(Book 797 from 1001 books) - The Time Machine, H.G. Wells

The Time Machine is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895 and written as a frame narrative.

The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposely and selectively forwards or backwards in time.

The term "time machine", coined by Wells, is now almost universally used to refer to such a vehicle.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز شانزدهم ماه سپتامبر سال 2009میلادی

عنوان: ماشین زمان؛ نویسنده: هربرت جورج ولز؛ مترجم: فرید جواهر کلام؛ تهران، سازمان کتابهای جیبی؛ 1346؛ در 176ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، علمی فرهنگی، 1384؛ در 176ص؛ شابک 9644456149؛ چاپ دیگر 1394، در سیزده و 203ص؛ شابک 9786001215919؛ موضوع داستانهای علمی و خیال انگیز از نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده 19م

مترجم: علی امید؛ تهران، سپیده، 1371؛ در 130ص؛ شابک 9645773237؛

مترجم: شهلا طهماسبی؛ تهران، نشر مرکز، کتبهای مریم، 1377؛ در 98ص؛ شابک 9643053652؛ چاپ دوم 1379؛

مترجم: محمد دانش؛ تهران، شهر کتاب، هرمس، 1383؛ در 124ص؛ شابک 9643632520؛

مترجم: علی فاطمیان؛ تهران، چشم انداز، 1379؛ در 236ص؛ شابک 9644222318؛

مترجم: علی الستی؛ تهران، بهجت، 1383؛ در 174ص؛ شابک 97896466771577

مترجم: عبدالحسین شریفیان؛ تهران، چشمه، چاپ اول 1387، چاپ دوم 1388؛ در 133ص؛ شابک 9789643623722؛

مترجم: امین دادور؛ تهران، آریا نگار، 1391؛ در 64ص؛ شابک 9786006251110؛

مترجم: سوده کریمی؛ تهران، ذکر، قاصدک، 1395؛ در 32ص؛ مصور، شابک 9789643077754؛

قهرمان داستان، با یک وسیله ی مکانیکی، به آینده ی نامعلومی، سفر می‌کند؛ و در آنجا میفهمد، که بشریت، به دو دسته تقسیم شده است

دسته ی اول «الوئیها»، که اشراف بیمایه و ترسویی هستند، که در باغ‌های خود زندگی می‌کنند، و از میوه‌ های درختان تغذیه می‌کنند؛

دسته ی دوم «مورلاکها»، که کارگرانی هستند که در زیرزمین زندگی می‌کنند؛ زحمتکشانی که، گرچه کور شده‌ اند، اما به مدد نیروی گذشته، به کار خود، بر روی وسیله ی مکانیکی پیچیده، و زنگزده‌ ای، که هیچ چیز تولید نمی‌کند، ادامه میدهند؛

استوانه‌ هایی با پلکان پیچاپیچ، این دو دنیا را به هم وصل می‌کنند؛ در شبهای بی مهتاب، «مورلاک»‌ها که از مغاک‌های خود، بیرون میآیند، و از «الوئی»‌ها، تغذیه می‌کنند؛ قهرمان بینام، به تشویق «مورلاک»‌ها، از آینده میگریزد، و به زمان حال بازمیگردد؛ او از این سفر، تنها یک یادگاری به ارمغان می‌آورد، که آنهم گلی ناشناخته است، که چون آن را در زمین بکارند، تا هزاران سال نگذرد، شکوفه نخواهد داد

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 15/09/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 14/07/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

The Wellsian classic - a man recounts his adventures in his Time Machine. in which he travelled many years into different points in the future to a cynical audience. The reason I feel that Well's sci-fi ages so poorly is because he tied it into a Victorian perspective, although in his defence, he still showed immense foresight compared to his peers, but with the technological developments made since, now is very dated. 4 out of 12.

2009 read

There is a tendency to regard evolution as progress, rather than merely change. In common speech, we use ‘evolve’ metaphorically for changes that we regard as progressive. Wells reminds us that evolution makes creatures better adapted to their environment, but not necessarily better in any human – that is, moral – sense. The Morlocks are well adapted to their environment. They are a Darwinian success story. But no one reads The Time Machine this way. We read it as a moral horror story.

