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K-Pax #1-3
K-PAX The Trilogy
When a man who claims to be from outer space is brought into the Manhattan Institute, the mental ward seems to be just the place for him. However, this patient is unlike anyone psychiatrist Dr. Gene Brewer has met before. Clever, inscrutable and utterly charismatic, Robert Porter calls himself 'prot' and has no traceable background - but he claims that he is an inhabitant of the planet K-PAX, a perfect world without wars, government or religion, and where every being co-exists in harmony. It's not long before the other patients are hanging on prot's every word. And even Dr Brewer starts to find himself convinced...This omnibus edition contains all three of the K-PAX novels, plus a bonus story, prot's report, and is as witty, quirky and enlightening as we have come to expect of Brewer's wonderful characters.
791 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
56 people are currently reading
779 people want to read
About the author
Gene Brewer
25 books81 followersGene R. Brewer was born and raised in Muncie, Indiana and educated at DePauw University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Before becoming a novelist Dr. Brewer studied DNA replication and cell division at several major research institutions, including St. Jude Children's REsearch Hospital (Memphis) and Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland). He is the author of the acclaimed K-PAX trilogy, a memoir (Creating K-PAX), a story for young adults ("Alejandro" in Twice Told), and the stage adaptation of his novel, K-PAX. He lives in New York City and Vermont with his wife and their dog Flower. Hobbies are flying, running, chess, astronomy/cosmology, music, theater, and of course, reading (favorite author: Kurt Vonnegut). Passions include ecology, animal rights*, and his wife, Karen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
March 3, 2011
You've probably seen this movie starring Kevin Spacey (appropriate), Jeff Bridges and Mary McCormack. It was a decent enough movie, a heart-warming tale of what possibly lays the cold unknown darkness of space.
Okay, now go to the store and buy the book. You'll have a much better appreciate of what Brewer was trying to say through his trilogy of books involving K-Pax. (Don't be put off that it's a trilogy; it's only about 630 pages total...and it read quickly.)
Probably the most impressive aspect of this story was how Brewer gave this reader an unreliable character/alien that made me believe. I believed in prot's story. I felt his sadness for not being with his other K-Paxians. I experienced the loneliness and depression and excitement prot felt while living amongst us earthlings. Through Brewer's amazing world-building, I felt like I had seen K-Pax before. Perhaps I had in some daydream...that's the point. K-Pax is relatable. Yes, this review is sappy, a bit sentimental, and to that I add: Who doesn't want to dream of a better world?
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Okay, now go to the store and buy the book. You'll have a much better appreciate of what Brewer was trying to say through his trilogy of books involving K-Pax. (Don't be put off that it's a trilogy; it's only about 630 pages total...and it read quickly.)
Probably the most impressive aspect of this story was how Brewer gave this reader an unreliable character/alien that made me believe. I believed in prot's story. I felt his sadness for not being with his other K-Paxians. I experienced the loneliness and depression and excitement prot felt while living amongst us earthlings. Through Brewer's amazing world-building, I felt like I had seen K-Pax before. Perhaps I had in some daydream...that's the point. K-Pax is relatable. Yes, this review is sappy, a bit sentimental, and to that I add: Who doesn't want to dream of a better world?
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
June 5, 2015
A man arrives in a Manhattan psychiatric unit, claiming to come from the planet K-PAX. Is he delusional, MPD and amnesiac, or telling the truth? His detailed, deadpan and sometimes literal answers to interrogation are often quite funny, though it is never clear whether this is deliberate on his part. He has great insight and empathy with animals and mental patients, great knowledge of astronomy, only eats fruit (skin and all), can see UV spectrum and can apparently disappear on a beam of light (using a mirror). Are these tricks, and if not, what is the explanation?
Similarities with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and the film 12 Monkeys, but more ambiguous.
The sequels are not as good:
K Pax II, 3*: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
K Pax III, 2*: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Similarities with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and the film 12 Monkeys, but more ambiguous.
The sequels are not as good:
K Pax II, 3*: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
K Pax III, 2*: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
September 15, 2025
I actually enjoyed the ending to this last one much more than the previous two. Overall, though, probably some amalgamation of all three books would make a much more formidable overall work, but that’s easier said than done, obviously.
What this does manage to do well, though, is allow for a lot more subjectivity, which in turn is much more effective at making the reader contemplate the questions raised organically, through the plot. In the end, you have to decide what to believe because neither choice is completely full-proof, and I like that. It also doubles down on the idea that, as a species, we haven’t really figured out consciousness or what our brains are capable of (although this one especially takes a few liberties with the science connected to Prote).
I also think the movie adaptation gets a more interesting and likeable version of Prote, and one that just makes more sense. In these, he’s fairly insufferable, pedantic, condescending; yet also is characterized by others as extremely empathetic, which we pretty much never actually see because of the first person perspective being locked to the therapist. It makes Prote a much more significant barrier with this dissonance, made even more strange, since within the novels the therapist has also published K-Pax and had a film made. But that is relegated purely to just playful meta context, rather than anything substantive.
What this does manage to do well, though, is allow for a lot more subjectivity, which in turn is much more effective at making the reader contemplate the questions raised organically, through the plot. In the end, you have to decide what to believe because neither choice is completely full-proof, and I like that. It also doubles down on the idea that, as a species, we haven’t really figured out consciousness or what our brains are capable of (although this one especially takes a few liberties with the science connected to Prote).
I also think the movie adaptation gets a more interesting and likeable version of Prote, and one that just makes more sense. In these, he’s fairly insufferable, pedantic, condescending; yet also is characterized by others as extremely empathetic, which we pretty much never actually see because of the first person perspective being locked to the therapist. It makes Prote a much more significant barrier with this dissonance, made even more strange, since within the novels the therapist has also published K-Pax and had a film made. But that is relegated purely to just playful meta context, rather than anything substantive.
May 8, 2009
In the First of the Trilogy (which has now spawned a Forth Novel, not however containing prot) Gene Brewer hits a Home Run.
Unfortunately he goes on to re-hash and destroy all his good work by dragging this premise out for another 2 novels.
If you are like me, when you've started - you'll complete the series, because you know there is more story.
It's a shame, a real shame I forced myself through them all.
Destroyed a good book & a great character for me.
Unfortunately he goes on to re-hash and destroy all his good work by dragging this premise out for another 2 novels.
If you are like me, when you've started - you'll complete the series, because you know there is more story.
It's a shame, a real shame I forced myself through them all.
Destroyed a good book & a great character for me.
December 11, 2012
Ex Bookworm group review:
A note before I start my review of K-PAX. I read not only K-PAX itself, but "The Trilogy" containing K-PAX, K-PAX II (On a Beam of Light) and K-PAX III (The Worlds of prot). The edition I had featured "prot's report" (which he wrote from the notes he took during his first "visit"). I also watched the film. So, I got myself thoroughly immersed in things K-PAXian, to the extent that it will be very difficult for me to write a review about K-PAX alone, and even if I try, I think my review will be different than it would have been if I had only read the first part. #
I actually watched the film before reading the book. I had not intended to do this, but it was the result of one of those serendipitous moments. I had not heard of K-PAX before it became our monthly choice, but I spotted the DVD in our Oxfam shop for £3.99 only a few days later. Having watched the film and read the book, I have a preference for the film. I'm not sure why this should be as usually it’s the other way round. Usually I prefer to use my own imagination rather than accept someone else's. Could this be just a matter of timing? Does our first encounter with a story set the standard from which future interpretations vary? Or am I really exercising critical judgment? I don't know, but for me the film was less ambiguous about what it was trying to be, had a more satisfactory outcome, and avoided several of the things that I found irritating in the book.
