The Three Stigmata- Part II

I was a little confused by the end of the book-- it was too wild for my taste! I noticed several references to the Catholic church and its rules and sacraments. They made a few references to the body and blood of Christ and God being all around the universe and with everyone. This is the most PKD has utilized religion in any of his books that we've read so far. Relating to our discussion post, I believe that Eldritch was a metaphor for Satan and he drew people in to sinning through his drug chew-z. The hell that he controlled was Mars and Terra; he tried to make everyone miserable and they hated their lives. Their only escape was through the chew-z, which was only leading them further into sin. I was a little confused about the stigmata and how it could appear in other people. I was also confused about how a little piece of Eldritch could live in people. This is the opposite of Christianity where Christ died for the people-- Eldritch was asking the people to die for him. I feel that I would need to read the entire book again to fully understand it. I liked that the book described more of what life would be like on Mars and that he used global warming rather than a world war. E-therapy was also very interesting; this, like chew-z, was a way for the miserable people to escape their meaningless lives and try to get ahead. This book can be related to today's world in that people are always trying to escape something or find something better for themselves. Religion and God seem to consume many people's lives also. Overall, I liked the book, though I need some answers for my many, many questions!

Three Stigmata-- Part 1

So far The Three Stigmata is very interesting. The characters are not too hard to keep track of, unlike the other books we've read. I find the concept of Chew-Z and Can-D to be a bit confusing just because it's hard to understand how they can go into a layout of a mini-world and see through the eyes of characters in the layout. I found it hard to follow when Bulero takes Chew-Z and his mind is transferred to that satellite. It’s creepy that Eldritch was in the body of the little girl; it was hard to tell if anything in that scene was real or not. Was he really communicating with Mayerson by means of the suitcase or was he imagining it? I'm intrigued by life on Mars and the fact that characters live underground and can't grow any vegetation. It’s interesting that all of this is taking place after global warming. I can’t imagine our world being so hot that we can’t go outside after 8:30 in the morning. I’m curious about how/if Bluero will kill Eldritch and he will be the hero of the Sol System!