Martian Time-SlipPhilip K. Dick
I don't know how I got on a Dick Kick, but somehow I bought the first Library of America edition (see my previous reviews here and here), so of course I was obligated to buy the second edition containing five of his novels from the 60s and 70s. Because each novel received its own entry in my reading resolution, I figured it was time to knock one of these bad boys down.
The first novel in this collection, Martian Time-Slip, blew me away. It was by far better than I remembered the previous novels being (even though, upon rereading my reviews, it seems I enjoyed those quite a bit). Martian Time-Slip is unlike previous Dick novels I've read: there were no drugs, no crazy technology -- in fact, the novel contained only one main hallmark of Dick's fiction: the male protagonist whose grip on reality is threatened by powerful forces, both external and internal. Will said protagonist defeat these forces and keep his sanity? (With the final scene still burning a hole in my brain, I must say I doubt it.)
Speaking of the brain, I loved how PKD dealt with the mind in this novel; it was different from my previous PKD experiences. Martian Time-Slip, in fact, seemed only nominally "science fiction-y" in that it took place on Mars. The real setting, however, is the human mind, especially the mind of the mentally ill.
PKD questions whether those who have a mental illness like schizophrenia or autism are truly mentally ill, proposing instead that they have astounding gifts simply unknown to the rest of us. In Dick's world, several characters locked in their own internal worlds actually see and know more than they should, including that which has not yet happened. Such a talent is easy for one with power and money (not to mention an unflappable will to exploit the less fortunate) to use for his own devices.
I haven't yet attempted to write a conventional summary because the plot is both too simple -- and yet somehow too complex -- to condense into a basic paragraph, but I'll try. There's a colony eking out an existence on Mars. Some people have gifts. Other people have power. The latter uses the former. The result is disturbing and utterly unforgettable. Clearly, this summary leaves something to be desired; there is too much I have neither the time nor the place to include.
In a nutshell: Martian Time-Slip transcends the traditional Dick-ian trope of paranoia and drug use to take a compassionate (and fascinating) look at those with debilitating mental illness.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars
The first novel in this collection, Martian Time-Slip, blew me away. It was by far better than I remembered the previous novels being (even though, upon rereading my reviews, it seems I enjoyed those quite a bit). Martian Time-Slip is unlike previous Dick novels I've read: there were no drugs, no crazy technology -- in fact, the novel contained only one main hallmark of Dick's fiction: the male protagonist whose grip on reality is threatened by powerful forces, both external and internal. Will said protagonist defeat these forces and keep his sanity? (With the final scene still burning a hole in my brain, I must say I doubt it.)
Speaking of the brain, I loved how PKD dealt with the mind in this novel; it was different from my previous PKD experiences. Martian Time-Slip, in fact, seemed only nominally "science fiction-y" in that it took place on Mars. The real setting, however, is the human mind, especially the mind of the mentally ill.
PKD questions whether those who have a mental illness like schizophrenia or autism are truly mentally ill, proposing instead that they have astounding gifts simply unknown to the rest of us. In Dick's world, several characters locked in their own internal worlds actually see and know more than they should, including that which has not yet happened. Such a talent is easy for one with power and money (not to mention an unflappable will to exploit the less fortunate) to use for his own devices. I haven't yet attempted to write a conventional summary because the plot is both too simple -- and yet somehow too complex -- to condense into a basic paragraph, but I'll try. There's a colony eking out an existence on Mars. Some people have gifts. Other people have power. The latter uses the former. The result is disturbing and utterly unforgettable. Clearly, this summary leaves something to be desired; there is too much I have neither the time nor the place to include.
In a nutshell: Martian Time-Slip transcends the traditional Dick-ian trope of paranoia and drug use to take a compassionate (and fascinating) look at those with debilitating mental illness.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars
2 comments:
This is one of the few Dick books I've not read. I thought I had exhausted his science fiction, they do tend to be the same book again and again, but this one sounds like it has something new to offer.
Psychologists consider Phil's theory about autism, as explained in Martian Time-Slip, ground-breaking. Many have adopted it.
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