One of those admirable novels that is so clearly meant to surpass the author’s work up until. Tono-Bungay initially resembles Kipps in its general underpinnings: class examined through an especially mobile character whose experience then serves as dissection. But it is more ambitious by half, attempting to intermingle facts of capitalism, advertisement, pre-post-truth, love, marriage, greed, science, murder. So often will George proclaim (loudly, as is Well’s tendency) on some revelation pertaining to life and society. That is Wells’ intention. To write to book of the nation. To furrow into the soul, combining his u/dystopian fiction and his social fiction into some kind of absolute statement. In this he succeeds and he fails. Frequently he will touch on some deeply apposite idea: his writing on advertisement and his satire on Coca-Cola is hugely precocious, and his general mockery in terms of marriage and class-relations is equally on-the-mark. George’s own ignorance, or aloofness, becomes a conduit of analysis. He becomes the subject under study, the parvenu class that is unseating the old ‘Bladesover system’ and building it again in a new, bowdlerized edition. An already damned social organization damned again. Though Wells ever exists beyond the surface. The legitimate centre of the novel is obviously derived from Conrad, melding ideas in Heart of Darkness and Nostromo to evince an ultimate moral quandary. The ‘quap’ becomes a literalization of gold’s corrosive effect, burning hands that touch it and sinking boats that convey it. George kills a man for no real reason, and faces no consequence for this action. Wells thuds with import. This, he announces, is what we have become. Or what we always were. But never does Wells capture the atavism and the tragedy strewn across Conrad’s pages. Tono-Bungay is always too detached and too above literary conceit to engage in those profoundly affecting passages that might be drawn from it. Instead Wells swerves into the genre-thrills that his pen so readily provides: a slipshod flying machine conveying the beleaguered Ponderevos across the channel into Bordeaux. Though so far as I have read, this is Wells at his most lofty, and his most consciously important. There are a great many intriguing and incisive thoughts arranged on these pages. I am just not so convinced Wells commands the necessary prowess to quite pull them off.

One of the most successful authors of the early twentieth-century, Wells is best known today for his pioneering works in early sci-fi, such as The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), and The War of the Worlds (1898), but he wrote all kinds of works, including a realist novel like Tono-Bungay.

Narrated in the first person by its protagonist George Ponderevo, the title of Tono-Bungay refers to a patent medicine developed by his Uncle Edward, a nasty stimulant that brings in lots of money but does nobody any good, neither its consumers nor its producers in George and his uncle, whose newfound wealth turns out to be a ticket to disaster.

Essentially a Bildungsroman, Tono-Bungay provides an engaging enough as a story but is absolutely uninspired in its form. Of course it also has some truly horrible moments of historical prejudice, from George's deeply embedded anti-Semitism to his completely unnecessary murder of a random African man he encounters.

The most interesting aspect of the novel for me was the supposedly "socialist" critique Wells is putting forth of capitalist society, which is undertaken in the most strangely bourgeois form possible. I was particularly struck by this passage late in the novel, when George denounces the outcome of his and his uncle's pursuit of money:

"It struck me suddenly as the compact-est image and sample of all that passes for Progress, of all the advertisement-inflated spending, the aimless building up and pulling down, the enterprise and promise of my age. This was our fruit, this was what we had done, I and my uncle, in the fashion of our time. We were its leaders and exponents, we were the thing it most flourishingly produced. For this futility in its end, for an epoch of such futility, the solemn scroll of history had unfolded…. ‘Great God!’ I cried, ‘but is this Life?’ For this the armies drilled, for this the Law was administered and the prisons did their duty, for this the millions toiled and perished in suffering, in order that a few of us should build palaces we never finished, make billiard-rooms under ponds, run imbecile walls round irrational estates, scorch about the world in motor-cars, devise flying-machines, play golf and a dozen such foolish games of ball, crowd into chattering dinner parties, gamble and make our lives one vast dismal spectacle of witless waste! So it struck me then, and for a time I could think of no other interpretation. This was Life! It came to me like a revelation, a revelation at once incredible and indisputable of the abysmal folly of our being." (pp.347-348)

I can understand where Wells is coming from, but it also seems incredibly disingenuous - like devouring a huge meal and only then lamenting that one has ordered so much food. It simply turns socialism into a bizarre kind of puritanism, obsessed with eliminating desire as a form of "waste," rather than acknowledging that waste is kind of the point of enjoyment, as Wells knew all too well from his personal life.

