Philip K. Dick: Canonical Writer of the Digital Age (Studies in Major Literary Authors)

by Lejla Kucukalic

Studies in Major Literary Authors

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Kucukalic looks beyond the received criticism and stereotypes attached to Philip K. Dick and his work and shows, using a wealth of primary documents including previously unpublished letters and interviews, that Philip K. Dick is a serious and relevant philosophical and cultural thinker whose writing offer us important insights into contemporary digital culture. Evaluating five novels that span Dick's career--from Martian Time Slip (1964) to Valis (1981)--Kucukalic explores the the show more intersections of identity, narrative, and technology in order to ask two central, but unchart show less

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2 reviews
Avoids sensationalism and unsupported claims about Dick, which it criticizes. Instead, careful, close analysis of major works and Dick's importance as a thinker. "At the center of Dick's creative process is always the consideration of ways in which human beings can and do survive in modern conditions, a humanistic gesture in the age of machines."
Finally a book that deals with PKD's interest in psychology, philosophy, and religion. Kucukalic does a great job of analyzing PKD's interest in these topics, and showing how much they matter to the larger structure of his work. From my reading, I'd say the author proves the point she makes in the book's title, that is, that PKD's writing is important (canonical) for American Literature in general, and not just from the SF point of view. There's also a great biographical chapter and pretty good notes that refer to other works of this sort and of course the works that PKD himself was interested in.

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Lejla Kucukalic teaches in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, New York.

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Common Knowledge

People/Characters
Philip K. Dick

Classifications

Genres
Literature Studies and Criticism, Fiction and Literature, Science Fiction
DDC/MDS
813.54Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English1900-19991945-1999
LCC
PS3554 .I3 .Z74Language and LiteratureAmerican literatureAmerican literatureIndividual authors1961-
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2
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(4.00)
Languages
English
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
5