Having mentioned things I found irritating in the book, I suppose I had better tell you what they were. Firstly the prot/EARTH thing irritated the hell out of me. Since the book recounted psychoanalytic sessions that were recorded, i.e. aural rather than read i.e. visual, this was little more than an affectation. When it came to prot's report, which prot had actually written himself, I suppose it had a bit more meaning, but I could have figured out for myself that it conveyed linguistically the fact that prot valued entire worlds rather than the individual beings upon it, without having this explained to me. The fruit got on my nerves. It was like an A to Z of fruit, with barely a repetition (except bananas). Persimmons? I don't believe I know anyone who has ever eaten a persimmon. I had to google to find out what it was. And I could be wrong, but I think it was forever before the humble apple got a look in. What's wrong with apples, for goodness sake? Reading all three parts pretty much covered the gamut of fruits, and I have to say, that clinic had an amazingly well provisioned kitchen. Imagine asking at your local hospital (even a private one) for a persimmon! The other thing that irritated me about the fruit was the way it was used as an incentive, and later as a reward (can't remember if this happened in the first part, or later, but sometimes the fruit was withheld). This reminded me of Pavlov and his experiments in conditioned reflexes, getting dogs to salivate and the like. I thought it showed contempt for the patient that was out of place. Whether the patient was an alien or a delusional human, it doesn't make him inferior. If fact, I might as well say that I didn't like Dr Gene Brewer one little bit, he was just so superior and so closed minded, always trying to fit everything into things that were already known. Actually, didn't you think that the staff of the clinic were just as mad as the patients? (which may have emerged in the later parts as well). But, for one thing, fancy introducing a horde of cats into the institution! That would certainly be a Room 101 thing, or a private hell for me, being cooped up in a mental institution with a load of cats.
Finally, I did not much like prot, though I think this dislike manifested itself after K-PAX and in the later parts. As with many trilogies, I think the original story was diminished rather than enhanced by the later parts I think the motive for writing the second and third parts were different. The first part was a damn good story, and every writer likes to write a good story. But I think when K-PAX did well, the rest was probably written for mercenary reasons, to cash in on a good thing. There were allusions in the text to Dr Gene Brewer buying houses and stuff with the proceeds from the book and the film of K-PAX, which I think are probably true of Gene Brewer the writer as well. Which raises another point – how weird that the writer should cast himself in the role of the psychiatrist as if this were based on a true story, which I at first thought it was, but later parts make this very unlikely. I couldn't get a grip on what the book was supposed to be. Was it, like "Sybil" a sort of whodunnit (hands up all those who guessed the name Robert from the clue “he can fly”), with a psychiatrist rather than a detective following up the clues? Was it science fiction? Were we meant to believe that prot really came from K-PAX? From reading the first part, I would plump for the 'whodunnit' and was perfectly satisfied by the 'resolution'. The film concentrated on this too, dispensing with the character of Giselle. Quite right too, she had no real purpose other than as a research assistant, yet in later parts was developed as a participant in an unnecessary and unbelievable love story. In the film, the doctor had a proper respect for his patient and really cared about helping him and there was nothing extraneous. In the book, prot pointed out (quite rightly, I think) that there were other things at stake – reputation, money, papers, books, films. The film was much simpler, the doctor found the answer to why prot existed, which was far from a 'cure', but it was believable. In the later parts of the trilogy, the reader’s credulity is stretched and stretched until (for me) it snapped. If the book had clearly been science fiction from the start, I might have willingly suspended my disbelief, but it started off as one thing and ended up as another and it did not take me with it. The final part of the trilogy and prot's report turned the book again into something else. Having read the whole, I would say this was a political novel, a vehicle for the author to foist his philosophy on the rest of us, done with all the subtlety of a fifty-pound sledgehammer.
And yet, there were many ideas in K-PAX with which I have a great deal of sympathy. I really believe that some of the so-called mentally ill may not actually be mad, but just different and if some of them have rejected our world, well who can blame them? We have a lot to learn from conditions like autism. Prot's assertion that the purpose (or the result) of religions is to absolve homo sapiens from responsibility for its own actions accords exactly with my own view. I even have some sympathy with the argument that many of our problems can trace their roots right back as far as the family. We humans are fantastic at creating structures and philosophies that include some and exclude most. I like the idea that all 'beings' are part of the whole and worthy of respect, but practically I'm not going to suddenly become a vegetarian or share my bath with spiders. I thought the statement about viruses just 'trying to survive' was really interesting. If we just understood more about the purpose of things, or the way things worked, maybe we would see things differently. Prot said this a lot. He said we would have to get rid of all our assumptions and start over again. Pretty tall order. He also said we needed to learn how to listen but he didn't give any instructions. In fact, over the entire trilogy, this got worse, prot having decided he didn't like us and making statements about how we should do this or should do that and not lifting a finger to help. This would be fine in a delusional human whose construct is only superficial, but doesn't work in the alien being scenario or in the “I am here to show you the error of your ways” scenario. In the end, prot was a real pain. He might be a superior K-PAXian, but I thought roaming about eating grains and doing what needed to be done, and sex being excruciatingly painful left a lot to be desired, although the libraries sounded quite good.
I've said a lot of negative things but this was a very interesting read and held my attention for nearly 800 pages. The biggest problem was the book not seeming to know what it wanted to be. Was it a psychoanalytical 'thriller', science fiction, or a political tract? Or even, was it meant to be humorous? On the front of my edition was a quote from Esquire magazine saying "Brilliantly off-beat comedy". I didn't find anything amusing in the book except for the language called Pax-o. I think if I had read only K-PAX, a lot of these negatives would not have occurred to me. I would have accepted the book as an investigation into a disturbed mind I would have liked it a whole lot better for that. I liked the film better for that. With each successive part, I found myself liking the whole less and wishing I had stopped after reading K-PAX, which I really enjoyed. But I read on and, for me, more was less.
A note before I start my review of K-PAX. I read not only K-PAX itself, but "The Trilogy" containing K-PAX, K-PAX II (On a Beam of Light) and K-PAX III (The Worlds of prot). The edition I had featured "prot's report" (which he wrote from the notes he took during his first "visit"). I also watched the film. So, I got myself thoroughly immersed in things K-PAXian, to the extent that it will be very difficult for me to write a review about K-PAX alone, and even if I try, I think my review will be different than it would have been if I had only read the first part. #
I actually watched the film before reading the book. I had not intended to do this, but it was the result of one of those serendipitous moments. I had not heard of K-PAX before it became our monthly choice, but I spotted the DVD in our Oxfam shop for £3.99 only a few days later. Having watched the film and read the book, I have a preference for the film. I'm not sure why this should be as usually it’s the other way round. Usually I prefer to use my own imagination rather than accept someone else's. Could this be just a matter of timing? Does our first encounter with a story set the standard from which future interpretations vary? Or am I really exercising critical judgment? I don't know, but for me the film was less ambiguous about what it was trying to be, had a more satisfactory outcome, and avoided several of the things that I found irritating in the book.
