So - I'm really not sure what to say about this novel. I've been listening to it on Audible.com - I love it because Paul Giamatti is the narrator - but I'm really just not "getting into it." I'm not sure if it's the drug use, the sexual aspects or the repetitive nature that PKD seems to have, but I guess I don't know how to feel about this novel.
With that said, I would have to say that the drug use is still prevalent today. Even though the types of drugs may be slightly different today, I'd say that there are plenty of people still suffering from addictions. In a world that seems to be all about feeling good and doing what you want, drug use / substance abuse is often a popular form to escape.
I agree, this book is a lot more applicable to us in the present day as something such as say, the Simulacra. For me, that is definitely refreshing.
ReplyDeleteI think he overly dramatizes the influences of drugs, for effect. Then again, I am not part of that world, so that could just be my naivety. I think when drugs slowly take away your mind, you just become slow and perhaps the most severe are vegetables. I guess people do hallucinate, but permanently? That was the part that I felt was overdramatized.
ReplyDeleteTo me, this novel seems more raw and gritty than the PKD novels we have read so far. Rather than focus on a society with characters as representations like the The Simulacra or Dr. Bloodmoney, we are going along the Palmer Eldricht route of focusing on specific characters only. That fits my tastes better because I like the presentation of Arctor as someone who is not like everybody else he hangs around with.
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