Ben reviews Philip K. Dick’s novel, VALIS
Book Review: VALIS
January 22, 2014- Categories: Book Reviews,
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August 4, 2024
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Another very tardy comment on a Ben book review…
This, and any of of PKD’s last 4 novels, should not be the first thing anyone new to him reads. The rest of his works hint at his “illuminated” worldview but this is where he shows full scope of it.
“Radio Free Albemuth” is a first draft of VALIS, and has an elaborate revolution against a fascist American government plot mashed up with most of the plot of VALIS, minus the metalevel authorship and character identity twists and turns. Worth reading if you like VALIS, but I think it doesn’t show the inside of the author’s mind quite as well.
Good review Ben! I suggest “In Pursuit Of Valis: Selections From The Exegesis” if you ever want to see a small chunk of PKD’s personal spiritual autobiography/exploration which led to the book. He seems to have thought his whole body of work was an exploration of the same spiritual questions over and over, even from near the beginning of his career.