Having mentioned things I found irritating in the book, I suppose I had better tell you what they were. Firstly the prot/EARTH thing irritated the hell out of me. Since the book recounted psychoanalytic sessions that were recorded, i.e. aural rather than read i.e. visual, this was little more than an affectation. When it came to prot's report, which prot had actually written himself, I suppose it had a bit more meaning, but I could have figured out for myself that it conveyed linguistically the fact that prot valued entire worlds rather than the individual beings upon it, without having this explained to me. The fruit got on my nerves. It was like an A to Z of fruit, with barely a repetition (except bananas). Persimmons? I don't believe I know anyone who has ever eaten a persimmon. I had to google to find out what it was. And I could be wrong, but I think it was forever before the humble apple got a look in. What's wrong with apples, for goodness sake? Reading all three parts pretty much covered the gamut of fruits, and I have to say, that clinic had an amazingly well provisioned kitchen. Imagine asking at your local hospital (even a private one) for a persimmon! The other thing that irritated me about the fruit was the way it was used as an incentive, and later as a reward (can't remember if this happened in the first part, or later, but sometimes the fruit was withheld). This reminded me of Pavlov and his experiments in conditioned reflexes, getting dogs to salivate and the like. I thought it showed contempt for the patient that was out of place. Whether the patient was an alien or a delusional human, it doesn't make him inferior. If fact, I might as well say that I didn't like Dr Gene Brewer one little bit, he was just so superior and so closed minded, always trying to fit everything into things that were already known. Actually, didn't you think that the staff of the clinic were just as mad as the patients? (which may have emerged in the later parts as well). But, for one thing, fancy introducing a horde of cats into the institution! That would certainly be a Room 101 thing, or a private hell for me, being cooped up in a mental institution with a load of cats.
Finally, I did not much like prot, though I think this dislike manifested itself after K-PAX and in the later parts. As with many trilogies, I think the original story was diminished rather than enhanced by the later parts I think the motive for writing the second and third parts were different. The first part was a damn good story, and every writer likes to write a good story. But I think when K-PAX did well, the rest was probably written for mercenary reasons, to cash in on a good thing. There were allusions in the text to Dr Gene Brewer buying houses and stuff with the proceeds from the book and the film of K-PAX, which I think are probably true of Gene Brewer the writer as well. Which raises another point – how weird that the writer should cast himself in the role of the psychiatrist as if this were based on a true story, which I at first thought it was, but later parts make this very unlikely. I couldn't get a grip on what the book was supposed to be. Was it, like "Sybil" a sort of whodunnit (hands up all those who guessed the name Robert from the clue “he can fly”), with a psychiatrist rather than a detective following up the clues? Was it science fiction? Were we meant to believe that prot really came from K-PAX? From reading the first part, I would plump for the 'whodunnit' and was perfectly satisfied by the 'resolution'. The film concentrated on this too, dispensing with the character of Giselle. Quite right too, she had no real purpose other than as a research assistant, yet in later parts was developed as a participant in an unnecessary and unbelievable love story. In the film, the doctor had a proper respect for his patient and really cared about helping him and there was nothing extraneous. In the book, prot pointed out (quite rightly, I think) that there were other things at stake – reputation, money, papers, books, films. The film was much simpler, the doctor found the answer to why prot existed, which was far from a 'cure', but it was believable. In the later parts of the trilogy, the reader’s credulity is stretched and stretched until (for me) it snapped. If the book had clearly been science fiction from the start, I might have willingly suspended my disbelief, but it started off as one thing and ended up as another and it did not take me with it. The final part of the trilogy and prot's report turned the book again into something else. Having read the whole, I would say this was a political novel, a vehicle for the author to foist his philosophy on the rest of us, done with all the subtlety of a fifty-pound sledgehammer.
And yet, there were many ideas in K-PAX with which I have a great deal of sympathy. I really believe that some of the so-called mentally ill may not actually be mad, but just different and if some of them have rejected our world, well who can blame them? We have a lot to learn from conditions like autism. Prot's assertion that the purpose (or the result) of religions is to absolve homo sapiens from responsibility for its own actions accords exactly with my own view. I even have some sympathy with the argument that many of our problems can trace their roots right back as far as the family. We humans are fantastic at creating structures and philosophies that include some and exclude most. I like the idea that all 'beings' are part of the whole and worthy of respect, but practically I'm not going to suddenly become a vegetarian or share my bath with spiders. I thought the statement about viruses just 'trying to survive' was really interesting. If we just understood more about the purpose of things, or the way things worked, maybe we would see things differently. Prot said this a lot. He said we would have to get rid of all our assumptions and start over again. Pretty tall order. He also said we needed to learn how to listen but he didn't give any instructions. In fact, over the entire trilogy, this got worse, prot having decided he didn't like us and making statements about how we should do this or should do that and not lifting a finger to help. This would be fine in a delusional human whose construct is only superficial, but doesn't work in the alien being scenario or in the “I am here to show you the error of your ways” scenario. In the end, prot was a real pain. He might be a superior K-PAXian, but I thought roaming about eating grains and doing what needed to be done, and sex being excruciatingly painful left a lot to be desired, although the libraries sounded quite good.
I've said a lot of negative things but this was a very interesting read and held my attention for nearly 800 pages. The biggest problem was the book not seeming to know what it wanted to be. Was it a psychoanalytical 'thriller', science fiction, or a political tract? Or even, was it meant to be humorous? On the front of my edition was a quote from Esquire magazine saying "Brilliantly off-beat comedy". I didn't find anything amusing in the book except for the language called Pax-o. I think if I had read only K-PAX, a lot of these negatives would not have occurred to me. I would have accepted the book as an investigation into a disturbed mind I would have liked it a whole lot better for that. I liked the film better for that. With each successive part, I found myself liking the whole less and wishing I had stopped after reading K-PAX, which I really enjoyed. But I read on and, for me, more was less.
September 27, 2018
Having seen and enjoyed the movie K-Pax several years ago I was handed the K-Pax Trilogy which is described on the cover by Esquire as a “Gloriously off-beat comedy”.
To start with, I personally would not rate this as a comedy – in fact I'm not sure what genre to place this in – but it deals essentially with a patient diagnosed with multiple personalities as a result of sexual and related abuse as a very young child and subsequent loss of his wife and child under very tragic circumstances, with one very dominant coping super ego – the source of which we are never really too certain, but who claims to be from a far away and unknown planet called K-Pax.
As the story moves on through the three novels (K-Pax, On a Beam of Light, and The Worlds of prot), we learn more of the character (Robert / Robin), subjected to this early life abuse etc. and the loss also of his own father, and the nature of his alter ego (prot – no capital letter and rhymes with goat) who becomes increasingly convincing as to his alien origins.
I was prepared after the first novel of the trilogy to look at the possible symbolism in the book; that possibly being that we all to one degree or another adopt – or at least are capable of adopting - a coping super ego to deal with life’s tragedies and circumstances – some for better and some for worse – to the point that these super egos can completely render inert our basic being and become supremely dominant with only the occasional hint of the underlying personality. I am of a view that I have met many ordinary people for a variety of reasons, fitting or appearing to come close to fitting this description.
However as the story proceeds through the second and third novels of the trilogy this conclusion cannot necessarily be drawn as the fundamental message and if we are looking for a genre is has moved from perhaps a human life tragedy more towards a sci-fi account of a visitor (prot) from "outer-space" who periodically over the past 30 or so has occupied the mind and body of the co-main character (Robert / Robin). I think at this point and the endeavour to wrap up the storyline towards this end means it loses some of its impact – as opposed to leaving it more open to interpretation as to whether this was simply an extreme case of multiple personality disorder and the nature of the human mind to cope with a variety of life’s tragedies and circumstances.
Either way in my opinion these novels are very clever and extremely well written by Gene Brewer. The message for me altered somewhat from the conclusions we may draw from the functioning – or malfunctioning – of the human mind to prots observations of the human species – although perhaps slanted unintentionally towards the American way of life - and our approach and attitude towards each other, other living beings and the planet we occupy and depend on for our ongoing survival.
A compelling read and a book (or trilogy) that I can see could be the subject of almost endless discussions amongst book clubs and study groups, which in itself would be very interesting. I look forward at this stage to going back and watching he movie based on the first novel in the trilogy.
