The Last Books of H.G.Wells

The Last Books of H.G. Wells contains H.G Wells’s last two works: ‘The happy turning: a dream of life’ and ‘Mind at the end of its tether’. Although they are only as long as pamphlets, their power to captivate is not diminished in the least. The mood in these two pieces, which is in stark contrast to the other, is simply fascinating.

‘The happy turning: a dream of life’ is cheerful and filled with optimism. Taking a secret path, the protagonist meets Jesus of Nazareth and begins a conversation with him In a matter-of-factly manner, the reputed Son of God narrates an comedy of errors in a ridiculous odyssey that culminated with his crucifixion and subsequent deification.

Delightfully blasphemous, the narration will outrage religious fundamentalists and leave atheists chuckling at its irreverent humour. The best part of the pamphlet, for me, is the ‘A hymn of hate against sycamore’, in which Wells curses at the hated sycamore in Biblical prose. Rarely have I read a rant so funny.

Nihilistic and depressing, ‘Mind at the end of its tether’ is shocking in its incoherence and fatalism. Written in the third person, the pamphlet is more a product of Wells’s denial of his impending demise than it is a serious work of literature. Convinced that mankind is going extinct and that ‘there is no way out or round or through’, Wells argues his view vehemently by bombarding his readers with meaningless rhetoric. He soon realizes his initial arguments make no sense, starts anew and expounds on evolutionary principles and warns of the dangers of ‘gigantism’. Despite his feverish efforts, he fails to convey fully the thrust of his arguments and as a result, the rest of the pamphlet descends into barely disguised desperation.

His natural optimism shines through the bleakness in the end, however. Wells makes a heroic and ultimately futile stand in the last sentence of this work: ‘…that small minority which will succeed in seeing life out to its inevitable end.’ Whether this line reflects his hope for a medical miracle or an acceptance of his terminal condition we will never know. ‘Mind at the end of its tether’ is surely the best eulogy ever penned by an author for himself.

To conclude, The Last Books of H.G. Wells is an emotional roller-coaster. One story elevates you to the Elysian Fields and the other plunges you into deepest Tartarus. Truly wonderful!

Rating: 4/5