Jump to content

Ooshie

Advanced Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,350

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Ooshie

    A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick

    in Previous Reading Circle Books

    Posted

    Actually, I should have thought a bit more carefully about question 4 - the bits I struggled with most were the bits in German; I could get the gist of some of them but not others, and didn't look them up.

     

    6: How do you think the title reflects on the book? What is its meaning

     

    The book refers to a quote in The Bible, "through a glass darkly", which I think refers to humans not perceiving the world entirely accurately; I think it may refer to the confused thinking of Fred/Arctor watching what was recorded through the scanners fitted in the house.

     

    7: What did you make of the unreliability of Arctor/Fred as a "narrator" (in the sense of, how did you view his experience as being worthwhile)

     

    I felt his unreliability added to the way the reader saw his mind unravelling as the book went on.

     

    8: Do you feel that the ending was at all redemptive, or did you see it as unremittingly bleak? And, either way, why is that?

     

    I felt that the ending gave some hope for Arctor's recovery, as he did recognise the small blue flowers, which made me think that he could recover slightly.

     

    9: How does the book relate to your experience with drugs/druggies?

     

    I certainly know people whose lives and health have been totally ruined by drug addiction, but I also know people who have totally turned their lives around and are now successful after living lives very similar to those depicted in the book when they were younger.

    A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick

    in Previous Reading Circle Books

    Posted

    I enjoy SF but don't read as much of as it as I used to, and I was really pleased that this book was chosen as April's reading circle book.

     

    1: Who is your favourite character, and why?

     

    My favourite character was Donna, as she seemed to try and help Arctor/Fred and to be genuinely fond of him, although I was surprised towards the end of the book by the extent of her involvement with the federal plan.

     

    2: Was there a particular part you enjoyed more?

     

    I enjoyed the part at the beginning of chapter two relating to the invention of the scramble suit. I very rarely picture anything I read, but the description of that really came to life for me.

     

    3: Was this the first book by the author, and in the genre, that you've read, and does it encourage you to read more?

     

    I had previously read Eye in the Sky and enjoyed that. My son has a huge collection of P K Dick novels, but he doesn't like me to read them as he rarely breaks the spine of a book but I make a proper mess of them! He did relent and let me borrow A Scanner Darkly, and I'm hoping to prise more of them away from him. I have enjoyed SF as a genre since my mid teens.

     

    4: Did you struggle with any of it?

     

    I found some of the language a bit dated (60s/70s hippy), but it wasn't a problem.

     

    5: Was it overall enjoyable

     

    Yes, I found it an enjoyable read, and would read it again.

     

    I will need to think a bit more about questions 6 to 9! :lol:

×
×
  • Create New...