To start with, I personally would not rate this as a comedy – in fact I'm not sure what genre to place this in – but it deals essentially with a patient diagnosed with multiple personalities as a result of sexual and related abuse as a very young child and subsequent loss of his wife and child under very tragic circumstances, with one very dominant coping super ego – the source of which we are never really too certain, but who claims to be from a far away and unknown planet called K-Pax.
As the story moves on through the three novels (K-Pax, On a Beam of Light, and The Worlds of prot), we learn more of the character (Robert / Robin), subjected to this early life abuse etc. and the loss also of his own father, and the nature of his alter ego (prot – no capital letter and rhymes with goat) who becomes increasingly convincing as to his alien origins.
I was prepared after the first novel of the trilogy to look at the possible symbolism in the book; that possibly being that we all to one degree or another adopt – or at least are capable of adopting - a coping super ego to deal with life’s tragedies and circumstances – some for better and some for worse – to the point that these super egos can completely render inert our basic being and become supremely dominant with only the occasional hint of the underlying personality. I am of a view that I have met many ordinary people for a variety of reasons, fitting or appearing to come close to fitting this description.
However as the story proceeds through the second and third novels of the trilogy this conclusion cannot necessarily be drawn as the fundamental message and if we are looking for a genre is has moved from perhaps a human life tragedy more towards a sci-fi account of a visitor (prot) from "outer-space" who periodically over the past 30 or so has occupied the mind and body of the co-main character (Robert / Robin). I think at this point and the endeavour to wrap up the storyline towards this end means it loses some of its impact – as opposed to leaving it more open to interpretation as to whether this was simply an extreme case of multiple personality disorder and the nature of the human mind to cope with a variety of life’s tragedies and circumstances.
Either way in my opinion these novels are very clever and extremely well written by Gene Brewer. The message for me altered somewhat from the conclusions we may draw from the functioning – or malfunctioning – of the human mind to prots observations of the human species – although perhaps slanted unintentionally towards the American way of life - and our approach and attitude towards each other, other living beings and the planet we occupy and depend on for our ongoing survival.
A compelling read and a book (or trilogy) that I can see could be the subject of almost endless discussions amongst book clubs and study groups, which in itself would be very interesting. I look forward at this stage to going back and watching he movie based on the first novel in the trilogy.
June 6, 2013
Dr Brewer is a psycologist working in New York. He starts treating a new patient, called prot, who believes he comes from the planet of K-PAX, where everyone lives in a paradise, with no work, family, war, school, etc, etc. As Dr. Brewer talks with prot, he eventually discovers that 'prot' is also Robert, a disturbed young man who had a live full of abuse and horror. But Robert is buried deep inside prot, who displays some amazing abilities - disappearing from the hospital at will, 'talking' to animals and seeing well into the UV light range. He also takes a hand in helping treat the other patients, giving them tasks to perform to help them over their neurosis. Even when 'Robert' is considered cured and goes home, his life is far from normal and after another reminder of his chequered past, prot returns once more. This time he gives a deadline for his visit to end and informs everyone that he will be taking 100 other beings with him to K-PAX when he goes back.
I really enjoyed reading this trilogy. It is a lot richer than the film and liked being able to read the next episodes in the story from where it left off. I also love the ambiguity - is it really Robert the human or prot the K-PAXian - or an amalgamation of the two. prot's report is also an interesting read, although a bit uncomfortable to read. I like to think we may have moved on a bit from when this was first written, but I don't think the human race will ever give up the things prot reckons we need to in order to survive (religion, family and money). Overall, a fantastic read and one I may well return to in the future.
I really enjoyed reading this trilogy. It is a lot richer than the film and liked being able to read the next episodes in the story from where it left off. I also love the ambiguity - is it really Robert the human or prot the K-PAXian - or an amalgamation of the two. prot's report is also an interesting read, although a bit uncomfortable to read. I like to think we may have moved on a bit from when this was first written, but I don't think the human race will ever give up the things prot reckons we need to in order to survive (religion, family and money). Overall, a fantastic read and one I may well return to in the future.
January 24, 2015
A series of novels about Prot, a visitor to earth from the planet K-PAX, or one of the alter egos of a seriously damaged patient in a psychiatric hospital - or both. The first of the three ( the basis for the film) is the most successful, but the second and third are still very readable and enjoyable. Written by the psychiatrist handling the case, who shares his name with the real author, the books are an extended series of case notes. The longer the books go on, the darker the issues and traumas the patient has suffered become.
But then there is Prot who appears to be able to move both himself and others through space, who might really come from this world of peace and understanding - or not. And Prot breezes through the book, touching the lives of damaged people for the better and offering hope, whilst becoming more infuriating to the Psychiatrist who seeks to heal a broken human. At the end of the second book, all seems well, but the third takes us into more troubled areas. The conclusion is as ambiguous as you would wish, the relish of Prot and K-PAX is left to the reader.
But then there is Prot who appears to be able to move both himself and others through space, who might really come from this world of peace and understanding - or not. And Prot breezes through the book, touching the lives of damaged people for the better and offering hope, whilst becoming more infuriating to the Psychiatrist who seeks to heal a broken human. At the end of the second book, all seems well, but the third takes us into more troubled areas. The conclusion is as ambiguous as you would wish, the relish of Prot and K-PAX is left to the reader.
January 18, 2015
Very good very enjoyable. Carl only gave this 3 stars.
His position in the philip k dick fan club we started ((aka the dickians) see my review of the zap gun) will come in to question
#dickheads
His position in the philip k dick fan club we started ((aka the dickians) see my review of the zap gun) will come in to question
#dickheads
April 4, 2013
Give them a try! Probably doesn't fit all, but I am sure it entertains most!
Read
September 29, 2020I first read K-PAX when it just got out in 1995. The psychedelic cover of the UK publication caught my eye.
The book was eye opening and kept me thinking of many possibilities "out side the box" much after I read it. Also, back then there was no Dr. Google to fact check things immediately, and as I was reading it while backpacking in Britain, I was sure that as the book suggests, that what I am reading is non-fiction! Quite naive on my part, I guess I wanted to believe in the possibility of an ET, just like others in the book. I was waiting for a report if prot actually did come back as he promise he would...
Also, the way the main character, the alien/mental-patient described things, such as interstellar travel done by going through another dimension that is faster than light, sounded unique and original and as if not originating from human imagination, i.e. he didn't arrive here by spaceship like Star Trek or Star Wars etc.
All in all the first book was excellent. The author brilliantly balanced between possible interpretations of what transpired.
The main character, prot, is depicted as someone who is an outsider coming from a fully realized/enlightened planet (a planet of buddhas I would call it). The ideology that he carries from K-PAX, his homeplanet, is transferred to the reader in a subtle way which gives a lot of room to think and ponder what he is saying independently.
And then there are the two other books...
I reread the first along with the rest of the trilogy, which was written much later, in the early 2000s.
These books are more akin to a what I can only describe as modern apocalyptic literature.
The main character, prot, is much more edgy, angry with humanity, more specific about ecological, social, political and marital issues. Professying doom and gloom to humanity and the earth. Prot is more restless, can more easily get angry and lose his composure, and overall seem more human then he did in the first book.
Books 2 and 3 carry much more clearly a vegan socio-ecological ideology, which is not different from some human vegan idiologies. Though I am not against this viewpoint, and am glad to have been made to ponder over it more deeply through the story, I still feel that my suspension of disbelief that was held so nicely in the first book has been somewhat compromised in the later two. That also goes to the final part of the omnibus where we get to read "prot's report".
The two later books are good books overall as apocalyptic ecological propoganda goes.
