Puttering About in a Small Land (Paladin Books) - Softcover

Philip K. Dick

3.49

638 ratings by Goodreads

9780586086049: Puttering About in a Small Land (Paladin Books)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0586086048 ISBN 13: 9780586086049

Publisher: Paladin Books, 1987

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When Roger and Virginia Lindhal enroll their son Gregg in Mrs. Alt's Los Padres Valley School in the mountains of Southern California, their marriage is already in deep trouble. Then the Lindhals meet Chic and Liz Bonner, whose two sons also board at Mrs. Alt's school. The meeting is a catalyst for a complicated series of emotions and traumas, set against the backdrop of suburban Los Angeles in the early fifties. The buildup of emotional intensity and the finely observed characterizations are hallmarks of Philip K. Dick's work.

This is a realistic novel filled with details of everyday life and skillfully told from three points of view. It is powerful, eloquent, and gripping.

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About the Author:

Philip K. Dick has had many movies based on his stories, including the classic, Blade Runner.

Review:

“Dick was...one of the genuine visionaries that North American fiction has produced in this century.” ―L.A. Weekly

“This work is radically different from the famous science fiction author's past successes. It is a mood piece, a somber study of two young couples...a curious, oddly compelling book....Turning each page...the reader feels an odd suspense and a reluctance to abandon these four unpredictable but somehow endearing people.” ―Booklist on Puttering About in a Small Land

“Dick here writes plainly about life in California, the vagaries of love, and the struggle, sometimes spiritual, to survive....These are real people Dick is writing about, the kind of morally complicated people you might find in any nearby store, and they each have their own dramas.” ―Rain Taxi on In Milton Lumky Territory

“[Dick] reworks the territory of soured domesticity (� la Richard Yates and John Updike) in a working-class milieu anticipating Raymond Carver. Decades later, his oeuvre (like Philip Roth's) is lovingly enshrined in our national pantheon.” ―Los Angeles Times on Voices from the Street

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