There are some science-fictional elements in the story but they play a pretty small part. Most of the book is much more a social novel and satire on the marketing of questionable products. Good but I have to say I enjoy Wells when he’s more in the sci-fi vein.

La prima cosa che mi ha colpito di questo libro è ovviamente il titolo. Il rimedio miracoloso a cosa? Mi sono immediatamente chiesta… e poi leggendo la trama stessa ho immaginato che fosse collegato ad uno spaccato della società in cui è nato e vissuto il nostro protagonista.
Non mi sono sbagliata di molto. Ma con la lettura non mi sono limitata a vedere un piccolo squarcio della società vittoriana attraverso il lungo monologo del protagonista, mi sono ritrovata a leggere spunti di riflessione importanti, che esulano da periodo storico in cui sono citati ma che possono essere brutalmente attuali.

Il libro è un lungo racconto ad unica voce, appunto quella di George Ponderevo della sua vita, dall’infanzia alla maturità, attraverso le avventure scolastiche, familiari, amorose, lavorative e di ceto sociale. Come i grandi classici inglesi non mancano le descrizioni dettagliate e prolisse dei luoghi, delle abitudini delle persone, distinte per certo d’appartenenza, che tendono a volte a distrarre il lettore e a fermarsi, per ritornare indietro nella lettura per riprendere quel dettaglio volutamente lasciato alla mercé delle parole e da sembrare insignificante, ma che senza saperlo ha invece attirato la sua attenzione e instaurato il tarlo della domanda di riflessione, che chiede un confronto tra quanto appena letto e la vita reale.
Tranquilli è normale, è successo anche a me!
L’autore ha usato la pignoleria dei dettagli nel descrivere alcune scene come la distinzione dei vari ceti sociali o all’interno di ciascuno di essi il modo di vestirsi e atteggiarsi, o il modo di prendere in the o dell’incapacità di instaurare un discorso diverso dal repertorio standard usato in base alla stagione o alle caratteristiche atmosferiche per enfatizzare l’ignoranza e l’incapacità delle persone di voler migliorarsi, di cambiare, di istruirsi e l’accettazione della propria condizione, senza possibilità di riuscire a pensare a qualcosa di diverso se non quello inculcato sin dalla nascita da una famiglia altrettanto ignorante e ottusa.
Per non parlare della falsa “promiscuità” tra i vari ceti sociali, ovvero nobili e domestici potevano frequentarsi ed essere quasi amici a patto che non fossero superati alcuni limiti… quali siano questi limiti lo stabiliva il più alto in grado al momento che più opportuno alle proprie esigenze.
Il rimedio miracoloso denuncia una società ambigua, due lati della stessa medaglia che si fondono e formano la sua unità. Come in ogni epoca, questo dualismo non è caratteristica dell’epoca vittoriana, ma in molte descrizioni ho potuto fare paragoni con la società del 2019 decadente e finta, ottusa e moralista, tecnologica e più ignorante dei compaesani di George Ponderevo. Loro erano giustificati in quanto figli di un’era oscura e genitori delle prime scoperte, delle innovazioni e del boom finanziario che non tutti comprendevano ma che vivevano con distacco o avventurandosi ingenuamente in esso, volendo costantemente salire il gradino che da semplice cittadinotto l’avrebbe reso ricco borghese e quest’ultimo magari baronetto, per far parte di quella classe sociale da cui aveva sempre preso ordini.
E gli e le donne di oggi che giustificazione? Hanno tutto la conoscenza a portata di mano, ma la usano male o non apprendono niente, diventando involucri inermi che non sanno nemmeno esprimere un pensiero proprio seguendo la massa guidata dal caprone poco più intelligente degli altri di turno.
Il nostro protagonista non si riconosce nella classe sociale in cui è nato – è figlio di una domestica – in quanto la sua mente si apre alla conoscenza del mondo grazie alla lettura dei libri e alla scuola e alla sua spiccata intelligenza, ma allo stesso tempo non comprende e non desidera plasmarsi al ceto superiore in quanto non ne comprende i meccanismi, la staticità, la mancanza di volersi migliorare e il modo di pensare e la sua doppia faccia; George cerca di cavalcare l’onda del momento, avventurandosi con lo zio in un’attività finanziaria tanto innovativa quanto effimera comprendendo che per fare affari a volte si deve vendere al cliente quello che desidera e non ciò di cui necessita, come ad esempio qui un rimedio miracoloso per ogni acciacco.
Alla fine però George è vittima del sistema. Ha provato a ribellarsi, a distinguersi, a dare vita a un nuovo modo di pensare e vivere… ma fallisce in quanto non viene compreso in primis da chi gli sta vicino, da chi potrebbe aiutarlo a fare sempre di più… persone che si dimostrano fin troppo legate alle tradizioni anche se emancipate.
Una contraddizione? No, solo una triste realtà che per quanto lontano possa sembrarci, invece è attaccata alla nostra spalla, ci alita sul collo mentre affrontiamo la strada in questa vita e in questa società decadente così simile alla fine dell’età vittoriana.