I have had a long relationship with this book. In childhood, I read the Magnum edition with cover art by Harry Scharre. Naturally the art from my first book is the one that influenced my perception of the novel. It shows the time traveler – suit unruffled – with a tall green-gowned woman who looks nothing like Weena ought to look. They stand before ruins with a red sun blazing low on the horizon.

The Time Machine is like three stories in one. On my first reading, it was the first and third of these stories that most interested me. I was riveted by the time traveler’s lecture on time. I wanted to learn more about the fourth dimension. I was also fascinated by the vision of earth as a dying world. I never questioned the time traveler’s decision to press ever forward in time, to witness the end, or as near to the end as he could witness and live to talk about.

Those two stories make up only a small part of the novel. Most of the book is the story of the time traveler’s adventures among the Eloi and the Morlocks. The allegory was wasted on my adolescent self, for I read this part of the book as little more than the story of the hero’s escape from a race of grotesque subterranean cannibals.

Since I was cavalier with my books back then, I no longer owned the Magnum edition when the spirit moved me to read it again. My second reading was the Bantam Classics edition with one of Giorgio de Chirico’s metaphysical landscapes on the cover. Much as I love Giorgio de Chirico, his deserted Italian piazza does not convey the setting or the mood of The Time Machine. The architecture may be right, but the emptiness is not.

This time, I’m reading the Tor edition with cover art by Les Edwards. The emphasis here is on the scientist and his machine. I dislike this cover with its nineteenth century mad scientist vibe. The machine is just a vehicle for transporting the time traveler to the future – a literal vehicle for the time traveler and a literary vehicle for Wells. It might just as well be magic. There is not even a flux capacitor to give the illusion of technology. The science in this science fiction story is human evolution.

The main story in The Time Machine is the middle story, the story that excites our emotions, not our intellect. Over time, I have evolved a greater appreciation for this part of the book. It is summed up for me in that painting by Harry Scharre. A lecture on time would not make for an evocative image. A beach full of giant crabs would miss the point altogether. The red sun and black sky are enough to suggest the end of the world. Scharre gives us the time traveler himself, standing before the ruined museum, arms wide in a gesture that says “What have we done?” For nature is not to blame.

I'm convinced H.G. Wells is the nameless Time Traveler. What a formidable imagination and intellect that he wrote many of his works when most of humanity labored in an agricultural age. At a time when human flight was only theoretical and the industrial age was awakening, he was writing some amazing Science Fiction with sharp social commentary and satire deftly interwoven.

Coincidentally, I recently read The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self (I only connected the dots a few chapters in) which affirms a general Eloi-ization of humanity.

This is the latest entry in my quest to listen to every audiobook that Sir Derek Jacobi has recorded. I find his voice mesmerizing, and would give 3 stars just for that. But as a stand alone work, The Time Machine is both interesting and thought-provoking. What will humanity look like in our future? How do political and economic trends alter what that path will be? I don't think the time-traveler in this story has all of those answers, but he is a vivid storyteller that draws you into the world of the Eloi and the Morlocks as if you were there. You feel terror, you're compelled by curiosity, you want to keep going to see what will happen next. In a nutshell, its an oldie but a goodie.

n  “Any real body must have extension in four directions: it must have Length, Breadth, Thickness, and—Duration. But through a natural infirmity of the flesh, which I will explain to you in a moment, we incline to overlook this fact. There are really four dimensions, three which we call the three planes of Space, and a fourth, Time. There is, however, a tendency to draw an unreal distinction between the former three dimensions and the latter, because it happens that our consciousness moves intermittently in one direction along the latter from the beginning to the end of our lives.”n

Ah! The original wibbly wobbly timey wimey novel (well, Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court predates The Time Machine, and perhaps some other books as well, but never mind, you can put me right in the comments section if you want). Certainly it is the first one that I ever read as a wee lad. Last week I was looking for a short free audiobook for a bus journey and for some read on I thought of H.G. Wells and picked The Time Machine as it is my favorite.

