I listened to this audio book as part of the Amazon Vine program, so thanks to Amazon and the publishers for the review copy.
This is a great story, and the recording is well done. In this one-hour short story, Philip Dick builds a great little tale investigating the very fabric of reality. Ed and his wife Ruth are normal, everyday people with normal, everyday jobs. But one morning, Ed shows up late to work. And it turns out to be the day that his work segment is being "adjusted." So he stumbles unaware into a piece of reality that is deactivated for tweaking. He manages to escape, but has to try cope with this glimpse behind the curtain, as he comes to realize that reality is being manipulated by someone from the outside, and he even comes to learn why, when he meets the man "behind the curtain." Dick's story is a fun and also meaningful exploration of themes of providence, determinism, and fate, and I look forward to discussing it with others. This short story is very evocative of Farenheit 451 in the way it takes a look at reality that is at once fantastic and plausible, and he gives the reader or listener great food for thought. And the story is just plain fun. It is a riveting hour of listening, well narrated by Phil Gigante. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!
2 comments:
Hello James, as a christian also, I would like to tell you what is behind this story.
The movie is about God or the "Chairman"as they call, and how he is a dictator in peoples lives. The message of the movie is don't listen to what is written in the book from God (Bible), but rather create your own rules. This actually pleases God. There is an evident parallel between "Harry" (Anthony Mackie) and Lucifer the fallen angel, since Lucifer before his fall was a guardian angel, and later on decided to rebel against God, because he didn't agree with God and wanted to be like God, dictating the rules. The plot makes you cheer against Gods Will, so the couple can fall in love (with the help of Harry), but they also portray a God that took away free will, which is a lie.
And here is the most interesting part of the movie. The place where they get to contact the "Chairman" is through the "Statue of Liberty" and once they get inside they get to the house of god which is at no less than the Rockefeller Center Building. OK, no big deal, but just do one thing, search on youtube for the words "Statue of Liberty Secret Symbols" which is a documentary by the History Channel. And make your own conclusions.
If that is not enough read the biography of the author: Philip K. Dick and his relation to christianity, or even easier, just rent a copy of his biography documentary entitled not less than: The Gospel According to Philip K. Dick.
God bless! (2 Corinthians 11:12-15)
Ed, thanks for the comment. I haven't yet seen the movie (my review was of the short story on which it is based), though I hope to do that soon. As for the treatment of God, I'd agree that there are obviously some interesting theological themes and fascinating allegorical possibilities in his short story, especially as it relates to the character of God's interaction with the world. I would certainly contend that the Chairman figure in this story has some important dissimilarities with the Christian vision of God, not least his purpose in creating and his ways of interacting with the world. I have little doubt that if Dick's story is meant to be a criticism of Christianity, that he and I would have some strongly differing opinions, but I did appreciate the story and the way he wove a fascinating tale about determinism and divine action that got me thinking. So hats off to him for that.
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