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Mary and the Giant
Mary Anne Reynolds is a young and vulnerable woman, determined to make her own way in the world. But Pacific Park, California, in the 1950s is not really the place for Mary. Her relationship with a black singer offends against the small town's views on sexual mores and exposes its bigoted views on race. This is a powerful portrayal of the claustrophobia of small-town California, and Mary Anne Reynolds is one of the most memorable characters Dick ever created.
232 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1987
18 people are currently reading
694 people want to read
About the author
Philip K. Dick
2,008 books22.5k followersPhilip Kindred Dick was a prolific American science fiction author whose work has had a lasting impact on literature, cinema, and popular culture. Known for his imaginative narratives and profound philosophical themes, Dick explored the nature of reality, the boundaries of human identity, and the impact of technology and authoritarianism on society. His stories often blurred the line between the real and the artificial, challenging readers to question their perceptions and beliefs.
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick’s most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick’s legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His work continues to challenge and inspire, offering timeless insights into the human condition a
Raised in California, Dick began writing professionally in the early 1950s, publishing short stories in various science fiction magazines. He quickly developed a distinctive voice within the genre, marked by a fusion of science fiction concepts with deep existential and psychological inquiry. Over his career, he authored 44 novels and more than 100 short stories, many of which have become classics in the field.
Recurring themes in Dick's work include alternate realities, simulations, corporate and government control, mental illness, and the nature of consciousness. His protagonists are frequently everyday individuals—often paranoid, uncertain, or troubled—caught in surreal and often dangerous circumstances that force them to question their environment and themselves. Works such as Ubik, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, and A Scanner Darkly reflect his fascination with perception and altered states of consciousness, often drawing from his own experiences with mental health struggles and drug use.
One of Dick’s most influential novels is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which served as the basis for Ridley Scott’s iconic film Blade Runner. The novel deals with the distinction between humans and artificial beings and asks profound questions about empathy, identity, and what it means to be alive. Other adaptations of his work include Total Recall, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly, and The Man in the High Castle, each reflecting key elements of his storytelling—uncertain realities, oppressive systems, and the search for truth. These adaptations have introduced his complex ideas to audiences well beyond the traditional readership of science fiction.
In the 1970s, Dick underwent a series of visionary and mystical experiences that had a significant influence on his later writings. He described receiving profound knowledge from an external, possibly divine, source and documented these events extensively in what became known as The Exegesis, a massive and often fragmented journal. These experiences inspired his later novels, most notably the VALIS trilogy, which mixes autobiography, theology, and metaphysics in a narrative that defies conventional structure and genre boundaries.
Throughout his life, Dick faced financial instability, health issues, and periods of personal turmoil, yet he remained a dedicated and relentless writer. Despite limited commercial success during his lifetime, his reputation grew steadily, and he came to be regarded as one of the most original voices in speculative fiction. His work has been celebrated for its ability to fuse philosophical depth with gripping storytelling and has influenced not only science fiction writers but also philosophers, filmmakers, and futurists.
Dick’s legacy continues to thrive in both literary and cinematic spheres. The themes he explored remain urgently relevant in the modern world, particularly as technology increasingly intersects with human identity and governance. The Philip K. Dick Award, named in his honor, is presented annually to distinguished works of science fiction published in paperback original form in the United States. His writings have also inspired television series, academic studies, and countless homages across media.
Through his vivid imagination and unflinching inquiry into the nature of existence, Philip K. Dick redefined what science fiction could achieve. His work continues to challenge and inspire, offering timeless insights into the human condition a
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September 28, 2019
Mary and the Giant is an immersion into the era of beatniks and jazz. It is a story of a girl and those who surround her… It is a story of those who stand on the threshold of great changes.
I'd have a chance to talk to people… instead of sitting in an office typing letters. A record store's a nice place; something's always going on. Something's always happening.
The novel is moody and nostalgic and it is permeated with the quite specific spirit of that far away time. It is for those who still can “Dig it”.
Every epoch has its own irreproducible aura…
I'd have a chance to talk to people… instead of sitting in an office typing letters. A record store's a nice place; something's always going on. Something's always happening.
