In Pursuit of Valis Selections from the Exegisis

by Phillip K. ed. by Lawrence Sutin Dick

Excerpts from the late science fiction writer's personal journal include autobiographical material as well as discussions of mystical experiences, philosophical speculation, comments on his fictional works, and plot outlines

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Philosophy, Religion, Psychology

Hardcover

First published September 1, 1991

Reviews

[Chris Pinkleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating on this book is predicated on its use as a companion reader for dedicated PKD fans. If you have no idea what his "exegesis" is, go read 5 or 6 of his novels (and one of those must be VALIS) then read this if you want to see the author's multiple and often contradictory interpretations of what his own work, and life, meant. This is a well edited book that shows the process of Dick's thinking in fascinating detail. Even the best editing, however, can't change the fact that none of this writing was intended for public consumption. It can be very raw and it can be a bit difficult to puzzle out exactly what he means at times.

That being said, this book will fascinate anyone who is serious about trying to puzzle out the theology and philosophy in PKD's works, and it has deepened my appreciation of his writing.

[Christian Lipski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a look at some of the 8000 pages Philip Dick wrote in an attempt to explain what happened to him in 1974 and later in his life.

Depending on your degree of new-agery, you will see it as an esoteric text that examines the underlying truth of this false reality we live in, or you will see it as the confused and often-contradictory obsessive writings of a schizophrenic. Either way, it's pretty interesting.

[Yves · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok, so i bought this out-of-print paperback for $70. I know, a crazy amount of money, but I felt it's worth it because it's the only print I know that contains selections from the exegesis, dick's 1000-page tome of explanations for what happened to him when he saw through the fabric of reality in the mid-70s, after recovering from dental surgery.

[Jlawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insanity ahoy!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excerpts from Dick's Exegesis. Great research for my PKD short comic.

[aegruam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book abandoned in a box in Portland, Oregon over a year ago. It came with me across the country, and it sat on my shelf for some time. I dedicated myself to reading a fairly sizeable amount of PKD's works in that time, though certainly not as much as I would have liked, and I didn't think much about this book sitting on my shelf. Then I read Valis, and the rest of the Valis trilogy, discovered that an Exegesis existed, that Valis was entirely based on PKD himself, and that I had a copy sitting on my shelf. So I took it off my shelf and began to read it.

This is the first book I have read in quite some time that I had to pause while reading at certain moments because of the weight of the feeling that the words that were being written here encompassed and at times perfectly described thoughts, feelings, and anti-thoughts that I have experienced for some time and assumed that I would never make complete sense of, never be able to relate to anyone, and never have anyone to relate to. PKD proved me wrong.

I am not sure how I feel about the editing of the book, and to be honest I didn't really enjoy Terence McKenna's bit at the end. That being said, I am giving this book 5 stars, because PKD was ahead of his time, and this book (which I will now cherish on my shelf) contains thoughts, feelings, and anti-thoughts that I have not seen so aptly expressed in any other piece of media.

One day I will read it again, and when that day comes I will be armed with all of PKD's other works as well as a more formal and complete foundation in philosophy and perhaps at that time I will be able to write an exegesis as beautiful as this one.

TLDR: If you like PKD's ideas, read this book. Don't try to understand it, simply understand it. If you won't, then you can't.

[Enis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neydi 2.3.74? 8000 sayfalık bir günlük, sadece gerçeği yakalamak için miydi yoksa onu ters çevirmek için mi? Elimdeki metin kısa olsa da Dünya'nın Büyük Teosofi Sisteminin Gizli Anlamı, İlk Kez Açıkça Ortaya Konuluyor adlı parça görünen gerçekliğinizi bozacak nitelikte. Merak daha fazla aramanıza hatta bazı misafirler tarafından aranmanıza sebep olabilir. PKD yazdığı bilimkurgu metinleriyle (roman demiyorum özellikle) bir başka boyuta ulaşmak için kullanmış olabilir. Hatta yazıyı bu kurgunun içine girmek için alet etmiş bile olabilir. Olasılıklar üzerinden konuşuyorum çünkü VALİS'i (Vast Active Living Intelligence System/Büyük Aktif Yaşayan Akıl Sistemi) kabul ettiğiniz taktirde Sophia/Işık Tanrısı ve Mimar/Demiurgos didişmelerine savaş açacak cesareti yakalamışsınızdır. Belki de?

[Savaş Manyaslı · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okültizm ve özellikle gnosis ilginizi çekmiyorsa ve giriş seviyesinde bilgi sahibi değilseniz kitapta anlatılanların çoğunu anlamayacaksınız. Dipnotları çevirenler mi yoksa kitabı derleyen kişi mi hazırlamış pek anlayamadım ama çoğu referans gnostik öğretiler yerine 4 İncil perspektifinden verildiği için pek açıklayıcı değil. Her şeye rağmen çok güzel bir kitap ve çok emek harcanmış. Sırf PKD'in kendi düşüncelerini anlattığı kısımlar için bile okumaya değer.

[Joshua]

In the tail end of my Memorial Day PKD binge, I also started reading this book, which is a selection from PKD's exegesis document. It confirmed that he was a truly warped cat; ultimately I could only take so much paranoid speculation and stopped about 30 pages from the end.

[Daniel Parks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sadly, I actually ended up having to sell this before finishing it, but it's an amazing artifact from the sad, strange, incredible mind of one the most interesting, troubled, prophetic and philosophical writers.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing. The width and depth of PKD's mind is just absolutely astounding. In Pursuit of Valis and The Shifting Realities of PKD are must reads for anyone interested in philosophy and religion.

[Ilker Dinç · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 sayfa dışında çöp, almayın ağalar.

[Irmak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bunu toplanıp 4-5 kişi çevirmiş ve önsözüne kitapta çok değerli ama karmaşık bir adamın kafasından dökülen rasgele fikirler var gibi anlatmışlar ama bildiğin adam paranoid şizofren ve okuduklarım da onun kafasındaki çarpık fikirler. neo-jesus.
bunu neden zahmet edip basmışlar anlamadım.

[Casey Kiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I find particularly interesting is how Valis explores the subtle comparison between schizophrenia and shamanic states which is covered in this book.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read PKDs Exegesis instead, you get more information of what he was thinking. This just seemed to be a bit too simplified.

[Yumi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book just felt like I was reading a man's hallucinations about Christianity, honestly.

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, PKD was one crazy, crazy man by the end of it. I skipped through the last few chapters, as I really couldn't follow his thoughts. But it's an interesting read, for sure.

[Deniz Yenihayat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yine üzücü bir çeviri ve neredeyse her paragrafta tokat gibi çarpan tashihler. Olgun okuyucudan çok yeni yetmelere yönelen bu yayınevinden önemli yazarlar el çektirilmeli.