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iswendle's review against another edition
3.0
In March of 1974, Philip K. Dick himself had an "exegesis", a series of strange events, visions and hallucinations that he himself experienced as a religious epiphany. He was in an information stream of a godly creature he dubbed Zebra, God, and the Vast Active Living Intelegence System.
VALIS is a book where we follow Horselover Fat, a drugged out man on the brink of sanity who has gone through a lot and is going through more. As we loosely follow a plot based on his life, he mostly rambles on about his experience with god, in 1974, and how he sees rays of information. Fat mostly shares these prophecies with his friends; Philip, Kevin and David. But as the book progresses the line between the author, and Philip the character and Horselover fades. What unfolds is really an autobiographical tale of the events of Philips own exegesis, not that of Horselover Fat.
Eventually, the four friends go to see a film called “Valis,” which seems to corroborate much of what Horselover Fat experienced during March 1974. There’s more to it than that, of course, but that’s the bare bones of the actual plot. After this, the four friends go to meet the filmmaker, Eric Lampton, and his wife Linda, who claim to be beings from another star. They also claim that their two year-old daughter is a Saviour in a line that includes Elijah, Jesus Christ and a few others. Phil Dick and Horselover Fat realise that they are one individual, not two, and the three friends return to their homes, whereupon they learn that the two year-old Saviour has died.
If that doesn't make sense, it didn't really when I first read it either.
In truth, there is a lot inside this book. Dick is very well read in ancient history and philosophy, religious history and much more. He jumps from source to source and draws insane connections (insane as in impressive or insane as in not sane I am not well-read enough to establish). What remains in the book is in essence an entire essay on his new religious view on the nature of life, as he has come to realise in his actual exegesis in his own life.
That means that in reading I found a lot of interesting sources for further reading; philosophers, unknown bible studies, ancient history, Gnosticism(!) etc. It's extremely fascinating to read VALIS with this perspective. Having finished the book and reading more about Dick's life also puts it in a unique perspective.
But in all I think I am not ready to understand more than half of what this book was trying to convey. I hope to one day return to it, and give it the time and understanding it needs.
VALIS is a book where we follow Horselover Fat, a drugged out man on the brink of sanity who has gone through a lot and is going through more. As we loosely follow a plot based on his life, he mostly rambles on about his experience with god, in 1974, and how he sees rays of information. Fat mostly shares these prophecies with his friends; Philip, Kevin and David. But as the book progresses the line between the author, and Philip the character and Horselover fades. What unfolds is really an autobiographical tale of the events of Philips own exegesis, not that of Horselover Fat.
Eventually, the four friends go to see a film called “Valis,” which seems to corroborate much of what Horselover Fat experienced during March 1974. There’s more to it than that, of course, but that’s the bare bones of the actual plot. After this, the four friends go to meet the filmmaker, Eric Lampton, and his wife Linda, who claim to be beings from another star. They also claim that their two year-old daughter is a Saviour in a line that includes Elijah, Jesus Christ and a few others. Phil Dick and Horselover Fat realise that they are one individual, not two, and the three friends return to their homes, whereupon they learn that the two year-old Saviour has died.
If that doesn't make sense, it didn't really when I first read it either.
In truth, there is a lot inside this book. Dick is very well read in ancient history and philosophy, religious history and much more. He jumps from source to source and draws insane connections (insane as in impressive or insane as in not sane I am not well-read enough to establish). What remains in the book is in essence an entire essay on his new religious view on the nature of life, as he has come to realise in his actual exegesis in his own life.
That means that in reading I found a lot of interesting sources for further reading; philosophers, unknown bible studies, ancient history, Gnosticism(!) etc. It's extremely fascinating to read VALIS with this perspective. Having finished the book and reading more about Dick's life also puts it in a unique perspective.
But in all I think I am not ready to understand more than half of what this book was trying to convey. I hope to one day return to it, and give it the time and understanding it needs.
hakimbriki's review against another edition
4.0
Valis contains multitudes... it's an autobiography, a science fiction novel, an esoteric novel, a theological story, a comedy, and a series of philosophical essays all at once... at heart, it's an experience. Whether you love it or hate it, Valis will stay with you. I've never read a book quite like this one, and I'm certain I will never come across anything like it again. It's a different type of beast, an alien in the literary world.
I was absolutely mystified by some of the ideas presented in the novel. I was introduced to hylozoism, among dozens of other philosophical point of views which I was not familiar with or well-versed in. Some of these bewitching ideas came in such short succession that I had to take breaks and let them sink in. For instance, the concept of a universe being pure "information" as opposed to being "three-dimensional and in space or time" made me take 5 Advil at the same time. The book touches on Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Jungianism, perennial Chinese Philosophy, Dogon culture/belief system, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, ancient etymology... among MANY other topics.
It is also astounding to think that some of the events in the book actually happened (allegedly) to the author. PKD saw a pink beam of light that "turned out" to be an alien entity and theophany, and which revealed the reality of our universe to him. Is he going mad, or has he uncovered the truth behind reality? That's the central theme of Valis.
One thing this book lacks is an actual plot. Things happen but it's as if PKD was improvising as he was writing... It's 10 pages of plot, 40 pages of theological philosophy, 10 pages of plot, 60 pages of stream of consciousness, 2 pages of plot... and then the story just... sort of ends. (Cue Dennis Reynolds in that Shyamalan episode of Always Sunny).
The story arc is clearly secondary, which would have been fine if the consistency of the book was more solid. A lot of it is unfortunately disjointed, dense, too technical, too esoteric, verging on self-indulgence.
Nevertheleeeessssss, I still enjoyed reading Valis. I have a feeling I will still be thinking about it and its concepts while waiting for some train 25 years in the future. That's how you know a book is impactful.
