Review: A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

I have read a few of Dick's science fiction novels, but this one took me the longest amount of time to read. I know that a while ago I tried to watch the film adaptation of this with no success. I do know it starred Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder. Quite a few of Dick's novels have been turned into films. You would be surprised.

After watching the trailer and having read the book finally I just may have to re-watch this. But let's talk about the book and my thoughts on it. 

One reason it took me months to read this was the dialogue and subject matter of the first half of this novel. Of course for those who do not know this book is about a group of friends and drugs. With this being said it was rather hard for me to read through random dialogues about nonsense conversations between the characters of this book. I understand that they are on drugs, and I know from having seen a documentary on the author that he too liked to party. But ridiculous and meaningless conversations almost made me give up reading this book. 

It wasn't until almost a little over halfway through the book does it start to make sense. When the details of one of the designer drugs that they consume Substance D, is revealed to be very harmful to the user. Also, this is where some great thoughts on how drugs can alter and make people undesirable. I'm glad that the author writes at the ending about how this book doesn't have any real moral idea behind it but it was just to describe how bad drugs can affect people who choose to overindulge in them. He even has a list of friends and how they were affected by drugs. He stated that many of his friends were the basis for the characters of this novel. 

There was also a brief mention of a sub-plot involving one of the lesser characters, but it was never revealed in more detail. I think this would have made this book more enjoyable. 

So I decided to rate this 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.com, and to be honest with those reading this I do not understand why this has been rated 4 or 5 stars by others. I don't know what I missed that was so great about this. But I do think I need a break from reading this author after having taking so many months to plow through this book. Maybe if I had read it faster and had gotten through the nonsense convos it would have been more enjoyable?

Review of Acid House by Irvine Welsh

I just finished reading Acid House, by Irvine Welsh. If you follow my booktube channel you know how much I enjoy reading this authors works.  This last book is a collection of short stories, a few poems, and a novella. Like all of the other books I have read by Welsh I really enjoyed this book. Like his other books this collection of stories involved the right of satire, drugs, sex, and shenanigans.

For instance, one story was about a man named Bob Coyle, who God chose that because he hated himself for not making the world a better place he would then punish Bob. He punishes Bob by turning him into one of the lowest forms of life, a fly.

Another story involved a young man named Coco Bryce, who has a tragic accident one night that he is tripping on acid on the night of a thunderstorm. He is struck by lightning, and finds himself inhabiting the body of a newborn baby. This was a rather comical story, and one that I remembered from the Acid House film. A talking baby as if that were not funny enough, but the things he does, and says were good for a laugh. Coco Bryce!

The last part of the book is a novella entitled "Smart Cunt", and is broken up into smaller chapters.  This story involves a first person account of a man named Brian, who seems to think that every important female in his life has abandoned him. First his mother when he was 8yrs old, and later his girlfriend who decides to go away to college in London. Brian chooses to cope with his sense of abandonment, and depression through drinking, drugs and reading horrible biographies. The title of this story has the same meaning as what we Americans refer to as a "smart alec", and I'm sure some people would be offended by the term used in the title, but this a perfect example of the way an average person living in the schemes of Scotland talks. The reader gets the impression that the main character is lost in his drugs, drinking and depression, because the story seems to jump from events in his life with no clear explanation of transitions.  This story is very tragic in it's telling and we get a feeling of pity for the main character, as he feels like people do not like him because he is a "smart cunt".

Like his other books that I have read so far I really enjoyed seeing into another life, and culture, which I may never get to experience, and one that I think is a good example of being a diverse read. I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

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