The story in the second book in particular is also quite compelling. In the third book the tension the the author is trying to maintain throughout the trilogy, between the rational self-centered human point of view and that of the alien which is planet centered, was a bit overdone to my taste and was a bit exhausting to read.
All in all when I read K-PAX as a trilogy it moved me deeply. Made me into a teenager once again and made me re-examine my way of life, made me want to go vegan and consider the planet before I consider my selfish wants. Made me want to help find ways to save the the planet from us humans before it's too late...
The book was eye opening and kept me thinking of many possibilities "out side the box" much after I read it. Also, back then there was no Dr. Google to fact check things immediately, and as I was reading it while backpacking in Britain, I was sure that as the book suggests, that what I am reading is non-fiction! Quite naive on my part, I guess I wanted to believe in the possibility of an ET, just like others in the book. I was waiting for a report if prot actually did come back as he promise he would...
Also, the way the main character, the alien/mental-patient described things, such as interstellar travel done by going through another dimension that is faster than light, sounded unique and original and as if not originating from human imagination, i.e. he didn't arrive here by spaceship like Star Trek or Star Wars etc.
All in all the first book was excellent. The author brilliantly balanced between possible interpretations of what transpired.
The main character, prot, is depicted as someone who is an outsider coming from a fully realized/enlightened planet (a planet of buddhas I would call it). The ideology that he carries from K-PAX, his homeplanet, is transferred to the reader in a subtle way which gives a lot of room to think and ponder what he is saying independently.
And then there are the two other books...
I reread the first along with the rest of the trilogy, which was written much later, in the early 2000s.
These books are more akin to a what I can only describe as modern apocalyptic literature.
The main character, prot, is much more edgy, angry with humanity, more specific about ecological, social, political and marital issues. Professying doom and gloom to humanity and the earth. Prot is more restless, can more easily get angry and lose his composure, and overall seem more human then he did in the first book.
Books 2 and 3 carry much more clearly a vegan socio-ecological ideology, which is not different from some human vegan idiologies. Though I am not against this viewpoint, and am glad to have been made to ponder over it more deeply through the story, I still feel that my suspension of disbelief that was held so nicely in the first book has been somewhat compromised in the later two. That also goes to the final part of the omnibus where we get to read "prot's report".
The two later books are good books overall as apocalyptic ecological propoganda goes.
The story in the second book in particular is also quite compelling. In the third book the tension the the author is trying to maintain throughout the trilogy, between the rational self-centered human point of view and that of the alien which is planet centered, was a bit overdone to my taste and was a bit exhausting to read.
All in all when I read K-PAX as a trilogy it moved me deeply. Made me into a teenager once again and made me re-examine my way of life, made me want to go vegan and consider the planet before I consider my selfish wants. Made me want to help find ways to save the the planet from us humans before it's too late...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2024
What an amazing book. At first glance it looks an intimidating 787 pages but it flows so well that you read it in no time.
The front cover depicts the book as a comedy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is an emotional and thought provoking book set within a highly original idea.
I watched the film many years ago and loved it. The film is based on the first book and so the second and third stories were of great interest to me as these really gave the answers to the questions within the first book (and also the film).
I would not say that the basis of the book is to decide whether prot is from K-Pax or not. The main narrative is that if understanding the human mind after horrific trauma and abuse has taken place. The author gives insight into a variety of conditions and illnesses and while this written many years ago and at times the language used is a little dated (certainly not offensive though), it gives the reader an understanding of how abuse and trauma affects a person. The overarching lesson I took from the book is how to listen and how to really communicate to find the answers needed to help a person through their terrible challenges.
It was an inspiring and emotional read and one that I will never forget. Thankyou prot for an amazing journey.
The front cover depicts the book as a comedy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is an emotional and thought provoking book set within a highly original idea.
I watched the film many years ago and loved it. The film is based on the first book and so the second and third stories were of great interest to me as these really gave the answers to the questions within the first book (and also the film).
I would not say that the basis of the book is to decide whether prot is from K-Pax or not. The main narrative is that if understanding the human mind after horrific trauma and abuse has taken place. The author gives insight into a variety of conditions and illnesses and while this written many years ago and at times the language used is a little dated (certainly not offensive though), it gives the reader an understanding of how abuse and trauma affects a person. The overarching lesson I took from the book is how to listen and how to really communicate to find the answers needed to help a person through their terrible challenges.
It was an inspiring and emotional read and one that I will never forget. Thankyou prot for an amazing journey.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2025
A man claiming he comes from another planet is taken to the Manhattan Institute where psychiatrist Dr. Gene Brewer attempts to work out who he really is. Calling himself ‘prot’ (rhymes with goat), the ‘visitor’ from K-PAX talks about the amazingly perfect world where he lives – a world free of war, famine, work and worry. Dr Brewer gradually uncovers what he believes to be the truth behind prot’s identity and his apparent mental illness. But prot also appears to know things that aren’t easily explained – the sort of things only an alien being would know…
This is a trilogy which covers the first three novels in the K-PAX series (there are two more after this one). The first book is the one the movie was based on (starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges) and introduces prot and his peculiarities. The book is an easy read and more interesting and thought provoking than the movie version. Books two and three are even better and delve deeper into prot’s abilities and the developing relationship between him and Dr Brewer.
Aside from way too many exclamation marks and an overuse of the word ‘whether’, this is an entertaining and stimulating read that kept me reading right to the very last page.
This is a trilogy which covers the first three novels in the K-PAX series (there are two more after this one). The first book is the one the movie was based on (starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges) and introduces prot and his peculiarities. The book is an easy read and more interesting and thought provoking than the movie version. Books two and three are even better and delve deeper into prot’s abilities and the developing relationship between him and Dr Brewer.
Aside from way too many exclamation marks and an overuse of the word ‘whether’, this is an entertaining and stimulating read that kept me reading right to the very last page.
July 17, 2021
So 3 books in one and although I kept thinking what else are they going to do to this man when starting the 3rd book, I think it tied together well.
I did find the patient prot to be very frustrating at times, but I imagine you are supposed to. Written from the perspective of a psychiatrist who also got frustrated with him at times.
He has a lot of bigger messages about religion, government, animal rights ect which is possibly what made prot so tiresome at times, alongside the arrogance it is displayed with. Not saying theyre wrong, I just dont need to read them in every page.
As a mental health practitioner I was very interested in the psychology part of the book and found it very enjoyable. I did get frustrated again at the speedy recoveries seen (especially in the second book) but was vindicated when the third explained this as well.
Overall it was very well layered in realism and the fantastic and alongside the psychiatrist 'writing it, it kept you guessing.
I did find the patient prot to be very frustrating at times, but I imagine you are supposed to. Written from the perspective of a psychiatrist who also got frustrated with him at times.
He has a lot of bigger messages about religion, government, animal rights ect which is possibly what made prot so tiresome at times, alongside the arrogance it is displayed with. Not saying theyre wrong, I just dont need to read them in every page.
As a mental health practitioner I was very interested in the psychology part of the book and found it very enjoyable. I did get frustrated again at the speedy recoveries seen (especially in the second book) but was vindicated when the third explained this as well.
Overall it was very well layered in realism and the fantastic and alongside the psychiatrist 'writing it, it kept you guessing.
July 14, 2020
Fantastic.
I loved this book - so many great lines and talking points its a good story - but more interesting to me is the background in which it is set and the thoughts of the main character PROT
Don't be put off by the thickness or number of pages in the trilogy - its pretty addictive when you get going.
I loved this book - so many great lines and talking points its a good story - but more interesting to me is the background in which it is set and the thoughts of the main character PROT
Don't be put off by the thickness or number of pages in the trilogy - its pretty addictive when you get going.
