Confessions of a Crap Artist

Paperback, 272 pages

Published July 9, 1989 by Paladin.

ISBN:
978-0-586-08725-1
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OCLC Number:
20691593

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(7 reviews)

Confessions of a Crap Artist is a 1975 novel by Philip K. Dick, originally written in 1959. Dick wrote about a dozen non-science fiction novels in the period from 1948 to 1960; this is the only one published during his lifetime. The novel chronicles a bitter and complex marital conflict in suburban 1950s Northern California. Each chapter is written in alternating perspective switching between first person perspective from the main characters as well as chapters written from a third person perspective. The novel contains only small amounts of the complex mystical and science fiction concepts that define much of Dick's work. Rolling Stone called it a "funny, horribly accurate portrait of a life in California in the Fifties".

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Certain aspects of the book are interesting, but generally I'm not sure what PKD is doing writing such a mainstream type of story. Did he hope it would bring in some highly needed income? I'm not sure, but it's clear that he does a much better job at science fiction than mainstream fiction.

I did enjoy Jack's character, his delusions and peculiar way of seeing the world, but Fay, for example, was just not as particular as she could have been. While the characters were not bad per se, I do believe he could have developed, fleshed them out and made them more unique.

I'm not sure who, if any, I would recommend this book to.

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