2001: A Space Odyssey: A Companion to the Greatest Voyage

For some reason I am constantly reminded of the man blinking face whenever I look at the cover, it's kind of eerie to tell the truth.

Before I left for California I managed to finish Arthur C. Clarke’s most iconic novel (written alongside Kubrick's film and an expansion of his short story "The Sentinal"), 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it was even better than I expected. I didn’t know until recently that it was first a novel and I still have yet to see the film, but now I feel like I have a greater appreciation and understanding of the film for it. It’s basically a word-for-word copy of the film (if my understanding of the outline is correct), but it focuses a great deal on the cerebral and experiences of the characters. Like it says on the tin, it’s a journey of a lifetime, and like a tin of fish, let’s crack this puppy open.

As mentioned earlier, Clarke’s book and Kubrick’s film are essentially functionally identical, but there’s a lot more explanation of what exactly is going on inside characters’ heads. There's a very cerebral element to the novel, and conversations are far less frequent compared to most works of media. It also eliminates one read of the film I heard a while ago that the film was a commentary on how technology was destroying interpersonal interaction because people talk stiffly and like robots. The reason behind this is simply because in this fictional 2001 the quality of education is a lot greater than in the late sixties, so the average person is a lot more educated. David Bowman, possesses knowledge of various topics that is the equivalent of at least three graduate degrees, and a good number of those he gained while on the Discovery (You know, for fun, as you do). The conversation in the second chapter is also likewise given context. The reason why the group is so awkward and evasive is because in the book it’s essentially three people (a scientist from NASA, a scientist from the USSR, and the station security head) trying to find out what the others know without giving anything only they know away. It’s a conversation-based conflict between spies, so of course it seems awkward. HAL-9000’s motivations for going rogue are also fleshed out, which fundamentally changes ‘his’ character from the popular perception of an evil intelligence. Essentially ‘he’ experiences a panic attack after being notified that Frank and David are expendable and are to be lied to about the mission. HAL was designed and raised to be incapable of mistruth, but when sent on the mission he was told to act contrary to his nature. Eventually HAL became consumed by guilt and shame, and eventually he breaks down and attempts to remove the objects of guilt from his life (like most people would), with lethal consequences. Ironically, this makes HAL perhaps the most identifiable figure for me in 2001. However, without a doubt the highlight of the novel for me would be David Bowman’s iconic odyssey, made all the more transporting by the careful effort to describe David’s perspective and understanding of what’s happening. It’s trippy, anxiety-inducing, yet insulating all at once. The most descriptive writing of the book can be found within this final segment, and I liked the great effort to describe these wholly alien landscapes with human terms. He guesses (with a good deal of reasoning) that he’ll not be taken back to the solar system, so he may as well see where the powers that have abducted his pod are taking him, since they appear to be invested in his safety. The final moments of the film are also explained, with David deciding on a whim to detonate all of the nuclear warheads on Earth. After this chilling and abrupt action, David contemplates what to do next, with an equally ominous “But he would think of something”. I could almost feel a grin behind that.

There are my thoughts on Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I’d definitely recommend it. Not only does it scratch that sci-fi itch I’ve had for a long time, I’d say it’s also a great companion to the film for people that would like to know more of what’s happening at any time. I’ll probably get my hands on Odysseies 2010, 2061, and 3001 sooner rather than later (because much to my surprise sequels exist), and I’ll watch the film as soon as I can, this is worth looking into in my opinion, and besides, I’m curious what David is going to do next.

The man blinking image in question.