/lit/ - Literature

>>10048028
>The opening episode was poorly written to the point of being incoherent.
Perfect PKDick adaptation then

What are some essential novels that explore the nature of reallity, schizophrenia, paranoia?

What am I in for?

At the start of the week I said that I would read Valis and see what the fuss is about. Having just done so, I still don't know. Regardless, it was an interesting experience; the author's struggle to grasp the meaning and implications of being hit by a beam of pink light which imparted upon him divine wisdom and knowledge of his past and future lives. The first half was forbidding, too oblique and esoteric. Indeed, I nearly dropped the book here, which is something I rarely do. The second half is more successful, wrapping up some ideas in a more traditionally novelistic way.

The mix of fictional and non-fictional elements is for me, the ultimate appeal of the book; anecdotes drawn from the author's life, discussion of Gnostics and Pre-Socratics, the tension between PKD and his Horselover Fat double, and the beguiling cameos of what must be stand-ins or composites of David Bowie and Brian Eno.

I'm glad I finished it. If nothing else, PKD concisely explains his ideas about the nature of reality (via Heraclitus; true nature conceals itself in manifest structures) and this will inform into my subsequent reading of his books. There are several intriguing images and ideas which I will be thinking about for some time; the black iron prison, the universe as living information/world as language, the cyclical nature of time, man as his own savior. In this way, the book will have a life outside itself, as the best books will. Still, I can't help feeling the book should have been more coherent, and that it was badly written. 3/5

I just finished VALIS and my copy of The Divine Invasion is taking forever to get to me. Can I skip The Divine Invasion for now and move on to The Transmigration of Timothy Archer? Or should I wait and read my copy of The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch instead?

>>8962584
feels good desu

Read the book posted under yours.

>man incoherently rambles about god for 250+ pages
What the hell is this book?

done

>buy this book
>mom asks if messages are being fired into my mind from a laser that's a shade of pink that shouldn't exist
Well?

This will cheer you up!

This!!!!

This is way better than JEST!

What is reality? Shit, who knows...

Who is your favorite noided nutcase author?

>>7787584
Did you say love?

I just got done watching Radio Free Albemuth which is a depiction of Philip K. Dick's VALIS.

What did you guys think about the craaazy story?

Philip K. Dick was right

Though for me, it was a bit less turbulent than for Dick.

I sure am happy I saw someone post about this book, it's nice to find a entertaining book to read.

Also does anyone dislike knowing if the author is religious or not when reading books that deal with religion?

Whenever I read a Brandon Sanderson book I just remember he's a mormon and it just makes me second guess everything he writes about religion.

>brilliant /lit/<

>>7234153
Blew my mind /lit/

probably the best book i've read in a while. are #2 and #3 good as well, or does it serve well as a stand-alone?

also, is this science fiction? it didn't really seem that way to me. not at all really. it had some elements of sf, but it felt way different. what kind of genre would you assign it to? just wondering.

but really, it's fucking great wow i thoroughly enjoyed the experience