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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Reread. This book is always so GOOD. I continue to fail to understand why no credit to PK Dick was given in the movie “The Truman Show” as well as the Twilight Zone episode “Special Service” - they are so obviously riffs off of this book and it pains me.
It’s 1959. In a small American town,
Ragle Gumm makes his living from a newspaper competition. But something is not quite right...
Ragle Gumm makes his living from a newspaper competition. But something is not quite right...
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Fundamentally brilliant concepts, but occasionally lacking K. Dick's fluid writing style.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
I read Time Out of Joint right after going through the amazing PKD life story, and it definitely affected how I saw the book.
The book itself seems to be divided into three different fragments. The first part is a creeping horror of existence - what if something is wrong around you? Something small, unimportant, but still unexplainable. The deeper you look, the more things just seem wrong. Can you really believe the people around you? Even your neighbour?
Then comes the second part, which is very Kafkaesque. Ragle Gumm wants to run away from the city, but everybody and everything is preventing him from achieving that. I almost see K. and his Trial in here - when K. is trying to change the course of events, it only leads to failure. However, Ragle succeeds and manages to break away.
Then we have the last part of the book, which is a political thriller. Yeah, the whole buildup ends in quite a disappointing revelation.
I still love the book, but now, having read PKD's biography, I understand a little bit more about his relationships with women. He really sees his ideal partner as a stupid and dependent young female. PKD had a lot of problems, and his emotional immaturity is quite visible here, but hey, we all have our mistakes, and PKD is still an excellent writer. So, for me, three and a half stars rounded up.
By the way, I really think this was one of the templates for The Truman Show.
The book itself seems to be divided into three different fragments. The first part is a creeping horror of existence - what if something is wrong around you? Something small, unimportant, but still unexplainable. The deeper you look, the more things just seem wrong. Can you really believe the people around you? Even your neighbour?
Then comes the second part, which is very Kafkaesque. Ragle Gumm wants to run away from the city, but everybody and everything is preventing him from achieving that. I almost see K. and his Trial in here - when K. is trying to change the course of events, it only leads to failure. However, Ragle succeeds and manages to break away.
Then we have the last part of the book, which is a political thriller. Yeah, the whole buildup ends in quite a disappointing revelation.
I still love the book, but now, having read PKD's biography, I understand a little bit more about his relationships with women. He really sees his ideal partner as a stupid and dependent young female. PKD had a lot of problems, and his emotional immaturity is quite visible here, but hey, we all have our mistakes, and PKD is still an excellent writer. So, for me, three and a half stars rounded up.
By the way, I really think this was one of the templates for The Truman Show.
An earlier work of PKD’s, this book, like many of his, takes its time to get going and any real reveals aren’t made until much later in the novel. Good early PKD
and certainly interesting.
and certainly interesting.