I was absolutely mystified by some of the ideas presented in the novel. I was introduced to hylozoism, among dozens of other philosophical point of views which I was not familiar with or well-versed in. Some of these bewitching ideas came in such short succession that I had to take breaks and let them sink in. For instance, the concept of a universe being pure "information" as opposed to being "three-dimensional and in space or time" made me take 5 Advil at the same time. The book touches on Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Jungianism, perennial Chinese Philosophy, Dogon culture/belief system, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, ancient etymology... among MANY other topics.
It is also astounding to think that some of the events in the book actually happened (allegedly) to the author. PKD saw a pink beam of light that "turned out" to be an alien entity and theophany, and which revealed the reality of our universe to him. Is he going mad, or has he uncovered the truth behind reality? That's the central theme of Valis.
One thing this book lacks is an actual plot. Things happen but it's as if PKD was improvising as he was writing... It's 10 pages of plot, 40 pages of theological philosophy, 10 pages of plot, 60 pages of stream of consciousness, 2 pages of plot... and then the story just... sort of ends. (Cue Dennis Reynolds in that Shyamalan episode of Always Sunny).
The story arc is clearly secondary, which would have been fine if the consistency of the book was more solid. A lot of it is unfortunately disjointed, dense, too technical, too esoteric, verging on self-indulgence.
Nevertheleeeessssss, I still enjoyed reading Valis. I have a feeling I will still be thinking about it and its concepts while waiting for some train 25 years in the future. That's how you know a book is impactful.
eclaris's review against another edition
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
derhindemith's review against another edition
5.0
I'm just going to keep reading this book. I thought I understood it the first time, but like the movie in the book, there are a lot of details that completely go by you, or at least are only perceived sub-consciously.
As I remarked to the last person I recommended the book to, it certainly helps if you've read other novels by dick before, because this touches on so many themes that are so important to him as an author.
It's kind of like King Lear, you really need, as an author, to have a lifetime's experience to draw upon in order to write a book like this. It's not only mature, it's careful, and it fucks with your head—both as a reader and as an author. Writers writing themselves into their novels isn't a new thing (admittedly, Dick did a lot of things really well, far before they became mainstays of the genre), but what sets this book apart is that he tells you from the very beginning everything that he's doing, and then proceeds to ignore what he's told you and tells you a story.
If I had to summarize the story, it would be this:
The following sentence is true.
The previous sentence is a lie.
As I remarked to the last person I recommended the book to, it certainly helps if you've read other novels by dick before, because this touches on so many themes that are so important to him as an author.
It's kind of like King Lear, you really need, as an author, to have a lifetime's experience to draw upon in order to write a book like this. It's not only mature, it's careful, and it fucks with your head—both as a reader and as an author. Writers writing themselves into their novels isn't a new thing (admittedly, Dick did a lot of things really well, far before they became mainstays of the genre), but what sets this book apart is that he tells you from the very beginning everything that he's doing, and then proceeds to ignore what he's told you and tells you a story.
If I had to summarize the story, it would be this:
The following sentence is true.
The previous sentence is a lie.
kjnicholson16's review against another edition
5.0
How does one review VALIS? Honestly, how does one ever comprehend explaining the damn book? Having never read PKD, I was drawn to the fact that this book was said to be somewhat of an autobiography. I wanted to learn about the man behind the novels before I dove in and boy oh boy did I get more than I bargained for!
Call it a Schizophrenic recollection, call it religious sci-fi, call it whatever you want. What you cannot deny, is that it is a brilliant novel. (And the first of a trilogy for that matter!) It blends alleged (bizarre) life experiences, beautiful prose, and most intriguingly, a tight yet flowing plot.
I look forward to finishing the VALIS trilogy and then getting to some of the PKD classic sci-fi novels.
Call it a Schizophrenic recollection, call it religious sci-fi, call it whatever you want. What you cannot deny, is that it is a brilliant novel. (And the first of a trilogy for that matter!) It blends alleged (bizarre) life experiences, beautiful prose, and most intriguingly, a tight yet flowing plot.
I look forward to finishing the VALIS trilogy and then getting to some of the PKD classic sci-fi novels.
read_alert's review against another edition
3.0
I'm writing this review to remind myself not to read this book again. Don't do it Jord. Do you really want to sift through that exegesis again?
No you don't.
I did however enjoy large parts of this book, and in 30 years if I don't read this review I may in fact read it again.
Does it deserve 3 stars? I think so.
No you don't.
I did however enjoy large parts of this book, and in 30 years if I don't read this review I may in fact read it again.
Does it deserve 3 stars? I think so.
yates9's review against another edition
4.0
An amazing twist in writing built on a mythology that is convincing, dense of reinterpretation of Christian stories... Overly emphatic deliberations around the possibility of suicide but that become transformed.
I didn’t quite enjoy the book but I learned a lot about what is possible in writing.
I didn’t quite enjoy the book but I learned a lot about what is possible in writing.
wtfrjk's review against another edition
3.0
*Spoilers*
I think my favorite part of the book is when he gets called out on his shit.
"Horselover Fat did."
"But that's you. You just . . . you just translated your name. 'Philip' means 'lover of horses' and 'Dick' means 'fat'."
I think my favorite part of the book is when he gets called out on his shit.
"Horselover Fat did."
"But that's you. You just . . . you just translated your name. 'Philip' means 'lover of horses' and 'Dick' means 'fat'."
arf88's review against another edition
2.0
This is the first of Philip K. Dick's work that I really haven't enjoyed. It wasn't bad, and there was part's I enjoyed, and it was an interesting structure, but I also found it boring and a struggle to finish. The "exegesis" parts especially were a chore that I started skimming towards the end. I also found parts of it uncomfortable - it's semi-autobiographical and I didn't really enjoy reading PKD's real psychological breakdown.