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

TONO-BUNGAY
Herbert George WELLS

“İşte buradayız, George! Ne dedim ben sana? Şimdi fısıldamaya gerek yok oğlum. Haykır, yüksek sesle söyle! Etrafa yay! Herkese anlat! Tono… TONO… TONO-BUNGAY!”
Tadının güzel olmasının yanı sıra her derde deva olduğu söylenen ama sonuç olarak hiçbir işe yaramayan bir sıvı düşünün. Tabii burda ki asıl olay o sıvının nasıl bir servete dönüşebildiğidir ki işte bu başarıda George Panderevo’ya aittir. Çünkü mucizevi sıvı Tono-Bungay, ne işe yaradığıyla değil, tanıtımıyla ün kazanmıştır pazarlamacı George Panderevo sayesinde.
Hikayemizi anlatıcımız George Panderevo’dan dinliyoruz ve çocukluğundan başlayarak yaşadıklarını anlatıyor bizlere. 1800’lü yılların sonunda Bladesover hanesinde yaşananlar ile başlıyor ki okurununda o çağı, İngiltere kırsalını çok daha iyi anlamasını sağlıyor George. Babasının hayatta olduğunu bile bilmiyordur George, çünkü onları geride bırakarak kaçmıştır. Babasına dair sahip olduğu tek şey ise amcası Edward Panderevo’ydur ve o da sonraki yıllarında Tono-Bungay ile hayatına girecektir George’un. Üniversite için Londra’ya ilk gittiğinde amcası ve yengesi ile biraraya gelmiş, çılgın mucit amcasından Tono-Bungay’ın adını duymuş olsada üzerinde durmamıştır George. İki yıl hiç görmediği amcası Edward’tan bir gün telgraf aldığında ise Tono-Bungay amca yeğeni biraraya getirmiştir artık. Kapitalist çağın fırsatçı ruhu Edward’ta can bulmuş, George ise amcasıyla zıt karakterlerde olmasına rağmen onun ağına düşmüştür. Yaptıkları ile inandıkları arasında uçurum büyüdükçe George kendisinin boğulduğunu hisseder ama amcasıyla yola devam eder.
Peki ya sonra yaşananlar?
H.G. Wells’in “yazdığım ve yazacağım eserler arasında en iyi romanım” olarak adlandırdığı Tono-Bungay, önceki bilim kurgu başyapıtları ile sonrasında yazmış olduğu toplumsal romanlar arasında bir nevi köprü görevi görmüş ve yazarın edebi kariyerinde çok önemli bir yere sahip olmuştur. Yarı otobiyografik eseri Tono-Bungay’da Wells, modernleşen yeni dünyada ticaretin, toplumsal sınıfın ve insan olmanın ne anlama geldiğini kendi hayatından da bir çok izler katarak okurları ile buluşturmuştur.
Kült romanlar arasında yer alan ve okurunun farklı bir ruh haline bürünmesini sağlayan #tonobungay TAVSİYEMdir.
Syf: 485

While modern and unique in its themes (and forever contemporary), it frequently pauses from exploring what it sets out to reveal in the first place in order to smother the reader in Dickensian descriptions. I am particularly harsh about this, as well as disappointed, for the sole reason that I really liked this book (or wanted to). Many strokes of brilliance here and there, playful and innovative wordplay, heavy themes are what kept me reading it. Unnecessarily chapters about irrelevant issues made me take so long with it.

Be your own judge, i personally found it worthy of a read.

A parable for modern times.

A enthusiastic entrepreneur taken in by Snake oil and self belief. A modern take of Icarus sailing too close to the sun

In my eyes, the core social criticisms of England that arise from Tono-Bungay are as follows:

1) There is more to class than wealth.

