My Review (5 stars out of 5)
Dr Miles Bennell has lived in Santa Mira all his life. His practice is not particularly challenging until the day one of his patients tells him her uncle isn’t her uncle. She insists there’s something different about the man, though what it is that’s different is a mystery, since he appears to be exactly like her uncle – expect for one thing. Bennell presumes she needs to see a psychiatrist, until other patients turn up at the surgery claiming someone in their lives is not who they used to be…
Thought at the time of publication (originally serialised in magazine format in 1954) to be a commentary on McCarthyism, this is a classic sci-fi tale that inspired many similar stories. Interestingly, the 1956 movie version featured Kevin McCarthy (presumably no relation to old Joe) as the good doctor whose world is turned upside down. The original movie (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) is as good today as when I first watched it as a kid. As to the book, I’m happy to report it’s a cracking good read. Finney’s writing is a little clunky at times and perhaps a tad dated but it’s a thoroughly enjoyable tale that’s as thought-provoking now as it was all those years ago.
A classic of the genre.
Colin Garrow 
I got it for free from Audible 👌
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Nice!
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Now this really interests me, Colin. I do like older books with good stories. Thank you 💛
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It’s an intriguing tale, Robbie, and pretty damn good considering when he wrote it.
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It’s been a while, but I remember Finney’s novel as a brisk, enjoyable read. Don Siegal’s 1956 film derived a lot of power from its dual meaning. It could be seen as a warning of McCarthyism or a warning against communism. It works (and terrifies) both ways. The Philp Kaufman 1978 film is a comment on the “me” generation of the US during that decade — especially the popuarity of psychoanalysis and “finding” oneself. Abel Ferrara’s 1993 film (Body Snatchers) is more of a straight-up horror film, though its setting (an army base) certainly leads to some subtextual gold about conformity. The worst of the adaptations is Oliver Hirschbiegel’s The Invasion (2007). It has the seeds of something really interesting — for a short time, it seems to suggest that the pod people are right. It would have been an interesting take. Unfortunately, the film settles into unimaginative action. If the films have proven anything, it’s how fertile the material is for interpretation.
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I liked the 1978 movie though haven’t seen the other two. Thanks for your comments.
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