K-PAX

He calls himself prot. It rhymes with goat, and is never capitalized. He claims to be from the world called K-PAX, which is apparently not just some radio or television station on the west coast.

Gene Brewer, the psychologist analyzing this man recently admitted to the ward, splits his time between listening to prot go on about his extraterrestrial life and trying to find out exactly who this John Doe is.

But with each session, prot's story becomes more and more believable, and the other patients in the ward are starting to believe him.

Brewer and a journalist named Giselle find out about prot's alter ego, and make Brewer thing that prot is an imaginative sufferer of multiple personality disorder, until prot does something that he just show more can't explain.

Part of a series of four books as well as supplemental material, this book would probably be best enjoyed by readers of psycho-analytical fiction, or those into pop science fiction. If didn't like the movie, chances are you wouldn't like the book either, though I assure you: the book is better. show less

A patient brought before a psychiatrist claims to be an alien visiting from another planet. Is he for real, or is he the most convincing delusional anyone has ever come across? It is a neat, crowd-pleasing idea, birthed ably enough into the world by author Gene Brewer. The author's background in psychology gives an air of authenticity to the interactions between doctor and patient, although the world of 'K-PAX' (the patient's 'homeworld') is a bit too on the unbelievably utopian side (Brewer even namechecks John Lennon's 'Imagine', and his vision of how the complex problems of the world simply come down to human 'stupidity' is a bit simplistic). That said, the patient, 'prot', is rather believable and Brewer keeps you guessing as to show more whether prot really is an alien.

However, the writing itself is rather workmanlike: leaving aside the odd sojourns into opera and a mid-life-crisis flirtation between the psychiatrist and a reporter, the film adaptation (2001, starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges) handles the story beats much better, particularly with regards to the ending. The book is a breeze to read, but go for the movie if it is an either/or decision for you. show less

Read this prior to finally seeing the movie. Not entirely certain what all the fuss is about and definitely not convinced I need to read more of the series. Not bad, just not.... impactful?

Perhaps the movie goes some way to helping it out.

The problem is... Well, it's all been done before, hasn't it? And with much more meaning and depth. Strange in a Strange Land for one. Though you can argue there are different themes at play and they aren't identical characters with identical missions, it still comes down to someone says they're an alien visitor, the complain bitterly about the way we do things here, and then in the final act they ambiguously turn out either to be maybe, or not to be definitely, an alien. Brewer even name checks a few show more similar ideas in the final pages.

It just feels like he could have gone harder and written more meaningfully. show less

Having seen the film countless times and just now getting around to reading the book, I found it rather entertaining and felt they might have been better off sticking to the book rather than modifying it for the film. That said, Kevin Spacey does a remarkable job playing 'prot', and the book character is equally colorful. I enjoyed it thoroughly and would recommend it to people that may not have seen the film yet.

Mix some science-fiction with the classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and you get K-PAX. A delightful story of a man claiming to be from another planet. Is he really an alien or mentally disturbed young man? Told through the notes of the doctor trying to uncover the truth, we learn more about ourselves as a human race. Fun read.

A genuinely delightful book. I read this after watching the Kevin Spacey movie partly because I was so impressed with Spacey's performance that I knew I'd have a character I loved popping around in my head. A wonderful tale about a man who believes he is from outer space, and seems to have the intelligence and other worldly knowledge for it to be true, who spends his time at a mental hospital helping who he can.

I always enjoy the idea that 'crazy' people are not crazy at all but can see and understand something the rest of us cannot. This is one of those books.

This is a story of a man with multiple personality disorder. What makes it interesting, is that the personality dominantly portrayed in the book is from another planet and has vast insight into the human condition, as well as unexplainable and verifiable information on another world.

It isn't clear whether this is a psychology book or science fiction. The reader is intentionally left hanging over the decision, as ever new data point clearly in one direction or the other.

I was drawn to this book after seeing the movie. Although I enjoyed the movie, it didn't quite feel complete. The movie was fairly accurate to the book, but left out some details and the final chapter. The book explores several interactions with other patients of the show more psychiatric ward than the movie does, and provides a few new twists. It is worth reading even if you're familiar with the movie.

*** Possible SPOILER ***

The book doesn't give a clear answer to the questions raised. Is that a spoiler. I understand there is a sequel (or two even) which may provide clearer conclusions. show less