The novel is moody and nostalgic and it is permeated with the quite specific spirit of that far away time. It is for those who still can “Dig it”.
Every epoch has its own irreproducible aura…
June 8, 2020
Before LSD; When Stereo Rock Was Binaural Bop
At the centre of Mary and The Giant is a Californian bacchanal. But instead of sex, drugs, and rock & roll, the themes are small town boredom, American racism, and the transformative power of classical music. Sex is merely a context not a subject. Rock hadn’t been invented. And the only drug available was alcohol. This is certainly noir, but uniquely Dickian noir. But it just doesn’t work.
Mary and the Giant wasn’t published for thirty-five years after it was written. There’s a good reason for this - it stinks. Without his great success in sci-fi, Dick would have never found a publisher for the piece. Its characters have no character except their social marginality. None have coherent pasts, functional presents, or promising futures. The narrative line is trivial and jerks senselessly in several directions as if Dick was never sure about his point in writing it. Only the deity knows why it was republished subsequently.
The only likely aesthetic value of the book is in its sociological portrayal of early 50’s California. The tedium of its small towns, their bigotry and small-mindedness, the restlessness of their youth in post-war America are, I suppose, what the book is about. It might be seen as a prophetic insight to forthcoming hippiedom. But even that’s a stretch. So it’s no doubt a blessing for us all that Dick didn’t try much more of this kind of existentialist social commentary.
At the centre of Mary and The Giant is a Californian bacchanal. But instead of sex, drugs, and rock & roll, the themes are small town boredom, American racism, and the transformative power of classical music. Sex is merely a context not a subject. Rock hadn’t been invented. And the only drug available was alcohol. This is certainly noir, but uniquely Dickian noir. But it just doesn’t work.
Mary and the Giant wasn’t published for thirty-five years after it was written. There’s a good reason for this - it stinks. Without his great success in sci-fi, Dick would have never found a publisher for the piece. Its characters have no character except their social marginality. None have coherent pasts, functional presents, or promising futures. The narrative line is trivial and jerks senselessly in several directions as if Dick was never sure about his point in writing it. Only the deity knows why it was republished subsequently.
The only likely aesthetic value of the book is in its sociological portrayal of early 50’s California. The tedium of its small towns, their bigotry and small-mindedness, the restlessness of their youth in post-war America are, I suppose, what the book is about. It might be seen as a prophetic insight to forthcoming hippiedom. But even that’s a stretch. So it’s no doubt a blessing for us all that Dick didn’t try much more of this kind of existentialist social commentary.
March 29, 2023
"Through a blur of exhaustion she surveyed what she had accomplished. Virtually nothing. How could she put in order the corruption of years? It was too late, and it had been too late as long as she had been alive."
I found it hard to identify with Mary, the main character in this novel. She is an extremely idealistic person in the America of the mid 20th century. She hates her small town existence. Her fiancée who likes hanging around parking lots and eating hamburgers and drinking milkshakes does not impress her. Her father who works in a pipe factory often gropes her. Her job at a shipping company repels her. Here is how she reacts inwardly when she sees a shipping clerk who also hates his job:
"The smell of his unhappiness reached her and it was a thin smell, acrid like sweat that had soured.
She falls for a black musician, but he shuns her for a fat blonde. Then an elderly record store owner Joseph Schilling, who is a new arrival in the town, falls for her. Mary is a young woman, who is caught in a changing time. She herself might be one of the people driving the change. Like Mary, Joseph is also aware of the changes as he is driven into the small town. "As Herelictus would say, the river is always different.", Joseph tells himself as he looks around the town.
Much of the novel is about the relationship between the twenty year old Mary and the fifty eight year old Joseph Schilling. It is also about increasing social mobility of women, race relations and the music scene. Much of the musical references and the scenes where the characters play and discuss music went over my head. This kept me from enjoying the novel beyond a certain level. Also, I only have a vague idea about the changes that happened in American society in the middle of the twentieth century. I read this book because I am a fan of Philip K Dick.
