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/lit/ - Literature

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12807508 No.12807508 [Reply] [Original]

Are there any books about a man who loses his mind and falls into a deep dark pit of mental illness but eventually makes a slow and arduous recovery and starts to get his life back on track

>> No.12807583
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12807583

Yes. Read Phil's: VALIS.

>> No.12807636

>>12807583
Not ope. I read about half of that book and just got bored because I didn't understand it. Are you saying that he makes a recovery?
T. Prefers Ubik

>> No.12807799

>>12807636

I'm currently working on a paper about Dick anon and the answer is a huge Yes. First, VALIS and everything else that Dick wrote after 1974 (the things he talks about in VALIS are a product from that experience). In understanding the novel, that is, VALIS, it is helpful to know some things about Gnosticism, Jungian psychology, Taoism, generally some philosophy (especially Neoplatonism and Kant) and so on, but it is not a necessity since Dick's goal was to explain all of it to the reader. Generally speaking, the more you know about theology, literature, psychology, Dick's work and life, the more you will get out it; but, it is such an original book and text that coming back to it and reading it again and again is really rewarding.

Second, here's what 1974 was: In 1974 Dick had a "mystical" experience, before it he only saw suffering in the world. However, what he experienced was a "divine invasion" which entered Dick's mind and made him finally "sane". It's very interesting to read about all of this since Dick is so well versed in all kinds of ("crazy") things and makes the material digestible and actually rational. The psychological insight is really incredible.

I'd recommend reading about/listening to this interview with Dick before reading VALIS.
http://www.openculture.com/2014/05/philip-k-dick-takes-you-inside-his-life-changing-mystical-experience.html

>> No.12807807 [DELETED] 

>>12807508
No

>> No.12808186

>>12807799
Thank you! I guess the part that threw me off was I don't know enough philosophy to be able to tell if the character was full of s*** or not in the first half of the book when he discusses the philosophy he makes these Grand conclusions that seem very dubious. However, being unfamiliar with those philosophers and philosophy in general I simply ended up confused

>> No.12808198

>>12807508
Yes, four, actually. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

>> No.12808200

>>12808198
who was mentally ill in those books

>> No.12808567

>>12808200
bump

>> No.12808573

>>12807508
Iwein

>> No.12808574

>>12808200
you, the reader

>> No.12809763

>>12807508
trainspotting

>> No.12809789

In The Realms Of The Unreal

>> No.12809797

The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh.

>> No.12809860

>>12808200
>My name is Legion, for we are many

>> No.12809909

>>12807508
"Bad Brains" by Kathe Koja

>> No.12809911

>>12808200
Saul of Tarsus. dude had an epileptic seizure and fell off his donkey. changed his name to Paul and became a fundamentalist misogynist.

>> No.12809944

>>12807799

this non-fic book by Dick seems highly relevant to giving insight into where Dick was coming from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exegesis_of_Philip_K._Dick