The Weirdest World

Raphael Aloysius LaffertyProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 31K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Weirdest World by R. A. LaffertyAuthor: Lafferty, R. A., 1914-2002,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 17, 2016

Editor's review

The Weirdest World is a short science fiction work by R. A. Lafferty, released in the public domain via Project Gutenberg. Lafferty is known for his bizarre imagination, colloquial narration, and a humor close to folk storytelling. This piece is a good way to sense how he makes an "alien world" both absurd and internally logical. Readers can focus on the narrator's tone, the way the world's rules are introduced, and the mockery of common sense and order beneath the absurdity. It is short, suitable as an entry sample to Lafferty's work and as a discussion text in a science fiction short story course, set against "harder" science fiction. Note that public domain ebooks usually lack modern introductions and annotations, so readers need patience with unfamiliar premises and accept the author's method of presenting oddities first and supplying logic later. If you prefer tightly built worldbuilding, it may feel jumpy; if you enjoy language play and grotesque humor, it reads briskly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Science fiction short story readers who enjoy grotesque humor and whimsical premises
Readers who want an introduction to R. A. Lafferty's style
People who need a discussion sample for a science fiction short story course or reading group
Literary fans who can accept colloquial narration and jumpy logic

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer hard science fiction with tight worldbuilding and technical detail
Readers who need complete worldbuilding explanations and traditional narrative arcs
People with little patience for absurd narration who give up easily

Reading tips

On the first read, follow the narrator's tone to the end without rushing to understand every premise; feel the grotesque atmosphere first.
On the second read, mark the sentences where the world's rules are introduced and observe how the author uses dialogue to fill in logic.
Read it alongside other Lafferty short stories and note his recurring humor devices and narrative voice.
After reading, retell the story orally to a friend to test whether you can grasp the mockery of common sense behind the absurd premises.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this novel a long work or a short story?

Judging from the length of the public domain ebook and Lafferty's usual publication forms, it is a short story. It suits a single sitting, then a second look at how the narrator gradually reveals the premises; do not expect complex subplots as in a novel.

Do I need to know Lafferty's other works before reading?

No. It can be read independently. Still, knowing beforehand that Lafferty often writes grotesque, humorous, colloquial science fiction makes it easier to accept the method of presenting oddities first and supplying logic later, reducing confusion.

Why is it said to suit reading group discussion?

It is short, has bizarre premises, and a distinctive narrative voice, which easily invites different interpretations. Discussion can center on questions such as whether absurdity needs internal logic, whether the narrator is reliable, and how humor dissolves strangeness, without requiring much background knowledge.

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About the author

Raphael Aloysius Lafferty Author · American · 1914–2002

R. A. Lafferty (Raphael Aloysius Lafferty, 1914–2002) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, born in Iowa and long resident in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He worked as an electrical engineer and served in the Pacific theater during World War II, and did not begin writing until his forties. Over his career he produced more than thirty novels and over two hundred short stories. His style was idiosyncratic and singular, marked by absurdity, ingenuity and a strong relish for language, giving him a distinctive place in genre fiction. He won the Hugo Award in 1972 for "The Devil Is Dead" and received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1990. Six of his works are held in the collection, including "The Six Fingers of Time," "The Weirdest World" and "Sodom and Gomorrah, Texas"; other representative works include "Dream World," "Aloys" and "All the People."