The saying goes that on the other side the grass is always greener, and, due to this mania that we have of “seeing better” what is foreign, and taking advantage of the mystery of extraterrestrial life, there is the case of authors who imagine worlds better than ours; so bellicose, divided, vulnerable and poorly managed, in short… These “probable” inhabitants of planets far from Earth serve to point out our problems, and being reflected as superior cultures, they also show us those values that we can possess and put aside .
Perhaps, this idea of putting typical wisdom of gods or superior entities in aliens has some kind of relationship with the theory that exists that in ancient times there were visits from aliens, and humans worshiped them —that is, that aliens were mythologized and we made them gods—; hence some coincidences in many religions, say the heavenly origin of the saints, among other things. I am not leaving nor am I going to confuse you any more, whoever wants to know, search on Google and investigate about it, I have come to talk to you about two novels that use science fiction and abduction and extraterrestrial visit from the hand of trauma and tragedy, to leave us humanist messages and get us thinking about how to be more worthy earthlings. As Kurt Vonnegut well expressed in his Slaughterhouse Five: “(…) They were trying to reinvent themselves and their universe. Science fiction was a great help…”
Will you let yourself be helped with these readings? If that’s the case, let’s start the biblio-abduction:
K PAX, by Gene Brewer
Novel narrated from the point of view of Doctor Gene —Yes, the same author of the book—, a psychiatrist at a mental institute in New York who tells us about the sixteen sessions he has in the office with Prot, a recently admitted patient who claims to come from from the planet K-PAX, even after taking antipsychotics and receiving medical treatment, for which his stubborn delusion draws attention, of which he manages to convince other patients.
Prot is not the typical deranged cliché that we are badly accustomed to in works of fiction; he is an educated, intelligent man, with good manners, who always wears sunglasses because he is hypersensitive to light, since his planet is not as illuminated as ours. Prot claims that he is able to travel through mirrors, faster than light, thereby reaching our planet and also that he is three hundred and thirty-seven years old.
The description of K-PAX is almost idyllic: “(…) At K-PAX we are all brothers…”; there are no countries, the entire species shares the planet, there is no religion, its organization is enviable, as well as its natural capacities; tells us about a world without government and without its traps, without jobs, since everyone knows how to fully contribute to the community, children raised by all, learning from one and the other, and along that line we are realizing how twisted is our idea of organization, although out of habit we believe otherwise.
“(…) All kinds of life are intelligent”, expresses Prot, and makes us think of our conceited idea of “superiority”. The more he describes his planet, the more he leaves the doctor, and, of course, the reader, thinking about our civilization:
“(…)— The Earth seems to be a very lively place seen and heard from space. And it is a class III-B planet.
-What does it mean?
—Which is in an initial phase of evolution, with an uncertain future…”
This very curious character manages to confuse readers about his origin, on the one hand we let ourselves be guided by the scientific logic of the doctor, and on the other, the idea that Prot is actually an alien is wonderful for us, because we are convinced that someone like him has just come to leave us a great message.
Prot’s influence begins to be noticed in the other patients and in the doctor himself. One day she disappears and… What happens? And his promise to take one of the patients? Is he really from planet K-PAX? The end, although it sheds light on Prot’s life, then throws us back into the intrigue.
Here is a fascinating, intriguing, highly entertaining and unforgettable novel about human existence; questions the supposed evolution we have, when we still commit crimes and live in an absurd way, divided even by the things that supposedly should unite us more. A story about appearances, the need for hope and company that we all have, and the things we are capable of doing to find comfort in the most daunting situations. Even I would have wanted to go live with Prot at K-PAX, but… I can’t say more, you have to read it.
The novel reads itself, is simply narrated, and barely has 247 pages in large print. There is a second part titled in a ray of light that I have waiting to be read. Honestly I’m a bit lazy, because the first part was so good and I was so satisfied with the ending that I fear that the second part is mere marketing to stretch the success.
There is a movie with the same title whose cast of luxury makes it totally attractive, and although it is a good movie, it falls short next to the book.
slaughterhouse five, by Kurt Vonnegut
“(…) In the war you were just kids (…) But you’re not going to write that, are you? (…) You will pretend that you were men and not children, and in the movies you will be played by Frank Sinatra and John Wayne or some other of those glamorous old green men who love war. And the war will seem wonderful and we will have many more. And children will fight in them…”.
Mary O’Hare scolded the author, when he went to see her husband, a fellow soldier, because of the book he was writing about the air raid on Dresden in World War II, a major disaster, killed more people than the Hiroshima bomb, and forgotten by almost everyone. Kurt answered: “(…) I will title it The Children’s Crusade…”.
The curious thing about the matter is that he not only narrated the story from the children, but also added a vein of science fiction that is sometimes illusory, as a consequence of the war trauma in the character’s mind, and thus the reader will travel through the different stages of the life and mind of Billy Pilgrim, one of those endearing and unforgettable characters, made to penetrate, from the choice of name to his personal characteristics. Not only is Vonnegut happy with Billy, he also offers us this alien world that ranges from hilarious to wise.
The story shows us the boy Billy sent to a war that he does not understand and for which he is not prepared. There, trapped by the Germans, he is locked up in a disused slaughterhouse: slaughterhouse fivewhere you not only start your trips to the past, but also to the future.
This is a novel about time, life, death, war and the absurdity of it all; a novel about questions, so necessary at times, so useless too, if in the end, no matter how much we solve, everything continues in a circular way, and we repeat our mistakes as a species and succumb to all the inevitable, and so on (and so it goesor as they translated so well in this edition: It is what it is).
The Tralfamadorian, stoic and optimistic wisdom of “It is what it is” teaches us to accept the inevitable, the inexplicable and the absurd that happens over and over again, without breaking our heads with the whys. In English the phrase expresses more the sense of continuity: and so it goes. In Spanish, it gives a more closed and conclusive idea: It is what there is:
“(…) -Because I?
“That is a very typical Earthling question, Mr. Pilgrim. Because you? And, for that matter, why us? Why anything? Because this moment is, and that’s it. Have you ever seen insects trapped in amber? (…) Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why…”
You don’t come out the same after reading this novel. Just as you don’t come out unscathed from reading Camus, only that Vonnegut makes you appreciate the moments and accept the inevitable, and go ahead and look for the bright side of things, because, whatever happens: It is what it is:
“(…) That is one thing that earthlings could learn if they tried hard: to ignore the scary moments and focus on the good ones…”.
In the United States it was banned for a few years, so that children could not access this story with few characters and so many stories within stories. The church, Jesus, North American society, the government, pride with USA badge, there is so much that remains in a kind of “bad look” due to the level of sincerity, irreverence and practicality with which Vonnegut captures them, which is not difficult imagine such censorship, even in that land of the free:
“(…) Billy heard Rosewater tell a psychiatrist:
“I think you’re going to have to come up with a bunch of wonderful new lies, or people won’t want to go on living…”
A funny, amazing, original, philosophical, dreamlike, metaliterary, groundbreaking, irreverent novel, full of black humor, daring, good literature! It entertains, enriches and stirs conscience; a novel about war, narrated from nonsense (isn’t that war?) to teach people to prefer peace, a peace that begins with understanding and respect among all human beings.
Cult novel, has inspired artists and continues to have a current reading. Added to my list of favorite novels.
I’m happy to have given a couple of “Libbrazos”. See you next week. It is what it is.