The only problem I have with reading this book is that it is already “spoiled” long before I read the first paragraph. I remember all the major plot points very well, and what sci-fi fans have never heard of Elois and Morlocks? What I have no memory of is Wells’ prose style and his narrative talents. As the above quoted passage shows he was an eloquent writer with a rare ability to make scientific expositions sound elegant.

Wells was also an amazing story teller, the story may seem like old hat now but if you imagine that you have never heard of this story and never read anything like it before it is quite an astounding and riveting story. Consider the world building of his Dystopian far future with the two sub species of the human race. It is a beautiful piece of social satire and a thought provoking metaphor for social classes which are still prevalent today hundreds of years after the publication of this novel. There is not much in the way of characterization but that is perfectly fine for a book this short, besides the Elois are all hippy-ish airheads and the Morlocks are not interested in conversations. The protagonist does not even have a name.

The last couple of chapters may well be the most atmospheric. Wells’ depiction of an even further future beyond the Elois and Morlocks era is a little surreal and quite eerie. Those crab things seem like something out of H.P. Lovecraft. The conclusion of the novel is also nice and mysterious, mystical even. If you think H.G. Wells is old hat but never actually read any of his books I urge you to give him a try. Certainly I intend to reread The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man etc. before too long. Yes, they are all old hats but they are great hats! Classic headwears never go out of fashion.

Finally I would like to bookend this review with another favorite passage:

n  “You know of course that a mathematical line, a line of thickness nil, has no real existence. Neither has a mathematical plane. These things are mere abstractions. Nor, having only length, breadth, and thickness, can a cube have a real existence. So most people think. But wait a moment. Can an instantaneous cube exist?
Can a cube that does not last for any time at all, have a real existence?n

I have no idea but it sounds great!

Note: I read the free Librivox audiobook version, read by Mark Nelson, the reading is excellent.

I probably should've read this years ago. Whilst intriguing to a certain degree, ultimately it leaves one feeling depressed. But then that is what happens to people who entertain evolutionary ideas on any level. Where is hope for the future if we are at the mercy of the elements and if there is no Higher Power controlling world events? Anything could happen if that were the case....right? Would you want to leave yourselves and your children to the determination of fate or even to successive governments who really don't have much of a clue what will happen or why....

Thank goodness we have the Bible which tells us what will happen and that there is a God who is in control. We don't need to be afraid of the future unknowns as it is all written down for us in God's Word. We won't end up as either airheaded, lighthearted, delicate beauties or as dark, underground, cannibalistic rejects as depicted in this book....unless God wills it! We can trust Him to do what is best for us and for our future eternity in heaven.

That said, it was an enjoyable read and I did want to know what happened to "The Time Traveller" at the end. But as the author died long ago, I guess I'll never find out! The book is clean; free of bad language, violence and sexual content. There are mentions of cannibalism but not in graphic detail.

بالتأكيد الفكرة غير مسبوقة ورائعة بالنسبة لرواية صدرت عام ١٨٩٥
لماذا هذا التقيم إذن ..
فكرة أن اقرأ رواية خيال علمي من المفترض أن تحمل متعة وإثارة من أول صفحة حتى أخر صفحة
ثم أجدها مملة لهذه الدرجة بالتأكيد كان شيء محبط جداً
أسلوب السرد جاء تقريري وممل وباهت جدا يكاد يخلو من أي متعة
وكأن الكاتب أعتمد فقط على مُخيلة وعقل القاريء لتخيل الأحداث

ورغم ما يبدو في فكرة الرواية وأحداثها المطروحة أن ويلز أنتصر لطبقة العمال المتمثّلة في المورولوك على الطبقة المرفهة الغنية والمتمثلة في الأيلو
حيث الأول يكدح ويعمل ليعيش الثاني مُنعم
إلا أني لمست نبرة إستعلائية ونظرة متدنية لجنس المورولوك
فلم يجد ويلز شكل وتصنيف غير الحيوانات لتكون عليه تلك الطبقة في المستقبل !
واحتفظ بالشكل الأقرب للإنسان لطبقة الأيلو

ربما مشاهدة تلك الرواية بمشاهد وأحداث مجسدة صوت وصورة تكون أمتع من قرأتها التي لم أستمتع بها إطلاقا ..

