Along with The Chrysalids, this is my favourite of Wyndham's books. I just love it. I don't even know why I find it so appealing, but I think it's something to do with a kid and an alien reaching out to each other to learn, and in friendship, without any of the sort of hysterical sci-fi drama that's so common in fictional first contacts. It's just so domestic, and so laid back - my favourite scene is Matthew talking to his dad about the cows, and how they get stuck in their learning and aren't able to go further. And it's not a silly question! It's an enormously significant one, really: cows can learn when and where to go for milking, but they can't learn to open a gate, when they see it opened for them every day. Why?!

It's such an unflashy little story, for such a flashy concept. I love that. And I love that it doesn't have to be 500 pages long to get its ideas across. More sci-fi should be so restrained...