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iaintcorinne's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
jenkinm's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Highly readable biography of Dick and his more important novels. Has a rather abrupt ending, even for a biography.
Highly readable biography of Dick and his more important novels. Has a rather abrupt ending, even for a biography.
rocketiza's review
4.0
Carrere was a magnificent biographer - able to keep me engaged and cringing at his subject, but keeping enough perspective to not feel lost in it. I had never realized just how much Phillip K. Dick's life affected his writing, and it gave me a new appreciation of it, which is in contrast to most of the author biographies I've read.
I would recommend that you read his most major works before tackling this - the author goes into depth about the plots of several of PKD's books when drawing parallels between what he was writing and how he was living.
I would recommend that you read his most major works before tackling this - the author goes into depth about the plots of several of PKD's books when drawing parallels between what he was writing and how he was living.
siriuschico's review
5.0
Did you know that diehard fans of Philip K. Dick are calling themselves Dickheads? Well, I think I have a new nickname. But joking aside, Emmanuel Carrère did a glorious job of guiding me into the broken, genius, and truly messed-up mind of Philip K. Dick. He utilized all available resources and reimagined PKD's life as one of his own books. For each period of life, he employed a different template, starting with "Time of Joint," continuing with "A Scanner Darkly," and ending with "VALIS."
What shines through most prominently is the fact that PKD was a lonely man, desperately seeking connection in all the wrong places, oblivious to the fact that he was only hurting himself. His entire life seems somewhat like a quest to find the perfect female partner who would be his soulmate, and yes, he went to great lengths in this pursuit. Always on the lookout for another girl to enchant and educate, he failed more often than not. This theme translates heavily into most of his work.
His heavy use of pills didn't help matters. The prescription drugs he took numbed the last remaining shreds of empathy and placed only him in sharp focus. There wasn't room for anything else—only he, his suffering, and, in the end, his loneliness. He channelled some of these feelings of depression and detachment into his writing, resulting in a brilliant science fiction that blends existentialism and philosophy from a deeply troubled individual.
Well, I wouldn't necessarily want PKD to be my friend, but I love his work, and I am genuinely proud to be a Dickhead.
What shines through most prominently is the fact that PKD was a lonely man, desperately seeking connection in all the wrong places, oblivious to the fact that he was only hurting himself. His entire life seems somewhat like a quest to find the perfect female partner who would be his soulmate, and yes, he went to great lengths in this pursuit. Always on the lookout for another girl to enchant and educate, he failed more often than not. This theme translates heavily into most of his work.
His heavy use of pills didn't help matters. The prescription drugs he took numbed the last remaining shreds of empathy and placed only him in sharp focus. There wasn't room for anything else—only he, his suffering, and, in the end, his loneliness. He channelled some of these feelings of depression and detachment into his writing, resulting in a brilliant science fiction that blends existentialism and philosophy from a deeply troubled individual.
Well, I wouldn't necessarily want PKD to be my friend, but I love his work, and I am genuinely proud to be a Dickhead.
josemoya's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
Biografía novelada o novela biográfica sobre Philip K. Dick, cuenta de forma amena la vida de un autor desquiciado, rellenando los huecos con material de las propias novelas del autor.
aliss_'s review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Didn’t know who was Philip K. Dick before reading this and only read it because i love Emmanuel Carrère. He did not disappoint and he succeeded in interesting me in the life of an author i had never heard of.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Suicide attempt
miguelf's review against another edition
4.0
Only realized at the end that this was not published recently but was rather close to 3 decades old. Really captured Dick’s writing well but more impressively captured his mental state(s) as well, especially towards the end of his life.
bakudreamer's review against another edition
3.0
Actually very sad. I'm still laughing about the part " ... and after many years of bible study she was convinced that Jesus Christ lived at the center of the earth in a glass coffin that protected him from wizards. " ~