''Smallcreep's Day'' is
Peter Currell Brown's only novel and was first published by
Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group.
Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, an ...
in 1965. The story is a surreal satire on modern industrial life. The novel was written while the author worked at
R A Lister and Company
R A Lister & Company was founded in Dursley, Gloucestershire, England, in 1867 by Robert Ashton Lister, Sir Robert Ashton Lister (1845–1929), to produce agricultural machinery. In 1986 it was bought and merged. In 2014, after 147 years, res ...
in
Dursley
Dursley is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, England. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Gloucester. It is under the northeast flank of Stinchcombe#Stinchcombe Hill, St ...
,
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
.
The central character Pinquean Smallcreep works in the slotting section of a vast and labyrinthine factory and has done so for years. He becomes curious about the purpose of the pulley that he puts the slots in and one day, having become obsessed by an idea, leaves his machine and goes exploring through the strange world of his factory. On a quest to find meaning in his monotonous existence, Smallcreep experiences many surreal and disturbing situations. Each scene explores some of the author's ideas about human relationships, freedom and the value of human life. Some of the scenes are hilarious, some depressing and some macabre.
The book went out of print in the 1970s, but was re-issued by Pinter & Martin in September 2008. In the February 2009 issue of ''
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Bouche ...
'', science fiction writer and critic
Lawrence Person calls it "a bitter, didactic, bracing novel."
[Person, Lawrence (February 2009)]
Curiosities
''Fantasy and Science Fiction''.
''Smallcreep's Day'' was the inspiration for the
album of the same name by
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
guitarist
Mike Rutherford
Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, best known as co-founder, lead guitarist and bassist of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis. He and keyboardist Tony Banks (musici ...
, released in 1980.
References
{{reflist
External links
Pinter & Martin, publishers of new editionAmazon Reviews of the Book
1965 British novels
Victor Gollancz Ltd books