group discussion
topic:
the mainstream novelist
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Mary and the Giant, The Broken Bubble, Gather Yourselves Together, Humpty Dumpty in Oakland, The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike and others --- if you've had the chance to read these books, what is your opinion of P.K. Dick as a Mainstream Novelist?
:)
Also, if you have read them, please consider adding any of the above books to this groups list of Books Read.
Thanks
I have read many of those. I'd have to say, I prefer his SF, but some were very good. After a few, though, they sort of start to blur together.Would "Confessions of a Crap Artist" go under the "mainstream" category? I really like that one, SF included.
is that because his mainstream writing is even more about everyday SanFran mundanity than his 'genre' writing?
I think his 'mainstream' stuff is really under-rated. It speaks to me just as powerfully as the sci-fi, in fact in some cases even more so. And if anyone's got a copy of 'Man Whose Teeth...' they want to sell, let me know!
Great story about Man Whose Teeth: Anne Dick and PKD had a huge fight when they were married. PKD was convinced Neanderthal man had been vegetarian. Anne brings home a ton of proof from the library that Neanderthal man ate meat. PKD is furious and writes several books portraying Neanderthals as vegetarian. Puttering About in a Small Land is the best mainstream book after Confessions.
I remember reading Broken Bubble for the first time and it being laugh out loud funny, especially at the end.
Puttering is among my favorite pkd regardless of classification. Vivid portayal of the postwar california dream, technonlogy, marital problems, and private schools.
I read Voices from the Street and was not impressed. I found it rather melodramatic and unrealistic in a way that, strangely, his science fiction isn't. As if he were forcing things a bit too much. My understanding is that it was one of his very first attempts at a novel, and it showed. I feel that his final books, which still incorporate sci-fi elements, do a much better job of doing what he was trying to do with his mainstream fiction.
I havent read his mainstream books. I think his strength is writing about mundane,human issues in a SF world. Having many of his SF books left i have no plan to read his mainstream books anytime soon except Confessions who sound very interesting.
PS: I've read Philip K Dick's "Mary and the Giant" novel. Here's my review of it on THE ZONE.
http://www.zone-sf.com/wordworks/marygia...
