Tag: Influenced

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.


Ted Hughes – Birthday Letters | Review

Title: Birthday Letters

Author: Ted Hughes

Type: Poetry

Page Count: 198

Rating: 3.75/5

I’ve always been more of a Plath fan than a Hughes fan, but that made this interesting because the poems were pretty much all about Plath and his relationship with her, so there was quite a lot there for me to enjoy.

The fact is, I don’t much like Hughes as a person, but as a poet, it’s hard to knock him. In fact, this did a lot to make me change my mind about him, at least a little bit. I’ve read a few other bits and pieces by Ted Hughes here and there, but this did at least made me want to read some more of his stuff.

It’s not exactly my type of poetry, but it is still pretty close and it’s definitely food for thought, and definitely worth reading. If nothing else, it was interesting to see how Hughes’ work has influenced some of the other poets that I like. He has a certain flair and a way with words that makes it a pleasure to read his stuff, at least here. Just maybe not always.

Learn more about Birthday Letters.