Book Review Time!
Okay, so I've just finished re-reading "A Scanner Darkly" by Phillip K. Dick. I read it right before the movie came out, but now that it has been a while, I thought I would re-read it to compare it to what I remember seeing on film.
For those who have missed out and are unfamiliar with the basic plot, this book is set in the near future. It is about a man named Bob Arctor who lives in a house full of junkies and a wide range of drugs, most notably Substance D, which ultimately fries your synapses with long-term use.
Bob is also an undercover narc trying to root out the original source of Substance D. Not even his co-workers know either identity thanks to a technological advance known as "the scramble suit".
Basically, in this world, a cop known even to other cops quickly finds himself dead as the drug sellers have managed to infiltrate even the highest levels of law enforcement.
Not knowing that "Fred" (his cop-name) is also Bob Arctor, his boss assigns him to keep a special watch on Arctor and has his house bugged by recording scanners.
The more drugs Bob takes, the more his identity as Bob/Fred slips from him and the the more we question what we understand as the book continues since we are viewing the world through Arctor's eyes.
The film does stick pretty close to the plot of the book, although I absolutely recommend reading it as Bob Arctor's descent into drug-damaged mindlessness is much more gradual in the book and you begin to question everything along with him...or sometimes for him:
*Does Barris know he's an agent?
*Is someone trying to kill him?
*Has he been poisoned?
*Do any of his roommates even actually exist outside of his mind?
*Does he exist?
The book ends brilliantly and once you realize that no one in the story escapes without being destroyed in one way or another, it makes Phillip K. Dick's end-book dedication even more touching.
It is said that this book is the closest one Dick has written to being an actual autobiography.
Wow.
Five synapses out of five. :)
For those who have missed out and are unfamiliar with the basic plot, this book is set in the near future. It is about a man named Bob Arctor who lives in a house full of junkies and a wide range of drugs, most notably Substance D, which ultimately fries your synapses with long-term use.
Bob is also an undercover narc trying to root out the original source of Substance D. Not even his co-workers know either identity thanks to a technological advance known as "the scramble suit".
Basically, in this world, a cop known even to other cops quickly finds himself dead as the drug sellers have managed to infiltrate even the highest levels of law enforcement.
Not knowing that "Fred" (his cop-name) is also Bob Arctor, his boss assigns him to keep a special watch on Arctor and has his house bugged by recording scanners.
The more drugs Bob takes, the more his identity as Bob/Fred slips from him and the the more we question what we understand as the book continues since we are viewing the world through Arctor's eyes.
The film does stick pretty close to the plot of the book, although I absolutely recommend reading it as Bob Arctor's descent into drug-damaged mindlessness is much more gradual in the book and you begin to question everything along with him...or sometimes for him:
*Does Barris know he's an agent?
*Is someone trying to kill him?
*Has he been poisoned?
*Do any of his roommates even actually exist outside of his mind?
*Does he exist?
The book ends brilliantly and once you realize that no one in the story escapes without being destroyed in one way or another, it makes Phillip K. Dick's end-book dedication even more touching.
It is said that this book is the closest one Dick has written to being an actual autobiography.
Wow.
Five synapses out of five. :)