Mary and the Giant is a coming of age novel. A novel of a place and a particular time. A novel about music. Unlike anything I have read by Philip K Dick. At times, I felt like a little boy struggling to catch up with an experienced swimmer. A polymath like PKD can make you feel that way. What was his intention? What message was he trying to convey? Alas, I could only grasp some of it.
I found it hard to identify with Mary, the main character in this novel. She is an extremely idealistic person in the America of the mid 20th century. She hates her small town existence. Her fiancée who likes hanging around parking lots and eating hamburgers and drinking milkshakes does not impress her. Her father who works in a pipe factory often gropes her. Her job at a shipping company repels her. Here is how she reacts inwardly when she sees a shipping clerk who also hates his job:
"The smell of his unhappiness reached her and it was a thin smell, acrid like sweat that had soured.
She falls for a black musician, but he shuns her for a fat blonde. Then an elderly record store owner Joseph Schilling, who is a new arrival in the town, falls for her. Mary is a young woman, who is caught in a changing time. She herself might be one of the people driving the change. Like Mary, Joseph is also aware of the changes as he is driven into the small town. "As Herelictus would say, the river is always different.", Joseph tells himself as he looks around the town.
Much of the novel is about the relationship between the twenty year old Mary and the fifty eight year old Joseph Schilling. It is also about increasing social mobility of women, race relations and the music scene. Much of the musical references and the scenes where the characters play and discuss music went over my head. This kept me from enjoying the novel beyond a certain level. Also, I only have a vague idea about the changes that happened in American society in the middle of the twentieth century. I read this book because I am a fan of Philip K Dick.
Mary and the Giant is a coming of age novel. A novel of a place and a particular time. A novel about music. Unlike anything I have read by Philip K Dick. At times, I felt like a little boy struggling to catch up with an experienced swimmer. A polymath like PKD can make you feel that way. What was his intention? What message was he trying to convey? Alas, I could only grasp some of it.
June 20, 2017
Βαθμολογία: 9/10
Μέχρι πριν από λίγες μέρες, αυτό ήταν το μοναδικό βιβλίο του Φίλιπ Ντικ που δεν είχα αγοράσει! Ο Ντικ είναι σίγουρα μέσα στην πεντάδα με τους αγαπημένους μου συγγραφείς. Γιατί δεν το είχα αγοράσει τόσο καιρό; Από την μια η μέτρια βαθμολογία του στο Goodreads, από την άλλη μου είχε κολλήσει από παλιά ότι είναι ένα κακό βιβλίο, ε, το είχα βάλει εντελώς στην άκρη και το ξέχασα. Μέχρι που το πήρε το μάτι μου πριν λίγες μέρες και το αγόρασα. Τι στο καλό! Φίλιπ Ντικ είναι αυτός, ακόμα και την λίστα του για τα ψώνια του σουπερμάρκετ θα αγόραζα, αν μπορούσα να την βρω. Και δεν άργησα να το διαβάσω, μιας και τελευταία φορά που είχα διαβάσει βιβλίο του ήταν τον Φεβρουάριο του 2015, και σίγουρα μου έλειψε η γραφή και η τρέλα του.
