Last month The Economist published a list of top books set in a counter factual world. A world that would have been if a major historical event had turned out differently. I already like this genre and have read quite a few books on the list.
A significant proportion of these books involve a different end to the second world war. C.J Sansom's Dominion and Robert Harris's Fatherland are set in an England which is losing or has lost the second world war to the Nazi's. In both these books the alternate history is a significant part of the plot. Then there are those books where the alternate history is a part of the backdrop and has nothing to do with the actual story. This would include Francis Spufford's Cahokia Jazz set in an independent Indian nation which co-exists with the United States and which I reviewed a few months back.
Also in the second category is Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union which is a cop story set in a world where the Jews have been settled in Alaska instead of Israel. To take a bit of a tangent here, Michael Chabon is an amazing author who has written several other awesome books such as The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Gentlemen of the Road. Very highly recommended if someone is looking for a new author to read.
Coming back to the list mentioned, I was surprised to see one of the top mentions was The Alteration by none other than Kingsley Amis, of the Lucky Jim fame. Lucky Jim is another book I love and often recommend.
The Alternation is set in an England that very different from the protestant England of Henry the VIII that we know. This is a world where Martin Luther's revolution against the papacy never happened. As a matter of fact Martin Luther himself became Pope Germanium the I. So this is a world where Vatican won against the protestants as well as science. Across Europe the Pope's world is the law.
The story is about a boy in London called Hubert who is a gifted singer. In fact he is such a gifted singer that master singer's from the Pope's court come to see him. They decide that he is a suitable candidate for 'alteration' which will ensure that he does not achieve puberty and spoil his voice. He might become one of the most famous singers in Christendom but on the other hand he will never have a wife or family. Hubert along with his family and friends struggle to digest these new circumstances over which they don't have much of a choice.
The book is well written, though the writing seems a lil odd at the start. Author brings out some aspects of how the world in which Catholicism ruled supreme would look like. That bit requires a lil more work to appreciate than some of the other books mentioned above. Apart from the obvious historical aspects the book also ruminates over how significant or otherwise is sexual desire and its fulfilment to human existence.
I will rate this a 3.5 - a good, different book.
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