Confessions of a Crap Artist

This was the first of Dick's mainstream novels I read, it made me wonder what kind of mainstream writer Dick would have made had he found more success in the genre (was the 50's society he wrote about too conservative to accept these novels?). Even though this story is set in a 50's environment, it doesn't miss a beat in any regard, Confessions of a Crap Artist is as engrossing and page-turning a book as any of his science fiction novels. The way the story unfolds keeps you at the edge of your seat and you may find yourself laughing at the insanity of regular, seemingly successful people who dig themselves into giant ruts by involving themselves with people when they should know better.If you like Phillip K. Dick's work you must read this novel, if you buy it it will take a valued place in your collection.

I tell you, this book made me sadder than I've been in so very long. It's about so many things that push my buttons that if I were a crap artist like Jack Isidore, I'd believe Mr. Dick was writing to me personally. It's hard to pick out what's the top layer of the book and what's subtext and so forth. There are definate themes, though. Jack is a crank. A real nutcase. He sees as real whatever sounds the neatest to him. Aliens and so forth. And the book is an exploration of him coming to terms with how he collects 'crap' ideas in his head. And how he realizes that the people who are 'normal' collect their own crap, but it's all emotial and motivational crap and therefor not rigorously testable like his pseudo-science crap beliefs.It's also about a supremely selfish woman coming to terms with herself, a honest man baffled by his own reactions to the world and his wife, an intellectual knowingly watching his slide into hell and the ruination of his marriage, the duplicity of affairs and more importaintly, the self delusion often involved in precipitating affairs. The vindictiveness in people. The need to destroy out of spite, out of anger, and out of frustration as if destruction somehow brings understanding. And how sometimes it does.It's about a house. A marvelous house that eats everything in it. It's about modern society. It's about wanting everything you don't need and needing what you don't want. It's beautiful, sad, inspiring, and woeful.It's about a sweet woman turned bitter. About hope snuffed out and resignation kindled in its place as a pale replacement. It's about the dominoes of life, how kicks travel from one person to another. You kick me, I kick him, he kicks her, she kicks some stranger. It's about telling lies on tires, telling lies on lives, telling lies on ourselves. It's about the blowout in the tire that reveals the truth, the blowout in each and every one of us.I kept thinking "Oh, no... oh no... " as I read this book. The ending is as unavoidable as it is predictible, and you fight against the whole way, and you're relieved when it happens, and saddened at each chance to pick another path lost.I think this may be one of Dick's best books, up there with Adroids and his other well known books.

A tire-regroover named Jack Isidore is an eccentric fellow. He believes that sunlight has weight, cows have four stomachs, the earth is hollow, and by the way, the world is going to end on April 23rd. But the weirdest part of the story is this: his "normal" sister and brother-in-law and some friends of theirs are even STRANGER than he is. In this book Philip K. Dick explores what it means to be normal. Are we any different from the people in the mental institutions? Unlike some of PKD's books, this one is very consistent and keeps your attention the whole way through. I was very pleased with it. Sure, it's more fiction than science fiction, but it proves how versatile an author PKD really is. This is definitely one of his best books, and I've read about half of his novels.

Those familiar with Dick's work will enjoy this. And new-comer's to Dick's style (Or Sci-Fi entirely) will become thirsty for more. Chronicalling the (supposed) social misfit, Jack Isidore, as he speaks his mind about science, life, and his family. In Berkley (where most of Dick's work takes place), California, Jack resides and lives, until he is taken in by his sibling, and brother-in -law. There, begins a story that raises intriguing questions, affairs, madness, and life as a supposed misfit. After reading this, you WILL know Jack Isidore. Warning: This book will stick with you for a long time! Also, if you get a chance, look into the movie based on this book: Barjo, the 1993 French film.NOTE:NEVER LISTEN TO THE DESCRIPTION OF PHILIP K. DICK's BOOKS, THAT ARE ON THE BACK. FOR SOME REASON, THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STORY, ESPECIALLY "WE CAN BUILD YOU". The backs make each book sound like every other crappy second-rate sci-fi book. THEY ARE NOT.