened to see someone who collects books ‘ahead’, as it were. Part of my brain still fears a time when I shall be unable to obtain new books and so I hoard against future reading famines. I have quite an extensive collection of Barry Unsworth’s work, despite never having read a word he’s written. 😮
Sep 06, 2017 @ 20:03:28
It’s excellent – I’m not a fan of space opera style sci-fi as a rule, but the good stuff that stretches the boundaries really appeals. Aldiss wrote tons of stuff, and I’m sure the quality will vary, but on the strength of his his good reputation is justified!
And as for the book stacks – I’m well prepared for the zombie apocalypse as long as I have a candle or two to read by!
Sep 07, 2017 @ 14:24:58
Fortunately, though to a lesser extent, I hoard candles, so am well prepared. (Also soap, gin and tea-cups, this will be a classy house during the zombie apocalypse though there won’t be any actual food.) If the post continues to function post-ZA, I’ll send you some.
Sep 07, 2017 @ 19:45:56
Excellent – I’ll give you a shout if I need supplies! :)))
Sep 08, 2017 @ 15:39:32
Although I have little to add, I enjoyed reading your post (and seeing your collection of paperbacks) and I especially enjoyed the recommendations and experiences in the comments in response to your reading. He is a gap in my reading experience, but now I feel as though that should be mended; the Helliconia books were the ones I always thought I’d start with…but now…
Sep 08, 2017 @ 15:46:27
I was drawn to the Helliconia books but in the end I wanted to go for a stand alone book just to see what I thought. And I’m very glad I did!
Jan 01, 2018 @ 06:57:29
Jun 25, 2020 @ 07:12:17