آلة الزمن هي أول رواية كتبها الكاتب هربرت جورج ويلز وطبعاً كما هو واضح من العنوان هي تصنف تحت أدب الخيال العلمي وتحولت لفيلم أمريكي صدر عام ٢٠٠٢ تحت نفس الإسم..

تتحدث الرواية عن عالم أخترع آلة و إستطاع من خلالها أن ينتقل عبر الزمن إلي المستقبل في عام ٨٠٢٠٧١..
الفكرة طبعاً معروفة دلوقتي و مش جديدة و لكن يجب أن نضع في الإعتبار إن الكتاب نشر عام ١٨٩٥ يعني منذ أكثر من مائة عام ودة طبعاً دليل علي إننا قدام كاتب غير عادي..

أجمل ما في الرواية هو تصور الكاتب لشكل المستقبل و ازدياد الصدام و الفروق الطبقية بين البشر مما يؤكد فكرة إنه حقيقي كان كاتب سابق عصره..

رواية متوسطة..تصلح كفاصل قصير بين الكتب الكبيرة و قراءتها مهمة للتعرف علي كاتب مثل ويلز الذي يعتبر من مؤسسي أدب الخيال العلمي..

عن غروب البشرية نتحدث
عن البشر عندما صار طولهم 140سم
وجوههم ناعمة..لافرق بين النساءوالرجال
أصبح الجميع أقرب الأطفال شكلا و موضوعا
كسالي غارقون في الراحةو لا يخافون سوى الظلام



اندثرت البيوت و انتهى نظام الاسرة
الجميع يعيشون في مباني ضخمة
لا يوجد تعليم
او تجارة
او منافسة
او حروب
اذن فهي الجنة

..لا بل هي أقرب لحظيرة الأبقار و أغنام..او عشة دواجن
فهناك المورلووك.. الشاحبين يعيشون تحت الارض..يعملون بلا كلل ليعيش هؤلاء المدللين..و يقتنصون منهم ليلا..لياكلوهم كالاغنام
و في إشارة واضحة بلا ترميز..يشير ويلز لتفوق جنس العمال في اواخر القرن 19

آله الزمن هي ذروة عبقرية هربرت ويلز..وضع فيها كل آراءه الإصلاحية و الفلسفية في إطار من الخيال الفائق
و لا ننسى أنه قد أشار للبعد الرابع قبل نظرية النسبية لاينشتاين بعشر سنوات

اعتبرها انا روايتيين: الأولى عن العالم رحالة الزمن الذي يخترع الآلة لانه يريد إعادة الزمن و يشرح لهم ان هناك بعد رابع لكل شيء..و يحاول إقناع مجتمعه بها و يخبرهم برحيله لمدة اسبوع..و يطول انتظارهم له لسنوات

و الثانية عن العالم المستقبلي لعام 80الف الذي انتقل إليه بالفعل
رغم أسلوب ويلز التقريري
الا انها من الكلاسيكيات الفارقة..
تؤكد ان الشقاء والخطر و المعاناة..قد تبدو لنا شرا
و لكنها تحافظ على ذكاء البشر و استمرارهم ..حقا
رؤية اجتماعية تصدمك..و لكن لا يبطلها الزمن
فالفوارق ابدا لن تزول

2.5

Not much of a story, really, but intriguing, none the less. While Wells frames his ideas within the journeys of the Time Traveler, it is more of a commentary and a hypothesis about how the politics and socio-economic structure of Wells' time period as well as the science of our planet and solar system will affect the future. While I believe some retelling of this book (movies, etc.) have had him go into the past, the book is actually all about the future.

As a person who has enjoyed authors like Wells and Verne and their guesses for the future, I am happy to give this book 4 stars again for this re-read.