May 4, 2017
Another must must read!! Even if you've seen the film, mediocre at best, forget it and read the book.
May 31, 2017
Superb, couldn't put it down. An addictive page-turner.
August 23, 2017
I loved to read the books they were very well written
August 10, 2021
Awesome trilogy.
November 27, 2021
Thought provoking in a number of ways.
Gets you analysing how normal out normal has become
Gets you analysing how normal out normal has become
January 14, 2022
A fiction more realistic than you could imagine
Life changing book
Life changing book
October 20, 2023
Educational, thrilling and addictive! Read one book of the trilogy in a week! Highly recommend
February 21, 2017
Sometimes Fiction is Stranger then the Truth. Enjoyable and easy and quick to read. Prot is an interesting character, and the interactions between him and Dr Brewer are always entertaining. But there is a fair bit of padding and repetition throughout the trilogy.
I came to this book having caught snippets of the film K-PAX a few times. I always looked interesting and I wanted to watch it from the start - but had always come in mid way through. I still haven't seen the film. In essence the books are presenting discussions between a patient Prot, inmate of a mental health assylum, and his physician Dr Brewer. Prot claims to be an alien from the planet K-PAX. The Dr is not convinced and is determined to get the the underlying truth. However, many of the others in the institute, staff included, are quite convinced. The silent question is to the reader then. Prot appears to have knowledge that can only explained by him being an extraterrestrial, but what he s describing is surely impossible -so in the face of all the evidence - what do you believe?
My answer? - Well it's fiction isn't it, you made all this up, none of it is real.
Fundamentally, when a book of fiction breaks your own suspension of disbelief, I think it loses something. It is based on the works of Oliver Sacks and the 'Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat'. But the thing is, those studies were fascinating because they were true. They presented things difficult to grasp, but demanded an answer, an explanation. This book doesn't demand an explanation because it isn't true. To me this meant the first book in the series finished with a bit of a damp squib instead of resolution.
However the second book I enjoyed much more. Here we delved much more into the human background of the subject, and looked to be getting answers. The second book I would rate higher - 4 stars as it really digs into the question of how someone could end up in the situation where they truly believe they are from outer space. But unfortunately the third in the series was a backtracking from the second and a retreading of the first, with pretty much the same conclusion of the first. So I would suggest, if possible, you read K-PAX books 1 and 2 and then stop. But they are quick and easy to read. Face it, you'll continue to the end.
I came to this book having caught snippets of the film K-PAX a few times. I always looked interesting and I wanted to watch it from the start - but had always come in mid way through. I still haven't seen the film. In essence the books are presenting discussions between a patient Prot, inmate of a mental health assylum, and his physician Dr Brewer. Prot claims to be an alien from the planet K-PAX. The Dr is not convinced and is determined to get the the underlying truth. However, many of the others in the institute, staff included, are quite convinced. The silent question is to the reader then. Prot appears to have knowledge that can only explained by him being an extraterrestrial, but what he s describing is surely impossible -so in the face of all the evidence - what do you believe?
My answer? - Well it's fiction isn't it, you made all this up, none of it is real.
Fundamentally, when a book of fiction breaks your own suspension of disbelief, I think it loses something. It is based on the works of Oliver Sacks and the 'Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat'. But the thing is, those studies were fascinating because they were true. They presented things difficult to grasp, but demanded an answer, an explanation. This book doesn't demand an explanation because it isn't true. To me this meant the first book in the series finished with a bit of a damp squib instead of resolution.
However the second book I enjoyed much more. Here we delved much more into the human background of the subject, and looked to be getting answers. The second book I would rate higher - 4 stars as it really digs into the question of how someone could end up in the situation where they truly believe they are from outer space. But unfortunately the third in the series was a backtracking from the second and a retreading of the first, with pretty much the same conclusion of the first. So I would suggest, if possible, you read K-PAX books 1 and 2 and then stop. But they are quick and easy to read. Face it, you'll continue to the end.
March 25, 2020
I thought about giving this book four stars because conceptually there were some really good ideas but there were a few too many things that annoyed me. Primarily, and importantly for a book about mental illness, the mental illnesses were simplified too much. Early on in the first book he talks about psychosis as if it is a problem with imagination getting out of control. Around that section there were a few things that made me question the writer's credentials with regards mental illness and I even looked into him to confirm that he wasn't trained in the field. I was also annoyed that he talked about using electro shock treatment, which I thought had been stopped years ago, but a quick search online suggests that it is till used in some cases so I was wrong about that. My final quibble about these aspects of the book was with how neatly the root cause of each patient's illness was. It was always possible to trace an illness to a specific event or series of events. This may be possible for some things like PTSD but is unlikely in many psychoses and as such it felt a bit contrived to invent a specific cause for each patient's illness.
I liked prot and his relationship with the narrator, gene. There was a tetchiness and humanity to it which worked. I would have liked to have seen more of the other patients and got to know them better. I think it was because there were so many that I could never remember who they all were. They were too often just a clear cut symptom with a definitive cause that was fixed by a neat solution.
It was clever the way the 'is he? isn't he?' question was kept up through the entire three books and we're always left wondering where is prot really from.
There were a few strong turning points in the story which where really shocking revelations and they surprised me, especially the last one. It was horribly cringe inducing and brilliant for that. The hypothetical suggestions that were mooted prior to the revelation helped to distract and lay the foundation for the big reveal. Despite the nastiness of it I do think it could have been hit home even further. The narrative style, which was like a medical report, tended to reduce the impact of the shocking revelations rather than enhance them so that their impact was immediate but didn't resonate enough.
I didn't really engage too well with the sections about the narrator's family either. It helped to humanise him but I never felt like I cared what happened to them as he reported how their lives were progressing.
I found prot's rants very interesting. So much of what he said was right in that humanity is to blame for most of our problems and we would need a dramatic change across the world to resolve them all. A clever concept was the idea that the renewable energy sources are just as damaging to the planet as fossils only in a different way. By blocking the solar rays to the ground and disrupting air and water flows these things are impacting on our environment. I don't know if this is a concept that has come from somewhere else or if it was invented by the author but it's an interesting one.
After writing this, three stars sounds generous but it's one of those books that I found both enjoyable to read and frustrating at the same time. It would probably have been better to read the books one at a time with a break in between because it was a bit much reading them one after the other.
I liked prot and his relationship with the narrator, gene. There was a tetchiness and humanity to it which worked. I would have liked to have seen more of the other patients and got to know them better. I think it was because there were so many that I could never remember who they all were. They were too often just a clear cut symptom with a definitive cause that was fixed by a neat solution.
It was clever the way the 'is he? isn't he?' question was kept up through the entire three books and we're always left wondering where is prot really from.
There were a few strong turning points in the story which where really shocking revelations and they surprised me, especially the last one. It was horribly cringe inducing and brilliant for that. The hypothetical suggestions that were mooted prior to the revelation helped to distract and lay the foundation for the big reveal. Despite the nastiness of it I do think it could have been hit home even further. The narrative style, which was like a medical report, tended to reduce the impact of the shocking revelations rather than enhance them so that their impact was immediate but didn't resonate enough.
I didn't really engage too well with the sections about the narrator's family either. It helped to humanise him but I never felt like I cared what happened to them as he reported how their lives were progressing.
I found prot's rants very interesting. So much of what he said was right in that humanity is to blame for most of our problems and we would need a dramatic change across the world to resolve them all. A clever concept was the idea that the renewable energy sources are just as damaging to the planet as fossils only in a different way. By blocking the solar rays to the ground and disrupting air and water flows these things are impacting on our environment. I don't know if this is a concept that has come from somewhere else or if it was invented by the author but it's an interesting one.
