TVA Baby and Other Stories
by Terry Bisson
For the month of June our Thematic Book Club went with
the concept of “The Future.” It was no problem choosing a book this month as I
have a number of science fiction books sitting on my shelf at home that I’ve
requested over the years for gifts.
The author Terry Bisson first caught my attention with
a humorous award winning short story, “They’re Made Out of Meat.” It’s told
from the perspective of two aliens watching humans. They are grossed out by the
fact human bodies are made out of meat. I found it quite hilarious at the time.
I don’t remember when I requested the collection, TVA
Baby, but it must have been in a book review magazine I read at work. I put
the book on my wish list and it came to me one holiday as a gift.
I picked it up expecting straight up science fiction.
It turned out to be what I’ve learned to call more speculative fiction —
somewhere between science fiction and tall tales. Some are inspiring, some are
kind of depressing, but most are thought provoking in one way or another.
To be honest, the first story in the collection, TVA
Baby, left me wondering if I really wanted to read this collection. It
seemed like a cross between a macho action story of the John D. MacDonald
variety and a singularly ruthless Murdoch from the A-Team.
Private Eye
slowed things down and had more of a Philip Marlowe meets the ennui of the
future just trying to get by. I found it much more interesting and enjoyable.
Pirates of the Somali Coast
again had me wondering if I really wanted to read this book? The young main
character dances without reality through a bloody pirate take over of his
cruise ship. It seems to ask the question, what if a child really could not
tell the difference between video games and reality? A problem I have never
seen in a child, to be honest, though I suppose there may be a few out there
who really couldn’t tell the difference.
The Stamp
was one of the shortest but also one of the more interesting, featuring a boy
who had purchased some stamps for his brother’s birthday that showed things
which hadn’t happened yet. The identity of the two children makes it all the
more interesting.
Catch ‘Em in the Act
was intriguing if a bit gritty. A young man gets a hold of a video camera that claims
to help the viewer stop crimes, but actually seems to make people do things
they wouldn’t otherwise consider until he viewed them through it. A bit
Supernatural and rather interesting to see where it led.
The rest of the stories were at different turns sad
and lovely, absurd and cringe-worthy, inventive, bland, crude, and thought
provoking.
Brother Can You Spare a Dime
was one of the most interesting and creative of the stories in this collection.
It starts with a homeless man who is being pushed along by the police. The
homeless man finds himself transported to the future and realizes the dimes
have his face on them. He comes to the conclusion that he must do something in
the past worthy of the honor of having his face on the money which brings about
the beautiful future and returns to his own time. I do love a good time travel
story, and I love any story with a good twist ending, as this one goes on to have.
Overall, I did not enjoy every story, but they were
definitely thought provoking and made my brain consider new avenues of thought
that helped me start working on one of my own stories again. Venture in at your
own risk.
