Author: Philip K. Dick
It’s not a long story, but it still took me quite some time to finish, because I have no idea what Philip K. Dick is trying to say, especially toward the end of the book.
Philip K. Dick is always like this. He just threw as many small mysteries or plot details as possible, while not using like 90% of them for actual purpose. They are just there, for some reason. I’ve seen more than enough of this in his another notable work, Ubik, and I am really not a fan of this kind of writing style. To me, it’s just pure laziness. What makes it more crazy is that, both Valis and Ubik are short novels, yet he was able to fill in so many unimportant and unrelated plots. It’s like he’s performing a magic show, and those details are only there to trick you. You thought he’s going to present a mesmerizing sci-fi world, but he actually wasn’t. All he did is play on a single idea, while leaving other details stranded, not having any chance to play on a part in the main plot.
Philip K. Dick’s writing itself, on the other hand, is very enjoyable. Reading his text in midnight with some chill music, is just one of the best moment in life. So comfortable. Unfortunately, that really is the only good part of his short novels. No other reasons to read them really.
I want to talk about the story itself, but I really don’t know the thing (or religion?) he’s trying to convey, so ………. I’ll just leave it. I know Valis is only the first book of his im-dying-so-im-writing-what-i-think-when-im-high trilogy, but I really don’t think reading all them will give me a better grasp of his … religion, so I’ll just pass, for now. Maybe I’ll read them when I’m like 50, and high.
I picked up this book because I saw some random redditor said that this is a book that will change your life, and idk what the fuck is wrong with his life that it can be changed by some random book that talks about absolutely nothing, written by a drug addict, probably when high.