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Search - They came from SW19

They came from SW19
Author: Nigel Williams

Wimbledon is internationally renowned for hosting a tennis tournament. For those Londoners who do not inhabit the area, however, Wimbledon can be something of a joke. Completely split between the extremely well off in the "Village" (it's in a city, by the way) and those at the broad spectrum's other end who occupy other parts, ... more »right down to Colliers Wood (which is not a wood). Wimbledon might think of itself as leafy green, but the experience of most of its inhabitants remains determinedly inner city. Wimbledon is thus the butt of many a joke.

In short, it's just the kind of place where you would expect to find a warbling religious sect populated by people who commune with the dead, alongside those who have devoted their lives to spotting extra-terrestrials. And this is exactly the scenario presented by Nigel Williams in his novel They Came From SW19.

Simon Britton is fourteen and has just lost his dad. Lost is possibly misleading, because it may merely imply that the family head had been mislaid. But in the sense we encounter in They Came From SW19 it means decidedly dead, and not a trip to Barbados or the Lake District. Simon is willing to live with the label, as long as his dad agrees. As the book progresses, however, this assumed agreement becomes less clear.

You see, the other thing that folk in Wimbledon do is regularly talk to the dead. There is a couple called Mr and Mrs Quigley. Not only are they pretty big in the First Church of Christ the Spiritualist, they are also -jointly and individually- pretty big in other parts as well, especially Mr Quigley, who seems to be very well endowed indeed. Simon, after repeated expressions of indifference, decides to join the church and adopt its beliefs. He suffers consternation, however, when speaking in tongues reveals that the area has been invaded by aliens. The event is particularly poignant because it seems to have links with the disappearance of Simon's friend, who regularly communed with local extra-terrestrials.

But all is not what it seems. Perhaps the friend has not really disappeared. Perhaps he has been taken into an alien ship for the purposes of observation and scientific investigation. Maybe that was what happened to Simon's father as well, the heart attack being a mere diversion to keep the whole affair secret.

They Came From SW19 is a rather insane farce. It is also very funny and, given the nature of Wimbledon, also highly probable. The place is probably packed with aliens - some of them even tennis players! - with space ships and flying saucers forming the bulk of local traffic jams. The place is even more likely packed with zany charismatics who speak in tongues, commune with the dead and make strange claims about details of their diet.

But the novel is not just a funny story. Nigel Williams is always more subtle than this. At the core of the book is an observation about cultural currency. People adopt and trade foibles to make statements about their identity and their claims to influence. But more often than not, these complicated facades are really hides within which ultimate frailty can be concealed. These people, after all, have to live with living in Wimbledon.

ISBN-13: 9780571168361
ISBN-10: 0571168361
Publication Date: 10/8/1993
Pages: 250
Rating:

Currently 3.5/5 Stars.

3.5 stars, based on 2 ratings

Publisher: Faber and Faber
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

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