Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick is one of my favorite writers. He was driven by an interest in questions that also are preoccupations for me (such as "What is reality?", "What is identity?", and "What does it mean to be human?") and manages to explore them without any need for reference to existing religion or dogma, instead using the freedoms and conventions of the science fiction genre to do so. Even if you're not interested in any of that, his books are mind-bending trips full of strange, dry humor, and relatable characters who find themselves in very bizarre and compelling situations. I don't think any author does 'mind-fuck' as well as Dick does.

The most recent Dick novel I read was 'Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said,' which was uncannily prescient of our celebrity-obsessed culture (the main character loses his identity overnight and goes from being a well-known celebrity to a 'non-person' on run from the law due to not having the proper, required identification documents).

My favorite is probably 'The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch,' in which a new reality-creating drug called 'Can-D' comes into competition with 'Perky Pat,' a Barbie like doll and dollhouse that allows the users to enter into that world and become the doll and/or her friends, which is used by Martian colonists to escape the oppressive monotony of their existence... the problem is, once you start using Can-D, you no longer have any way of knowing whether you're in consensus reality or lost in an unreal reality of your own...

by Stephanie on February 18, 2010 11:49 AM

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Thanks for the idea, Stephanie. I'm currently frustrated by having a library that is a picturesque 20 minute walk from my apartment, but the town I live in has refused funding to it for many decades resulting in insufficient facilities and limited stacks space- meaning that the head librarian at the time has to get rid of hundreds of books every year to make room for the ones.

I've finally finished 100 Years of Solitude, and this year I'm determined to read more 'classic' novels.

by LadyK on February 20, 2010 1:53 AM

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I can recommend Ubik by Philip K. Dick. Mind bending and very, very funny. No one in 50s - 70s sci-fi predicted today better than PKD.

by wirtes on March 13, 2010 12:11 AM

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