tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post4939523958380868772..comments2023-05-22T10:42:54.046-04:00Comments on 6th or 7th: Philip K. Dick, "The Android and the Human" in The Shifting Realities of Philip K. Dick (Lawrence Sutin, ed.), several excerptsEthanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07498712279382078624noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-82210645151086018312011-07-18T12:04:06.968-04:002011-07-18T12:04:06.968-04:00Laura, I'm gonna get around to it, I promise--...Laura, I'm gonna get around to it, I promise--maybe once I'm done with the more directed burst of Dick-reading I'm towards the end of now. Been reading the late-in-life Gnostic trilogy/series of books, so far gotten through <i>VALIS</i>, <i>The Divine Invasion</i>, and <i>The Transmigration of Timothy Archer</i>. After that I've got the posthumous <i>Radio Free Albemuth</i> and then I'll probably be checking out <i>The Owl in Daylight</i>--what Dick intended to be the last book in the <i>VALIS</i> trilogy, but never even started writing if I understand correctly--but his last wife, Tessa Dick, wrote her own version, and I'll be very interested to see what that's like.<br /><br />Actually, I've been very interested in the role of women in these books--in <i>VALIS</i> the primary women characters are essentially obstacles for the men to get over, while in <i>The Divine Invasion</i> the main women are, essentially, the Mother of God and a different incarnation of Jesus (it's of course an open question whether this is actually better). And then in <i>The Transmigration of Timothy Archer</i>, the usual Dick stand-in narrator is actually a woman, while the other primary woman character, who is difficult to get a fix on but who is generally presented as at least <i>understandable</i>, if not always sympathetic, is the head of a feminist action group. He pulls off a woman narrator to a questionable level of success, but that it is even questionable rather than just straight-up bad is pretty shocking considering his earlier representations of women. I kind of wonder if it was a kind of deathbed attempt at an apology--if so, it's probably too little too late, but regardless it's kind of fascinating.<br /><br />By the way, you don't happen to recall offhand the name of the collection you read The Pre-Persons (or People?) in, do you? Eh, never mind, I'm sure I can find it without too much difficulty.Ethanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07498712279382078624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-6261136352429856862011-07-18T08:31:12.591-04:002011-07-18T08:31:12.591-04:00Phew, so glad I'm not the only one with this r...Phew, so glad I'm not the only one with this reaction to The Pre-People. And yes it is sad that my reaction to Dick is now coloured by this. <br /><br />I read my first Dick short story collection a few weeks ago, and first I was loving it, then curious about the lack of interesting female characters, then irritated that they were not just un-interesting but often negative characters, and then finished off with the Pre-People that made me so angry with him because my enjoyment of his fantastic ideas was spoiled! <br /><br />Ethan, I think you should read it so you know what Rachel's been talking about.Lauranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-51890059055587298482011-02-08T14:13:40.238-05:002011-02-08T14:13:40.238-05:00Makes sense - fear of the unknown/alien other was ...Makes sense - fear of the unknown/alien other was the major theme of his writing and it's easy to see how that relates to racism. I'll try to find that intro.Rachelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-3732810693626797042011-02-07T22:55:35.377-05:002011-02-07T22:55:35.377-05:00Hah, yeah, I was thinking of that cat, too. Often ...Hah, yeah, I was thinking of that cat, too. Often do. The edition of <i>At the Mountains of Madness</i> that I read included a fascinating introduction by China Mieville, where he says that what we love about Lovecraft (assuming we love him, which I do) can't be separated from his racism, that it in fact springs directly from that racism, and so we can't ignore it, no matter how much we'd like to. If you're interested, it's well worth reading.<br /><br />There's a chance the same thing applies to Dick's dickery, but I'm not sure.<br /><br />You saying you can't see his name without thinking of it makes me pissed off at him. He had so much valuable to say, but he swaddled it in filth that repels people who could have been a receptive audience, and <i>fails</i> to repel some who are perhaps better repelled. Wadda jerk.<br /><br />I'm sure you know, but I wasn't trying to chastise you for mentioning something you've mentioned before. Hell, if I didn't do that, I'd have to stop writing entirely. And, sorry to say, I ain't gonna do that.Ethanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07498712279382078624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-24209211284492105132011-02-07T15:20:45.430-05:002011-02-07T15:20:45.430-05:00Very true - I remember reading Lovecraft and being...Very true - I remember reading Lovecraft and being smacked in the face by his...creative choice of cat name in "The Rats in the Walls." Good stuff and very thought provoking. I forgot that I'd mentioned "The Pre-Persons" before on here - unfortunately I simply can't read Dick's name (adolescent giggle) anywhere any more without instantly thinking about it, and feeling my skin crawl. Oh well.Rachelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-51149394003388033702011-02-07T14:33:28.989-05:002011-02-07T14:33:28.989-05:00(By the way, when I said "much much more dire...(By the way, when I said "much much more direct examples" I meant more direct than the examples I personally have come across, not the ones you mentioned in those stories, which I still haven't read.)Ethanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07498712279382078624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-35703839871919047012011-02-07T14:32:16.676-05:002011-02-07T14:32:16.676-05:00Rachel, I admit that my "I don't know why...Rachel, I admit that my "I don't know why..." was a lie. I've encountered relatively light touches of Dick's misogyny (funny pair of words, there) in several of the novels I've read by him, and I remember you mentioned "The Pre-Persons" (which I haven't read) here before, and in reading <i>The Shifting Realities</i> I've come across much, much more direct examples of that misogyny. (At one point, the editor mentions that one essay's "rape-related humor has aged very badly," which I guess is <i>one</i> way to put it...)<br /><br />Certainly would never try to excuse it. It's vile, vile vile. But as you say, he has numerous good points (and I'd go way farther than that), so to a certain extent I'm willing to daintily overlook it.<br /><br />And in another way, I find it to be a bizarrely fascinating aspect of his writing, like, say, Lovecraft's racism. Both writers, in their very different ways, obsess over those aspects of the inhuman that terrify them, never seeming to realize that there are also very human things that terrify them almost as much.<br /><br />And, in Dick's case, he can then turn around and praise Le Guin as one of the most important writers ever to live, and the girl who stole the Coca-Cola as "our human future." It's, as I said, bizarre and fascinating.<br /><br />Also makes me wonder what awful aspects of myself I'm overlooking.Ethanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07498712279382078624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-59558477455429929512011-02-07T11:01:18.460-05:002011-02-07T11:01:18.460-05:00The judge's daughter has to be involved becaus...The judge's daughter has to be involved because Phillip K. Dick, whatever his (numerous, I'll grant you!) good points, was one sick misogynist. Read "The Pre-Persons" and some of his other short stories. Horrifying, Jared Lee Rathner levels of venom against women.Rachelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-87112003584940651572011-02-06T22:24:46.337-05:002011-02-06T22:24:46.337-05:00Glad you like them! I'm sure there's more ...Glad you like them! I'm sure there's more to come from this book.Ethanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07498712279382078624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-58494118437980044692011-02-06T18:54:32.344-05:002011-02-06T18:54:32.344-05:00Just wanted to let you know that I really dig thes...Just wanted to let you know that I really dig these quotes you put up. Thanks.George Jonesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8981856246989013843.post-4764756030360869782011-02-06T15:14:22.842-05:002011-02-06T15:14:22.842-05:00Please note in the first quote that "anarchis...Please note in the first quote that "anarchistic, totalitarian state" is not a contradiction arising from ignorance, as similar phrases often are.<br /><br />Also, I'm not sure why the judge's daughter has to get involved, but otherwise I love the ideas.Ethanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07498712279382078624noreply@blogger.com