Puttering About In A Small Land (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
I took a look at this book in a used bookstore and before I knew it, I had finished half of it. I finished the rest of it the following night. It's a simple read, but in no way is this book simplistic. There's so much I have to say about this book, I could fill another book, or maybe two. If you're looking for what is traditionally thought to be the classic Philip K. Dick genre and type, then this is not the book for you. This book is not an escape from reality, instead, it is a hard crash into reality's dead center. As a sociological study of the time and place, it is unfailingly accurate, and it fits perfectly with the existentialist aspect of Dick's philosophical makeup, even though it is not a side of him that his publishers cared to publish or publicize while he was alive. Personally, I love this book. It is incredibly clear and well written, and honest as an insightful portrait of the time and place, and the people who populate its pages. The history contained in this book along with the sociology of the time and place is an essential, but often over-looked component in how we got to the love generation of the '60s, (which is now so often misunderstood and misreported) and from there, to where we are today. It illustrates not only the pivotal period of post-war 20th century America, but also details the constructs of society which fueled and enabled the selfishness of it's people, a people ill-prepared to maturely handle such rapid change and expansion without selfishly grabbing at it for all it was worth and in the process, learning to love things and use people, as opposed to loving people and using things. While there is no mistake that selfishness and materialism existed long before mid-20th century America, it was at this time, and in this way, that America opened the floodgates of free time and material opportunity to an entire society, ostensibly for their betterment, but without the benefit of prior education, the time to adjust, or the evolved, inclusive, and tolerant moral backdrop needed to use these benefits for anything other than the selfish purposes of each individual's bored desires, eventually leading to an entire society which was completely baffled when its next generation, their children, rebelled in the 60's with anti-materialism and pro-love as their mantra. If I were currently teaching the sociological history of the United States, this book would be among those at the top of the reading list. It is an important book.
The worst part of having a favourite author who died before you started reading him is that eventually you will run out of new reading material. The best part of that favourite author being Philip K Dick is that he was prolific as fuck AND he has so many books that are only recently coming back into print and/or being published posthumously for the first time that even though I've been reading him for 20+ years, I still haven't run out of new-to-me shit to read. Puttering About in a Small Land is one of those mythical PKD volumes I searched used book stores and thrift shops for for years. It was first published in the mid-80s, following Dick's death, then went out of print for almost three decades cos there was never much call for his literary fiction. It's not sexy enough to be referred to in hushed reverential tones like a DADoES or mind-fucky enough to be a scholarly treatise on humanity and reality like the VALIS trilogy. It's a quiet book, dealing with adultery and retail. It's undeniably an early Dick book, exploring what exactly it means to be human; to feel eternal, knowing all this pain is an illusion. The prose and style will be familiar to anyone who's read more than a handful of his books or short stories, but it's not one of his Big Damn Idea books. I feel I'm not explaining myself very well. If you're a genre fan thinking to dabble in Dick, don't start here. [Waves hand] This is not the book you're looking for. You go read something else (if you don't want to start with the usual suspects, I applaud you and would recommend The Penultimate Truth, Dr Bloodmoney or The Cosmic Puppets), cos you will likely find this book's slightly plodding pace infuriating. If you're a litfic reader, looking to broaden your reading horizons, you *could* give this one a go. Maybe only if you're already into mid-20th Century Americana, though. This might not be the best starting point. You'd be better served picking up Confessions of a Crap Artist or Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said (which, yes, is genre fiction, but ONLY JUST).Fellow Dickheads? Obviously you need to read this. After Milton Lumky (who knew typewriter sales would be so compelling?). You might hate it, but your need for completion will compel you. TL;DR This book isn't for you. Or you. Or you. But it might be for YOU.
What do You think about Puttering About In A Small Land (2005)?
I really would have liked to give this 4 stars, but as it was I waivering on 2 stars.PKD was a truly terrific writer, but his choice of "plot" for his mainstream writing stifled him. His writing sucks you in and draws you in but the characters are too real and the diintegration of their lives is too close to home to be entertaining. The historic record of urban development in California after WWII up to the mid 1950's is very interesting, and is the saving grace of the book. It is really interesting to have this suburban counter part to hard boiled noir of Chandler. PKD did not have to take his plots to stars or sideways into another dimension to have success, - he could have just taken his gritty plots out of the quagmire of domestic life (leave them in as side plot or catalyst), and then taken his well formed chaaracters (and the reader!) on a journey.
—Cameron
I'm a fan of Philip K. Dick, but Puttering About in a Small Land, a mainstream fiction novel written in the 50's but published after his death, bored me. It's the story of a married couple in 1950's Los Angeles, dealing with their small lives and the intersection with another couple whose children go to the same school as their own. While some may consider it a fascinating character study, I found the characters to be flat and uninteresting. Not one of his better works; recommended only for completionists.
—This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For
This was my first foray into the writing of Phillip K. Dick. Based on what he is generally known for, this is an odd duck of a starting point. Unlike "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep", "Puttering About In A Small Land" is nothing remotely akin to science fiction. Rather, this is a story about a man who appears to feel trapped by the confines of suburban family life in post-WW2 America.The characters' names escape me as I'm writing this from memory, but the story centers around a man who leaves initially leaves his wife and child for another woman. The newly married couple leaves for California to start anew and take advantage of the high paying war industry jobs available. After the war, they have a child and the main story centers around enrolling their son in a boarding school to the North where the main character meets another couple from the neighborhood.As the main story progresses, the main character essentially takes a liking to the neighbor's wife. As they both have children attending the same private boarding school, they find reason to travel to the school together. As one might expect, the journey to the school evolves more into the journey about mutual interest in one another.What made this story so fascinating to me was the behavior of each of the main characters as the sordid details continued to unfold. In a modern story of this type, there always seems to be a pronounced reaction of revenge and anger in the face of unfaithful behavior. Being set in the 1950's, there is a continual sense of awkwardness and dullness of emotion. On the surface, it sounds like a recipe for a misfire. Instead, I had the perspective of watching through a glass tank as the beings trapped inside were discovering these new emotions and feelings in real time.I can see why this book might not be for everyone, but I highly recommend it for someone who might enjoy a seemingly standard story told in such a different way.
—Brian