As the Ponderevos rocket up the English social scale, they never quite seem at ease in their new position. Why is this? You could, like Wells, write a whole book exploring that question. I'll favour encapsulating it in 'background' - the Ponderevos lack the (private) education, connections, etiquette, and so much more to 'fit in' with England's upper classes and their pretences of Medieval-esque honour and dignity.

2) The individualistic greed of capitalism.

In the desire to get by in the world, George struggles with the moral dilemma of how to make an 'honest' living in a 'dishonest' capitalist system. He also witnesses the droves of people wanting to 'use' his Uncle for his money, and how quickly they abandon him when his fortunes turn.

3) The manipulating power of advertising and the press.

Disingenuous advertising lies at the heart of how the Ponderevos make their money, although negative press also brings about their downfall. Wells' key points are that advertising is the art of convincing people that they need things which they don't, and that the press reflects the interests of their owners.


If that sounds like it would be a lot for one book to cover then congratulations, as you would be correct. Wells thought that Tono-Bungay was his finest and most complete novel but it does fall victim to vaulting ambition; Wells narrowed the scope of his social commentary after Tono-Bungay.

Reflecting on the book, it's both amazing and depressing that its themes are resonant 114 years after its first publication.

What a cheery review, Merry Christmas everyone!

I first heard about Tono Bungay in high school. I expected a satirical farce about a popular patent medicine, but, when I started the book, I quickly lost interest as it began with the multitudinous indignities suffered by its working class protagonist, George Ponderevo.. Not much fun.

Now, in my senior years, I have finally got to the point of finishing the book. The life of the protagonist is the real subject. The story of the patent medicine, Tono Bungay, and its unlikely successes, are generally well written in a facetious style, but it isn't a major part of this novel. Social satire is also thrown in here and there, as is self-righteous musings about the low state of humanity, particularly the English middle class. Wells' George Ponderevo didn't seem to ever meet a man or, especially, a woman that he didn't come to dislike. Yet, his misadventures get the story moving after it stalls. George's numerous failed romantic attachments, all repetitive and predictable, are just unfortunate ballast.

Wells tends to drift toward serious moralizing which can go on and on. It makes for a book with long, boring interludes with Wells' latent anger coming to the surface. Often, he attacks styles and social behaviors which are seldom important enough for the reader to share his ire. All in all, Tono Bungay is worth finishing, but I had expected more.

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3551778.html

This is Wells' best-known non-sf novel. I say that despite the following points:

- Most of the plot revolves around a magical potion, Tono-Bungay. But Tono-Bungay is a complete fake, and sells well because of marketing, not because it actually does any good.
- There is a miraculous mineral which would have transformed the plot, indeed the world, if it came into play. But all supplies are lost, so it becomes a narrative hook for an unsuccessful journey instead.
- The hero flies an aeroplane to France, in a novel published (and mostly set) in 1908, something that didn't actually happen until 1909. But in 1908 it was clearly going to happen pretty soon - in October, the Daily Mail offered a prize of £500 for a cross-channel flight made before the end of the year.
- Anyway the hero's aeronautical experiments turn out to be a dead-end, and he abandons them and is designing warships by the end of the book.

But most of all, the point of the book isn't the change to human society offered by transformative technology, it's about society and social mobility in the very first years of the twentieth century in England. The tech bits are decorative rather than fundamental, and I think it's less sfnal than the Lovejoy books where he supernaturally differentiates real antiques from fakes.

So, the story is actually about our narrator and his uncle; his uncle starts the book by becoming bankrupt, but very quickly becomes fabulously rich thanks to Tono-Bungay. His nephew helps him manage the business (and does well out of it) but fails three times to find true love, his emotional life reported in much more realistic terms than I think was normal for fiction of the day - for this alone I think it's a memorable book, avoiding romantic cliches. The mineral expedition is a slightly silly adventure, but I think redeems itself as a literary device by failing to bring home the goods.

There are unfortunately still plenty of other cliches. I never quite got the feeling that we were meant to take the uncle and aunt seriously; clearly the posh folk of Surrey think they are getting above themselves and I sensed that the author thinks so too. The French scenes are a little bit in that direction too. But overall it's a very engaging and interesting novel, and I feel with some confidence that I can work through the rest of Wells.

Slow, plodding - verbose for verbosity's sake. No real science-fiction to speak of - a real disappointment.