A Scanner Darkly. Part 2

I was very surprised to find out that Donna was an undercover narcotics agent just like Arctor. Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I was hoping that Arctor would take Donna up to Oregon to live her happily ever after in the snow like she wanted. But, that didn't happen; she just took him to New Path and left him there. PKD did a great job depicting drug culture, drug use, and what drugs do to people's brains in this novel. It was interesting to me that he threw German in the text randomly. I was very surprised at the ending. I thought Arctor was completely gone and that he was truly just a living vegetable. But, it was neat that he was purposefully selected to get addicted to Substance D, go to New Path, and find information about where they got their funding. His brain was still functioning and he knew what he was supposed to to at New Path. I thought his life was over, but he was still working, in a way, while he was in rehab. I didn't think I liked the book after reading the first half, but the second half really picked up and was way more interesting. I wanted to know more about Barris; it was a turn to find out that they were really after him and not Arctor. How did Hank know that Fred was Arctor? Did he know all along? Did Hank know he was having Fred watch himself as Arctor when he gave him the assignment? It's crazy that his brain was so fried that he had multiple personality disorder and had no clue that he was Arctor. Overall, the story line was good. I liked that it wasn't completely in a different world centuries into the future like all of his other books.

A Scanner Darkly. Part 1

So far, this is the most intense book we've read. I find it to be very interesting and more real than the others because, although this one is clearly in the future, it doesn't seem to be after a huge nuclear war or on Mars. The references to drugs and the lives of dopers is scarily real. I am curious to see what happens to Arctor on his mission of following himself. He seems like a very deep guy who has a lot hidden. All of the characters seem very interesting, to say the least. I don't like how PKD portrays or describes his female characters, or how the men in the novel talk about the women. They aren't held at a very high standard at all, in fact, they're very objectified. Last semester I had to read the novel, Always Running, which is about teenagers in LA and their experiences with drugs and gangs. A Scanner Darkly makes me think of this one in how it revolves around drug use. It's interesting to me that Arctor once had a wife, two daughters, and a seemingly quiet and "normal" life. That doesn't seem possible with the life he currently lives in the novel; that's quite the turn for someone to make. Over all, I just don't like the book simply because of what it's about. I guess I don't enjoy reading about drugs and women sleeping with people to get them and so much violence. I heard a rumor that PKD was addicted to drugs when he wrote this novel... true? It wouldn't surprise me I guess.

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!

Simulacra- Part 2

I must admit, I am getting a little bored with time travel, Mars, and the future. But, I’m guessing that’s all PKD writes about, so I will just have to endure it. I didn’t follow this book as well as the other stories we’ve read, with there being so many different character plots to connect. Again, I felt that the central theme was government control, its oppression of the people, and the use of time-travel for personal gain. The individual characters were interesting, especially Kongrosian and his phobias and illnesses. As I said on the discussion post, it’s rather difficult to pin down one protagonist and antagonist. It seems as though the goal of the novel was either to overthrow and expose the flaws of the government, or for human survival, which would’ve been a fail with the end of the novel showing that the human race was no longer going to be the dominant race. I do wish PKD would expand and tell us more about life on Mars and what happens once people immigrate there. I’d also be interested in hearing the specifics on WWIII and how that all went down. I did enjoy how each story line about the individual characters connected towards the end of the novel through Superb and Nicole. The patient that Superb was supposed to stay open for and fail to help really surprised me; my guess was Kongrosian, but I was wrong! I did wonder how the government functioned so long with it being led by fakes; I can’t believe the Ges kept their secrets from the Bes even though they are in contact with each other every day. The storyline seems to be the same in this book as the others, but we’ll have to see what the next novel holds in store for me.

Simulacra- Part 1

This week I read The Simulacra chapters 1-8. Some things I am noticing that PKD likes to include in his stories are government control, mystery, suspense, advanced technology, and the harshness of reality. It took me a little bit to get into the story, but I really like it. It's interesting how PKD introduces his characters one piece at a time, rather than giving their whole life stories and connections right away; it adds suspense. I am really intrigued by the government and society in the novel. Lately in a women's poetry class I am taking, we have been discussing feminism and the oppression of women in today’s society, and the fact that everything is controlled by the First Lady seems really interesting. I love that PKD brought history into the novel with Hitler and WWII. I’m excited to see what happens with the time machine and going back to that time period. It’s also noteworthy that they would want it to be illegal to practice psychoanalysis. I am very curious to see where that leads and what happens with the pianist and his body odor phobia (I find this hilarious). The side story with Vince and his brother and his ex-wife is great; I love the love triangle, although their idea of marriage and divorce is freakishly similar to how our society’s is. Marriage doesn’t seem to be on the same pedestal as it once was. Can’t wait to read more!

PKD's Short Stories

This week we read the short stories, “Paycheck,” “Roog,” “The Preserving Machine,” “If There Were no Benny Cemoli,” and “The Golden Man.” The thing that I found most important in all of these stories was the theme of fear and control. It’s also noteworthy that each story is set in the future after some sort of disaster that destroyed the world as we know it. In “Paycheck” the characters were afraid of government control and that is why Jennings acts as he does and blackmails Rethrick Construction Company. In “Roog,” Boris is afraid of the garbage men stealing food. I really enjoyed “The Preserving Machine” and the fact that Dr. Labyrinth was afraid of all the music being destroyed in a war/world disaster. I never would’ve thought of turning sheet music into animals. The humans were afraid of the different creatures and what they’d do to the world in “The Golden Man.” I enjoyed all of the short stories and the fact that they all have the same central themes; they all also had a good deal of suspense and action!