A Scanner Darkly

Michael Hewson wrote:
 > Did anyone else find this as tough a read as I did?


Why tough? I found it a pleasure with the humour and the insight.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly 

<<
Did anyone else find this as tough a read as I did? >>


lots of phil k dick stuff is a tough read. part of what makes it so rewarding.
same can be said of most good literature. he challenges your assumptions,
breaks down your reality, but on a level that can be tough to follow.

-Sned The Bold http://www.geocities.com/t3dyhand/
"every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that
wonders what the part that isn't thinking isn't thinking of"
-they might be giants
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly 

I enjoyed it as well - but it was a bit of hard slogging at times (for me,
anyway). As you say -- humourous and insightful.

Cheers

Mike



Mike
"ed" <ow1.DeleteThis@talk21.com> wrote in message
news:c1tk8p$1mop0c$1@ID-147682.news.uni-berlin.de...
 > Michael Hewson wrote:
  > > Did anyone else find this as tough a read as I did?
 >
 >
 > Why tough? I found it a pleasure with the humour and the insight.
 >
 >
 ><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly 

 >Did anyone else find this as tough a read as I did? >>

What was so tough about it, to you?

"Scanner" was my first PKD, the easiest,
and still the best, IMO.


Drew.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly 

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 22:20:18 -0500, "Michael Hewson"
<mikehewson.RemoveThis@sympatico.ca> annonced:

 >Did anyone else find this as tough a read as I did?

Like most things - the more effort you put in, the greater the reward.
But yes, the double-identity of bob arctor does make the story a
little confusing for novice/occassional readers (like myself), but
when read carefully it is fairly straightforward. It is the dialogue -
rather than the story - that makes this book his best IMHO, and my
favorite. Plan to read it again soon....<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly 

¥a§§er wrote:
 > On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 22:20:18 -0500, "Michael Hewson"
 > <mikehewson.RemoveThis@sympatico.ca> annonced:
 >
  >> Did anyone else find this as tough a read as I did?
 >
 > Like most things - the more effort you put in, the greater the reward.
 > But yes, the double-identity of bob arctor does make the story a
 > little confusing for novice/occassional readers (like myself), but
 > when read carefully it is fairly straightforward. It is the dialogue -
 > rather than the story - that makes this book his best IMHO, and my
 > favorite. Plan to read it again soon....


Thanks for explaining that. That was maybe the main thing I liked about the
story : an undercover cop reporting on himself but not realising the fact.
That made it funny, profound and disturbing.
And it is worth re-reading several times. My second favourite PKD novel.



ed




--
"Everyone looks like Ernest Borgnine."<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly 

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 22:20:18 -0500, "Michael Hewson"
<mikehewson DeleteThis @sympatico.ca> plied alt.books.phil-k-dick with:

 >Did anyone else find this as tough a read as I did?
 >

Well, given that the vast majority of Phil's output could be
superficially described as "pulp", its not suprising that Scanner, as
one of his most literate and complete works, comes across as a bit
less accessible - certainly I think he tried to write a 'mature' novel
when he wrote this and as a result Scanner contains a lot more in the
way of stylistic gimmicks and tricks e.g. interspersing German
dialogue and quotes from medical journals.

I suppose plotwise it can be pretty heavygoing, particularly the
chapters dealing with Freds' incarceration in the residential therapy
centres - no more so than, say Kafka or Heller (well I mean
specifically 'Something Happened'), although not nearly quite such
hard work as the likes of Gravity's Rainbow, which I had to abandon
eventually do to not being able to fully concentrate on the confusing
narrative (can anyone recommend another of Pynchon's books that might
be a bit of a easier primer before tackling GR?)

However, like most things that require effort, the reward is more than
satisfactory - its one of his best books!<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly 

"Joel Cooney" wrote:

 > ...although not nearly quite such
 > hard work as the likes of Gravity's Rainbow, which I had to abandon
 > eventually do to not being able to fully concentrate on the confusing
 > narrative (can anyone recommend another of Pynchon's books that might
 > be a bit of a easier primer before tackling GR?)


You might try _The Crying of Lot 49_.


-Cosmic Bandito

alt.fan.rawilson FAQ, FUQ, and more:
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://RAW23.home.comcast.net/" target="_blank">http://RAW23.home.comcast.net/</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly 

Cosmic Bandito <mgathers RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
  >> ...although not nearly quite such
  >> hard work as the likes of Gravity's Rainbow, which I had to abandon
  >> eventually do to not being able to fully concentrate on the confusing
  >> narrative (can anyone recommend another of Pynchon's books that might
  >> be a bit of a easier primer before tackling GR?)
 >
 >
 > You might try _The Crying of Lot 49_.

.... and then Vineland (howwEEEZZA, a FANTASTIC book), and if you want
an entirely new myth on the creation of America (not an undickean
fancy at all, that one) give Mason & Dixon a go.

must get my copy back. that one's better than *Nabokov*.

(Neal Stephenson's trying a similar creation myth for... uhhh...
science, I think, instead of Pynchon's tragically self-destruction
America, but he doesn't quite have either the prose or the plotting
fluency to pull it off. which isn't to say that Quicksilver's a
complete mess, more that Pynchon's so far ahead of Abolutely Everyone
Else. in all seriousness: M&D's as if all the strengths of Pale Fire,
Lolita, Midnight's Children, The Name of the Rose and TMITHC all
blurred into one. outSTANDing.)


butting<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly 

On Thu, 18 Mar 2004 22:00:32 +0000 (UTC), Bryce Utting
<butting.TakeThisOut@ihug.co.nz> plied alt.books.phil-k-dick with:

 >Cosmic Bandito <mgathers.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:
SNIP
  >> You might try _The Crying of Lot 49_.
 >
 >... and then Vineland (howwEEEZZA, a FANTASTIC book), and if you want
 >an entirely new myth on the creation of America (not an undickean
 >fancy at all, that one) give Mason & Dixon a go.
 >
SNIP

Sounds good - they'll both be next on the reading list then. Cheers!<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: A Scanner Darkly