After writing this, three stars sounds generous but it's one of those books that I found both enjoyable to read and frustrating at the same time. It would probably have been better to read the books one at a time with a break in between because it was a bit much reading them one after the other.
September 30, 2014
A patient about whom nothing is known is brought to the Manhattan Psychiatric Institute. He claims to be a visitor from K-PAX, a utopian paradise of a planet where there are no laws, governments, religion or cruelty of any kind. He is here to write a report on B-TIK (commonly known by us as Planet Earth).
Prot, as he calls himself, is one of the most remarkable protagonists of a novel I've read about lately. He is an empath and can connect even with some of the most shelled-in inmates at the hospital, such as autists. He can also allegedly talk to animals, see light into the ultraviolet specter and travel at super-light speed. It's done with mirrors.
Naturally, he is immediately diagnosed with a multiple personality disorder - he is supposed to be an alter ego of a young man somewhere from the American southwest. Is he really, though? Even his doctor sometimes doubts the theory, since prot is so sure of himself and can provide on demand the details of K-PAX history, geology and even the arrangement of constellations visible from K-PAX's surface. Much of the novel occupies itself with finding out about the life of prot's alter ego and the presumably horrible events that have caused him to assume a different dominant personality. We're nearly crossing into a sort of whodunit territory here as a crime possibly connected to prot's alter ego is being slowly uncovered by prot's psychiatrist and a journalist.
An interesting approach with K-PAX is that the author, Gene Brewer, is a character in the novel - prot's psychiatrist at the Institute. This, plus the fact that he actually refers to the novel inside of it, makes you think that the story is real, non-fictional. Until too improbable things start happening, that is. It's kind of a cheap trick, but it worked on me, for a while at least. Maybe I'm just too gullible, although of course I haven't seen the movie yet.
Not everything is rosy. Prot's bleak vision of humanity's future and his failure to find anything beautiful in our society is hard to argue against, but it does kind of act as a downer and perhaps sometimes even as the author's attempt of pushing certain personal convictions down our throat. I didn't really mind, since my own personal world-view is pretty much one-on-one with that, but consider yourself forewarned. There's also the case that a lot of problems that prot sees are really specific to American, or at the very least, Western society and so his simultaneously hilarious and horrifying report (included as a bonus content to the Omnibus version) reflects mostly those issues (for example, proudly wallowing in ignorance, the ongoing process of numbing oneself with the help of popular media, especially TV, capitalist exploitation of the working class and tendencies towards war).
I am also of the opinion that the third part, The Worlds of prot, is rather unnecessary and only serves to artificially lengthen the series, since it doesn't actually add anything new to either prot's personality or the alter ego's past, but is instead rather heavy on prot's supernatural abilities. This only breaks the credibility of the novel and the feeling of immersion.
In the end, though, K-PAX is still a rather excellent, thought-provoking and often hilarious look into human psychology, as well as human society. Highly recommended.
Prot, as he calls himself, is one of the most remarkable protagonists of a novel I've read about lately. He is an empath and can connect even with some of the most shelled-in inmates at the hospital, such as autists. He can also allegedly talk to animals, see light into the ultraviolet specter and travel at super-light speed. It's done with mirrors.
Naturally, he is immediately diagnosed with a multiple personality disorder - he is supposed to be an alter ego of a young man somewhere from the American southwest. Is he really, though? Even his doctor sometimes doubts the theory, since prot is so sure of himself and can provide on demand the details of K-PAX history, geology and even the arrangement of constellations visible from K-PAX's surface. Much of the novel occupies itself with finding out about the life of prot's alter ego and the presumably horrible events that have caused him to assume a different dominant personality. We're nearly crossing into a sort of whodunit territory here as a crime possibly connected to prot's alter ego is being slowly uncovered by prot's psychiatrist and a journalist.
An interesting approach with K-PAX is that the author, Gene Brewer, is a character in the novel - prot's psychiatrist at the Institute. This, plus the fact that he actually refers to the novel inside of it, makes you think that the story is real, non-fictional. Until too improbable things start happening, that is. It's kind of a cheap trick, but it worked on me, for a while at least. Maybe I'm just too gullible, although of course I haven't seen the movie yet.
Not everything is rosy. Prot's bleak vision of humanity's future and his failure to find anything beautiful in our society is hard to argue against, but it does kind of act as a downer and perhaps sometimes even as the author's attempt of pushing certain personal convictions down our throat. I didn't really mind, since my own personal world-view is pretty much one-on-one with that, but consider yourself forewarned. There's also the case that a lot of problems that prot sees are really specific to American, or at the very least, Western society and so his simultaneously hilarious and horrifying report (included as a bonus content to the Omnibus version) reflects mostly those issues (for example, proudly wallowing in ignorance, the ongoing process of numbing oneself with the help of popular media, especially TV, capitalist exploitation of the working class and tendencies towards war).
I am also of the opinion that the third part, The Worlds of prot, is rather unnecessary and only serves to artificially lengthen the series, since it doesn't actually add anything new to either prot's personality or the alter ego's past, but is instead rather heavy on prot's supernatural abilities. This only breaks the credibility of the novel and the feeling of immersion.
In the end, though, K-PAX is still a rather excellent, thought-provoking and often hilarious look into human psychology, as well as human society. Highly recommended.
February 16, 2010
Have decided to revisit this book. I revisited the film the other night and it inspired me to read the trilogy again. It's been quite a while since I read them.
I got sucked into the story telling from the first page - and although I'm still on book one, I am loving it. (It's been a weird and busy week so not a lot of reading time).
I like books with a good mix of storytelling - from the sessions with Dr Brewer, to the other patients, to the Dr's life outside the hospital all mixed in with the questions every page seems to raise. It is a clever book and I am so glad I am in the mood for a reading timewarp at the moment. It's inspiring me to think about what other old books I'd like to revisit.
24/01.
Finished book 1 yesterday. Wasn't disappointed at all. In fact the explanation of what happens just increases the is he/isn't he factor of the book. Went straight onto to start number two and am a 1/4 of the way through it already.
01/02.
Finished the second novel - K-PAX II on a beam of light. It just gives such a new dimension of depth regarding the main characters and how their mental illness radiates out to others in their lives. I loved the unpeeling of the layers that make up Robert and why he's become the way he is. It just didn't disappoint on any level.
Started book three last night but didn't get past the 2nd session - time was against me.
16/02
Finished book 3 - the worlds of prot and prots report. Interesting how prots character changes or the authors (1st person narrative) reaction to prot changes, both become more impatient with the other and this book has a lot more main character tension. I did enjoy it. I liked the conclusion of prots and Robert Porters life on Earth but it is not as good as the previous two. Almost like it was written just to tie stuff off maybe?
prots report was very interesting and a good way to end this tome of a book. The author uses prots voice to paint an 'outsiders' view of humanities life on Earth to good effect and it helps pad out some of prots views that you encounter in the books.
Well worth the revisit - glad I made to time to reread these novels.
I got sucked into the story telling from the first page - and although I'm still on book one, I am loving it. (It's been a weird and busy week so not a lot of reading time).
I like books with a good mix of storytelling - from the sessions with Dr Brewer, to the other patients, to the Dr's life outside the hospital all mixed in with the questions every page seems to raise. It is a clever book and I am so glad I am in the mood for a reading timewarp at the moment. It's inspiring me to think about what other old books I'd like to revisit.
24/01.
Finished book 1 yesterday. Wasn't disappointed at all. In fact the explanation of what happens just increases the is he/isn't he factor of the book. Went straight onto to start number two and am a 1/4 of the way through it already.
