false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179320168m/902971.jpg 902971 6 Set in San Francisco in the late 1950s, <i>Humpty Dumpty in Oakland</i> is a tragicomedy of misunderstandings among used car dealers and real-estate salesmen: the small-time, struggling individuals for whom Philip K.Dick always reserved his greatest sympathy. Jim Fergesson is an elderly garage owner with a heart condition, who is about to retire; Al Miller is a somewhat feckless mechanic who sublets part of Jim's lot and finds his livelihood threatened by the decision to sell; Chris Harman is a record-company owner who for years has relied on Fergesson to maintain his cars. When Harman hears of Fergesson's impending retirement he tips him off to what he says is a cast-iron business proposition: a development in nearby Marin County with an opening for a garage. Al Miller is convinced that Harman is a crook, out to fleece Fergesson of his life's savings. As much as he resents Fergesson he can't bear to see it happen and--denying to himself all the time what he is doing--he sets out to thwart Harman. 1036550 book 1986 Humpty Dumpty in Oakland total:121|5:15|4:33|3:47|2:22|1:4| 121 396 205 26 2 2 false false Wed Oct 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 10 13:36:34 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 22 15:18:47 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Feb 19 16:32:12 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 19 16:39:00 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 06:24:10 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 05:27:29 -0700 2009 Humpty Dumpty in Oakland is part of a series of non-science fiction novels he wrote during the late '50s through to 1960, and while reading it it's easy to se...more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Feb 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 01:51:40 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 17 15:41:29 -0800 2009
There are 3 main characters: Jim Fergessen is an old man newly retired. He's a racist and crazy old...more...]]> 0 1 false false Tue Oct 02 11:58:28 -0700 2007 Mon Feb 16 15:07:02 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Aug 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 16:45:16 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 16:50:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 28 11:57:56 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 30 20:11:07 -0700 2008 It took me a bit to adjust to that, and once I did, I started enjoying it. However, the novel struggled to keep moving forward after the first 150 pp. The story we...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 31 11:14:34 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 01 09:24:53 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 30 08:43:24 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 05 21:10:38 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Thu Nov 13 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Mar 15 05:32:37 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 14 09:44:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 19 06:21:55 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 24 13:22:25 -0800 2008 It feels eerie at times, still with the same atmosphere of Dicks SF work, but all in all i was totally floored.

one note: Dick's handling of 'african american' spe...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 08:48:52 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 08:50:20 -0700 2008
There's a telling passage where a white man is talking to a black woman and suddenly they both become aware of how he could make her life difficult sim...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 06 15:49:05 -0800 2009 Wed Apr 22 16:49:00 -0700 2009 1
Unlike most of his other books, this one isn't science fiction. It's set in 1959 Oakland, and none of the characters have psychic powers or are mutants of any sort. They are just normal people doing fairly normal things, and making a mess of them.
...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Aug 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 17 20:41:22 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 00:36:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Dec 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jun 24 01:22:58 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 28 23:08:34 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 27 16:22:03 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 19 10:48:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jul 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 06:16:29 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 06:29:13 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Nov 04 20:51:11 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 04 20:58:17 -0800 2007 1 0 false false Sat Jul 19 07:18:06 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 19 07:22:13 -0700 2008 It was terrible in all ways--unbelievable characters, badly-written dialogue, and a ridiculously convoluted plot that went nowhere. I kept reading, thinking it would somehow redeem itself. It did not.]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 18 16:25:01 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 18 16:27:04 -0700 2007 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=902971