Tag: People

Philip K. Dick – Time Out of Joint | Review

Title: Time Out of Joint

Author: Philip K. Dick

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 192

Rating: 3.5/5

This book presents itself as one thing but is something very different. What we actually have is something a little bit like The Truman Show in which the protagonist slowly starts to realise that there’s something shady going on behind the scenes and his reality is being manipulated.

For me, I found that it the reading experience was a little jarring, because it kept feeling as though reality was fine and then suddenly it was nuts and then it was back to all just fine again. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention, but if that’s the case then it’s arguably the book’s fault anyway.

I just think that some of Dick’s other work was more engaging, and this just sort of felt as though he was rehashing old territory. Part of that might be because Dick has influenced a ton of people, and it’s not really his fault if this felt familiar because it’s been copied a bunch of times. It was still pretty good and worth reading, though.

Learn more about Time Out of Joint.


John Steinbeck – The Pearl and Burning Bright | Review

Title: The Pearl and Burning Bright

Author: John Steinbeck

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 160

Rating: 3.75/5

This isn’t the best Steinbeck that I’ve read, but then it’s up against Of Mice and Men and a couple of his short stories, so that’s hardly surprising. That doesn’t make it any less of a worthwhile read though, and I’m happy to have been able to add this one to my list of completed books.

The Pearl reminded me of The Old Man and the Sea, although that’s not necessarily a good thing because I didn’t particularly like that. Luckily, I thought that The Pearl was a lot better, mainly because it looked at the gritty subject of the way that people take advantage of people as opposed to having a more philosophical bent.

Burning Bright was great too, but I have a self-imposed word count to stick to, so I’ll leave you hanging. Sorry.

Learn more about The Pearl and Burning Bright.