01/02.
Finished the second novel - K-PAX II on a beam of light. It just gives such a new dimension of depth regarding the main characters and how their mental illness radiates out to others in their lives. I loved the unpeeling of the layers that make up Robert and why he's become the way he is. It just didn't disappoint on any level.
Started book three last night but didn't get past the 2nd session - time was against me.
16/02
Finished book 3 - the worlds of prot and prots report. Interesting how prots character changes or the authors (1st person narrative) reaction to prot changes, both become more impatient with the other and this book has a lot more main character tension. I did enjoy it. I liked the conclusion of prots and Robert Porters life on Earth but it is not as good as the previous two. Almost like it was written just to tie stuff off maybe?
prots report was very interesting and a good way to end this tome of a book. The author uses prots voice to paint an 'outsiders' view of humanities life on Earth to good effect and it helps pad out some of prots views that you encounter in the books.
Well worth the revisit - glad I made to time to reread these novels.
June 15, 2011
I never even knew this was a book, had only heard of the movie, until I saw it gracing our library’s shelves. Since I haven’t seen the movie yet, I snatched it up, since I think the film is getting a little bit close to the top of my Netflix queue. It concerns the individual of prot (pronounced similar to goat and never capitalized) a man who has been brought to a mental health facility because he claims he is from another planet. Another planet named K-PAX, where he has traveled from on a beam of light. His psychiatrist, Gene, is the author of the book and quite skeptical concerning the reality of prot’s belief in having been born on a different planet, and of having visited many others. Through his sessions with prot, Gene comes to find out that prot’s reality is so detailed that it might be true, especially when he begins to help heal the other patients at the facility.
I had no idea what to expect from this book since I pulled it from the Science Fiction section of the library but it seemed so obvious to me in the beginning that prot wasn’t actually from outer space. It’s amazing how Brewer manages to completely stump the reader as to who prot is from beginning to the end. He’ll seem to lead you almost to the brink of one conclusion before suddenly slinging you back towards the other through prot’s actions and answers. You’ll definitely find yourself wondering throughout the book – is prot who he claims to be? Is he really simply a man who is so very confused? Or is he something else entirely?
I had no idea what to expect from this book since I pulled it from the Science Fiction section of the library but it seemed so obvious to me in the beginning that prot wasn’t actually from outer space. It’s amazing how Brewer manages to completely stump the reader as to who prot is from beginning to the end. He’ll seem to lead you almost to the brink of one conclusion before suddenly slinging you back towards the other through prot’s actions and answers. You’ll definitely find yourself wondering throughout the book – is prot who he claims to be? Is he really simply a man who is so very confused? Or is he something else entirely?
September 10, 2010
I thought this book had more to do with sci-fi than it turned out to be, and I think that's a little bit disappointing, but the there is the tiniest bit of chance that it could still be a science fiction, except that the narrator, and society, refuse to believe what they don't understand/expect, etc.
It is about an older gentleman in a mental hospital who claims he is from another planet, K-Pax, and the narrator is his psychiatrists who thinks he's just crazy, of course. Interestingly enough, the author and narrator share the same name-I suppose it's to make it appear as though this is a real written account, but I'm pretty sure it's not. If so, that's cool.
I listened to this very short book on audio-I didn't like the reader, I think it was the same one who read "Ghost Boy".
Still, the concept was interesting, as was the patient from K-Pax. I had no interest in the narrator. And although the patient was interesting, parts of his traumatic back story could've been more...epic? Original? More compelling, to make the story really pop. But as far as tragedies go, it wasn't anything too out-of-the-ordinary.
There is a movie (that I've heard isn't very good, but I plan to watch it and form my own opinion). It also has sequels that I'd be interested in if I came a crossed them.
It is about an older gentleman in a mental hospital who claims he is from another planet, K-Pax, and the narrator is his psychiatrists who thinks he's just crazy, of course. Interestingly enough, the author and narrator share the same name-I suppose it's to make it appear as though this is a real written account, but I'm pretty sure it's not. If so, that's cool.
I listened to this very short book on audio-I didn't like the reader, I think it was the same one who read "Ghost Boy".
Still, the concept was interesting, as was the patient from K-Pax. I had no interest in the narrator. And although the patient was interesting, parts of his traumatic back story could've been more...epic? Original? More compelling, to make the story really pop. But as far as tragedies go, it wasn't anything too out-of-the-ordinary.
There is a movie (that I've heard isn't very good, but I plan to watch it and form my own opinion). It also has sequels that I'd be interested in if I came a crossed them.
April 28, 2011
I feel that my reading of K-Pax may have been overshadowed slightly by the fact that I first discovered the story via the motion picture (starring Kevin Spacey as 'Prot', highly recommended!)
The book and the film were surprisingly similar in story, main characters, and even dialog. Any variances from one another were inconsequential. This was pleasing to me as a viewer/reader as I, like many, hate to see the source material (the book) drastically altered for the screen. At the same time, having first viewed (and loved) the movie and THEN read the story, I felt like I was merely getting a re-hash of something I was already quite familiar with. Therefore, K-Pax, for me, was a bit dull.
Never-the-less I have already checked out the next book in the series 'On A Beam of Light' and I plan to enjoy it, as it will be something loved but new and different. I shall have to order the rest of the books via Inter-Library as my local library does not have the rest, but that is a inconvenience I am willing to bear for the sake of this amusing and heart-feft collection!
The book and the film were surprisingly similar in story, main characters, and even dialog. Any variances from one another were inconsequential. This was pleasing to me as a viewer/reader as I, like many, hate to see the source material (the book) drastically altered for the screen. At the same time, having first viewed (and loved) the movie and THEN read the story, I felt like I was merely getting a re-hash of something I was already quite familiar with. Therefore, K-Pax, for me, was a bit dull.
Never-the-less I have already checked out the next book in the series 'On A Beam of Light' and I plan to enjoy it, as it will be something loved but new and different. I shall have to order the rest of the books via Inter-Library as my local library does not have the rest, but that is a inconvenience I am willing to bear for the sake of this amusing and heart-feft collection!
December 16, 2017
I think this is another one of those rare books where the movie adaptation actually culls the relevant subject matter down well and makes for a stronger presentation.
The first book is great; the second work is relatively mediocre, but is still ok. The problem is that Robert Porter, while he's suffered, just isn't as interesting as Prot. After being set up in the first book, we want to hear more about Prot, not Robert.
The third work took me awhile, after slogging through the second book. I really don't want to hear about child molestation. This book doesn't explore it in any new or meaningful way. We all know it's repugnant. Also, having so many patients kind of reduces our attachment to them; it's like an endless cycle, and each of them seem less developed or at least don't have the same sort of dramatic tension to them because we know Prot will step in and fix everything. He's the superman of psychiatry! (eg, boring.)
This would have been best with just the first book and prot's report as an addendum. You don't get that much additional with the 2nd and 3rd books.
The first book is great; the second work is relatively mediocre, but is still ok. The problem is that Robert Porter, while he's suffered, just isn't as interesting as Prot. After being set up in the first book, we want to hear more about Prot, not Robert.
The third work took me awhile, after slogging through the second book. I really don't want to hear about child molestation. This book doesn't explore it in any new or meaningful way. We all know it's repugnant. Also, having so many patients kind of reduces our attachment to them; it's like an endless cycle, and each of them seem less developed or at least don't have the same sort of dramatic tension to them because we know Prot will step in and fix everything. He's the superman of psychiatry! (eg, boring.)
This would have been best with just the first book and prot's report as an addendum. You don't get that much additional with the 2nd and 3rd books.
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