Why would I do such a silly thing with my limited reading time? Well, let’s say it was an experiment. The only things I remembered about Trouble with Lichen, besides the general premise and a few random details, were that I didn’t like it, didn’t understand it, and couldn’t wait for it to be over. I decided not to go with one star as this is another book I suspect may be "a little better than it hit me". In other words a subjective rather than objective rating might drop it all the way down as it just didn't get my interest. I followed the "ethical, moral, legal mental debate. Watched the "tussle" (my word)over the "new" wonder lichen and it's effects. Who owned/had a right to it...what it brought about.... on and on.....and on, and on, and on, and on (repeat). But let's ignore all that. Let's talk about the actually interesting parts here. Ageism, classism, and sexism. It was a genius move for John Wyndham to center an age-slowing narrative on women, who are still today pressured to remain youthful-looking forever, or succumb to social invisibility. . . . Wyndham was uniquely gifted at skewering humankind’s foibles while maintaining a shred of hope that our better angels would prevail.”—Kate Folk, from the introduction

I know one of the factors in my earlier dislike of the novel was that I was expecting something quite different from what I got. That of course is not a factor in my current dislike. I have learned not to evaluate a book based on what I thought it would be rather than what it actually is. This is a lesson I try to impart to my students (and anyone else who wanders past my soapbox while I’m pontificating). For such enlightened statements as these, "Trouble with Lichen" is worthy of any modern reader's approbation.

John Wyndham wrote 7 novels, I have read 6 so far. This is the only one not rated 3 stars. This novel gets all tangled up like someone falling on the floor whilst wildly trying to put their pyjama trousers on. He has a very solid sf idea and he wants to use it to spotlight how women’s lives in particular are crippled and bent out of shape under society’s current rules, and this is all good, but the whole thing seems to be played for laughs….I should say for smirks…and his ghastly elbow-in-ribcage old-fashioned unfunny comic writing will just grind the teeth of modern readers. Trouble With Lichenwas on our suggested reading list because of the central premise of the book, that life could be prolonged by slowing down the ageing process. This raised many discussion points for the group members. First, who would benefit? As Diana, the main character, asks in the book: As it turns out, I am in agreement with my younger self about how tedious this novel is. If this had not been an experiment, I would have abandoned it after the first chapter or two. But I wanted to carry out the experiment, so I persevered. Once my younger self’s taste was vindicated, I focused on putting my finger on why it was so boring to me both then and now. Of course not,’ Diana said patiently, ‘but they don’t feel about it the same way. A man may fear death just as much, but in general he doesn’t resent age and death quite as woman do. It’s as if a woman lives—well, on more intimate terms with life; gets to know it more closely, if you understand me. And it seems to me, too, that a man is not so constantly haunted by thoughts of time and age as woman is. Generalizations, of course, but averagely valid, I think. ...’ A “sharp, amusing story” ( The Guardian) about the fountain of youth and its implications for women’s rights, by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers, whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced.”

The story involves two scientists who discover a lichen, which can slow down the aging process considerably. They work independently to develop the drug, and keep their findings secret – even from each other, though they had identified the lichen together. For the past few years I have peppered my reading with rereads from my youth. It has been even more rewarding than I anticipated. So far, my rereads have all been books I enjoyed when I first read them. But this time I decided to reread a book I did not enjoy at all.Lichens are literally everywhere in Shetland, all around us. They are actually a partnership of a fungus – which gives the lichen its scientific name and an algae. A symbiotic relationship – one that benefits both participants. The algae produces sugars by photosynthesis and the fungi steals these sugars so that it can grow. In return the fungus provides protection and gathers nutrients and moisture from the environment. Who wants to live forever?’ Freddie Mercury once asked, well it turns out John Wyndham asked the same question years earlier, and the answer isn’t what you expect.

Although I sympathise with Diane’s cause, I do find her a bit naïve. Some of the women she takes into her confidence do use their extra time to make a difference. But, I feel that by far the majority will do nothing positive with their extended life span. In general, we live longer now that we did 50 years ago. We are no wiser, no more philanthropic, all our efforts seem to go into making our own private lives more comfortable and finding more ways to kill or subdue our perceived enemies. And a strategy involving only women will not work long term. Once again, Wyndham wrote such a compelling story on how society would deal with a life changing discovery. When I first saw the title of this book, I thought it would be about how lichen would somehow become a danger to mankind, pose a threat that might wipe us all out. But it's not like that at all. Rather lichen offers mankind the solution to one of it's oldest problems, but the two people who discover it fear the social ramifications of it getting out. First I found it a good deal more sophisticated than memory had led me to believe: The book is a feminist tract, following the career of a strong, intelligent, visionary biochemist who uses the discovery of a lichen with anti-aging properties to start a revolution in the prospects for women not seen since the movement for universal suffrage.The book, of course, is hardly a perfect affair. As I mentioned, it is a bit dry, essentially humorless and, unavoidably, a bit dated in some instances (for example, the reference to the British newspaper "The Chronicle," which folded in 1960, and to the Russian newspaper "Izvestia," which ceased publishing in 1991). Much of the dialogue feels overwritten, especially that between Diana and Saxover, but I suppose that two bona fide geniuses just might be expected to converse in such a manner. Several plot points--such as the matter of Saxover's daughter-in-law stealing the antigerone secret--just peter out, never to be heard of again. And the book really is awfully talky; this reader could have done with a few more exciting sequences, such as the one in which Zephanie (is that really a name, by the way?) and her fiancé are kidnapped and coerced to spill information regarding her father's discovery. But basically, "Trouble with Lichen" is a novel of ideas, and of the effects on society of one of the greatest scientific discoveries of the age. Fortunately, Wyndham keeps his story moving at a brisk clip, and even reserves for his readers a wonderful surprise ending of sorts. And in this year of 2017, in which the very notions of science, facts and research are being denigrated and pooh-poohed by so many, how nice to come across a book with this telling statement about the matter...and from the British prime minister, no less: Trouble With Lichenreceived a mixed reception from the members of the reading groups. While some really enjoyed it as a novel with lots of action which posed interesting questions about longevity, others found that it was very much a product of the time in which it was written. Members of the reading groups of different ages, and especially women, thought that Diana’s characterisation and decisions reflected the sexist attitudes inherent in society in the late 1950s/early 1960s. how many people are going to favour the prospect of long life at the cost of, say, two or three hundred years as an underling[…] because behind them all is the assumption that the days of our age are three score years and ten, or thereabouts. Take that away, and they won’t work, most of them will even lose their whole raison d’etre’. John Wyndham, Trouble With Lichen (Penguin, 1960 (this edition 2008)), p. 87 In July we completed the second round of our intergenerational online reading group discussions.Three of the groups have now read John Wyndham’s Trouble With Lichen(1960). In this post I’ll give you an idea of what the groups thought of the themes which arose in this book and how this influenced broader discussions of older age and future time.