Writing in the 1950s, did Philip K. Dick really anticipate the Gregorian chant music could be popular? Yes he did.I’ve said it before, unfortunately, I will likely say it again, why, why, why was he not more popular in his own time?“You nothing but ditch water walking around on two feet.”Poetry.A reader, a PKD fan, cannot read Humpty Dumpty in Oakland without comparing this work to Confessions of a Crap Artist, his 1975 non-science fiction publication, originally written in 1959. Like Confessions, Humpty Dumpty in Oakland was a realistic, non-science fiction novel written earlier (1960), rejected by publishers, and then kept on the shelves. Unlike Confessions, Humpty was not published until after his death.Dick describes a situation where Jim Fergusson, a retiring garage owner with a bad heart, conflicts with his long time friend and business associate, used car salesman, Al Miller. Along the way the reader meets a smooth talking dirty record producer, a barbershop quartet aficionado, a jazzy realtor, a matronly health food store clerk, and a cultured Greek housewife.Whether it is absurdist sci-fi musing or a realistic 1960s existentialist urban drama it is the little guy in society, going it alone against an uncaring universe that gets Phil’s attention. One of his ex-wives commented that his novels were a surrealistic autobiography. And on the streets of Oakland, is Al Miller that different from Dick? Struggling, striving, always a paycheck away from disaster? Yet intensely individualistic and deigning to “join the crowd” only reluctantly and half-heartedly. There are no simulacra or slug-like aliens in this narrative, but common PKD themes such as isolation, paranoia, elitist class structure, unreliable hallucination and stark spiritual and cultural ennui are evident.Some critics have called Dick a post-modernist and at first glance I would agree. But Humpty Dumpty in Oakland, again written in 1960, makes me wonder if he was not on to something completely different. Reading his science fiction canon, the predominant bulk of his work, it is easy to slap labels on his intelligent but frequently wacky designs. His more somber theological musings would only come later with the VALIS series.But Humpty, like Confessions, marks PKD as a deeply introspective writer of his times, not just a rejectionist of earlier structure (post-modern). Phil was tuned into his time, the 50s, 60s and 70s – he was a canary in the coalmine for our society up to this point. A careful student will also note that much of his “future” was close ahead and much of what he wrote as future has already come and gone.A modern reader may also look at HDIO and wonder about whether Dick was racist. No doubt if this were published in 2014, his references to “Negro” and “Asian” and other ethnic statements would bring this criticism, but I think these were more of a sign of the times than an internal bigotry. A more careful examination will reveal that Al had a very close relationship, even an empathy with his African-American neighbors and customers. His dynamic relationship with Mrs. Lane bears closer scrutiny, but here also, Dick was well ahead of his times.A decidedly different sample of his writing, Humpty Dumpty in Oakland, like Confessions of a Crap Artist further demonstrates the great depth and amazingly adept and erudite talent of one of our finest American writers of the twentieth century.
I do not like giving one star reviews and I really do not like giving one star reviews to authors whose work I generally love but in this case I feel I must. Humpty Dumpty in Oakland was one of Dick's realistic fiction novels, most of which went unpublished in his lifetime. Posthumously published novels by famous authors should always be a warning to readers. When Dick tried to publish this novel it was dubbed "incoherent" by the publisher and it really isn't hard to see why. Like all of Dick's work is proceeds on the premise that everybody lives in their own version of reality but because it contains no plot of stylistic elements that make this clear anybody reading this who is not intimately familiar with Dick going in is going to be confused. This is not the only problem with the book. Al Miller is not a likeable protagonist, and some people who do not like this book will use that as their reason. I do not require a likeable protagonist. In fact, I don't mind if the main character is an outright cad. I do not need to sympathize or like what the main character is doing. what I do need is to understand what he is doing. Miller seems to be mentally ill, like the narrator of other Dick works including another realistic novel Confessions of a Crap Artist. Unfortunately, my reasons for assuming this comes solely from the facts that nothing else could possibly explain his behavior. In fact, Jim Ferguson also acts like a mentally ill person and while other characters do not seem as crazy, I think nearly every character in the novel does at least one thing where I do not have a clear idea of what motivated them to behave in such a bizarre way. I understood all the characters in Confessions of a Crap Artist even though they all acted crazy as well. I really wanted to give this book two stars but I can't bring myself to do it. There are two good things in the book. The first is some of the questions about race that Dick brings up but they go nowhere and Dick's use of "negro dialect" is awful. The second thing is a conversation about luck that is one of those great philosophical conversations that sound like real every day conversations that Dick is so good at writing. Neither of these is enough to make me give the book one more star.
What do You think about Humpty Dumpty In Oakland (2007)?
The characters are mostly unlikeable, but this hits really close to home. San Pablo Avenue probably still has this garage on it somewhere. Like many of PKD's works, this one features men stuck in their personal reality, moving through life in a confused fashion while their wives get really excited about something the husbands don't notice - because they are so focused on their own miserable experiences. Yes, this has been done before, but I enjoyed the experience of reading it. It's a slice of life. And somehow it's sticking with me a few weeks after reading it.
—Anca
This was an audiobook for my commutes. I've read other Philip K. Dick and I keep wanting to like him. I struggle to like his work, but I picked this up to try again. I had mixed feelings towards this book. It came across as uneven, weakly character driven, and meandering, honestly very much like the chief protagonist.I didn't like many of the characters. There were a few secondary characters that were engaging, but generally speaking the folks driving the plot along were difficult to read. I think that is mainly due to witnessing at least one man struggling to self-medicate mental illness. Al Miller was hard to read. He wasn't logical. He approached reason and the wandered off. He was listless and pathetic. That's not enough to set back the book for me. I can handle an unlikeable protagonist. The book itself, though, reflected the character, and I don't think it was entirely on purpose.This was published posthumously and honestly I can see why. It needed an editor. Too much was brought out and not resolved. I know that a story doesn't need to tie together every thread - I don't mean that. I mean that important plot points that were given great initial detail were subsequently left on the shelf. There was too much left undiscovered. Frankly, it needed some fleshing out.I think Dick painted a good picture of a struggling, lost soul unable to find his way in the world. I think that lost soul was trapped in a less than coherent narrative, and not because of his POV. The reader can pick up what the flawed narrator misses. It is, rather, that the actual narrative itself needed some tightening up. Concepts such as the nebulous antagonist to Mr. Harmon, character insight such as the salesman in Marin County, points of fact such as the dissonant call from the Barber to Al. These trailed off, weren't followed up, were left to fade off, and the work suffered because of it.It's not going to stop me from trying to find something of Dick's that I do enjoy, but this didn't really do it for me. He developed some interesting side characters, and definitely painted a melancholy mood for the novel, and so you can see the craft Dick can produce. It needed, however, some polish. Two stars for good atmosphere, but I can't say that I liked it.
—Chris
This is one of Philip K. Dick's fiction books (not science fiction). I'm not entirely sure why I enjoyed this book so much. It's about an old guy who owns an auto-shop and rents out the lot next door to a used-car salesman. Sounds pretty exciting, right? I don't know why but I found myself chuckling through this entire book. Usually I don't care for dark humor, but I found the characters fit the bill very well for the not-so-bright entrepreneurs. I can see why others may not like this one. I mean, there's not really any plot other than a few guys trying to go through with their real estate transaction. But the way Dick portrayed these two characters, their aloofness- was just classic.
—Michael