Το εικοστό δεύτερο αυτό βιβλίο του Φίλιπ Ντικ που πέρασε στην λίστα μου με τα διαβασμένα, είναι εντελώς διαφορετικό από τα υπόλοιπα. Δεν είναι επιστημονικής φαντασίας. Δεν υπάρχουν εξωγήινοι, δεν υπάρχουν ρομπότ, διαστημόπλοια και ταξίδια στον χρόνο και τον χώρο, δεν υπάρχουν κυβερνητικές συνωμοσίες και παράλληλα σύμπαντα. Πρόκειται για ένα κοινωνικό δράμα, η ιστορία του οποίου διαδραματίζεται σε μια μικρή πόλη της Καλιφόρνια, στις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '50. Η πλοκή έχει να κάνει με μια εικοσάχρονη κοπέλα, την Μέρι Αν Ρέινολντς, η οποία νιώθει ασφυχτικά περιορισμένη από τους γονείς και την πνιγηρή και βαρετή ζωή της στην πόλη αυτή. Θα βρει μια κάποια διέξοδο στην Καλιφορνέζικη σκηνή της Τζαζ, σ'έναν μαύρο τραγουδιστή και ένα πολύ μεγαλύτερο σε ηλικία πωλητή δίσκων και λάτρη της κλασικής μουσικής. Όμως θα καταφέρει να ξεφύγει από την μιζέρια;
Είδατε; Καμία σχέση με επιστημονική φαντασία. Άλλη μια σημαντική διαφορά σε σχέση με άλλα βιβλία του, είναι η γραφή, τα αρκετά έντονα συναισθήματα που περνάει ο συγγραφέας μέσω της πλοκής και των χαρακτήρων, καθώς και η απίθανη σκιαγράφηση της νεαρής πρωταγωνίστριας, όπως και των υπόλοιπων βασικών χαρακτήρων της ιστορίας. Σοβαρά τώρα, ο Φίλιπ Ντικ έδωσε ρέστα με τους χαρακτήρες του. Ήταν σαν να γνώρισα αληθινούς ανθρώπους, με σάρκα και οστά. Δεν μπορώ να πω ότι το περίμενα, τουλάχιστον όχι σ'αυτόν τον βαθμό. Ειλικρινά. Και οι περιγραφές των σκηνικών και των σκέψεων των χαρακτήρων μου φάνηκαν εξαιρετικές και έντονα ρεαλιστικές. Δεν συμβαίνουν κουλά και ανεξήγητα πράγματα, είναι φανερό ότι ο Ντικ είχε σώας τας φρένας όταν το έγραφε και ότι απείχε ακόμα από παραισθησιογόνες ουσίες κάθε είδους.
Αυτό είναι ένα από τα λίγα "συμβατικά" μυθιστορήματα που έγραψε ο Φίλιπ Ντικ κατά την διάρκεια της τεράστιας συγγραφικής του καριέρας, αλλά εκδόθηκε για πρώτη φορά πέντε χρόνια μετά τον θάνατο του (αν και γράφτηκε την δεκαετία του '50, όταν ο συγγραφέας ήταν δεν ήταν εικοσιπέντε χρονών), γιατί δεν έβρισκε εκδότη να το βγάλει για πολλά χρόνια και όσο ήταν ακόμα ζωντανός. Σοβαρά, τους φάνηκε τόσο κακό; Ή μήπως επικίνδυνο για τα ήθη και τα έθιμα της εποχής; Δεν ξέρω. Προσωπικά νιώθω ότι είναι ένα από τα καλύτερα βιβλία του που έχω διαβάσει. Εντάξει, είναι άλλης κατηγορίας και κλάσης σε σχέση με τα ΕΦ αριστουργήματά του ("Το ηλεκτρικό πρόβατο", "Ubik", "Ο άνθρωπος στο Ψηλό Κάστρο", "Τα τρία στίγματα του Πάλμερ Έλντριτς", "Κυλήστε δάκρυά μου, είπε ο αστυνομικός", "Ελεύθερη ραδιοφωνία Άλμπεμουθ" και πάει λέγοντας), όμως παίζει να είναι και ένα από τα πιο προσωπικά του έργα. Τι να σας πω, το λάτρεψα!
Μέχρι πριν από λίγες μέρες, αυτό ήταν το μοναδικό βιβλίο του Φίλιπ Ντικ που δεν είχα αγοράσει! Ο Ντικ είναι σίγουρα μέσα στην πεντάδα με τους αγαπημένους μου συγγραφείς. Γιατί δεν το είχα αγοράσει τόσο καιρό; Από την μια η μέτρια βαθμολογία του στο Goodreads, από την άλλη μου είχε κολλήσει από παλιά ότι είναι ένα κακό βιβλίο, ε, το είχα βάλει εντελώς στην άκρη και το ξέχασα. Μέχρι που το πήρε το μάτι μου πριν λίγες μέρες και το αγόρασα. Τι στο καλό! Φίλιπ Ντικ είναι αυτός, ακόμα και την λίστα του για τα ψώνια του σουπερμάρκετ θα αγόραζα, αν μπορούσα να την βρω. Και δεν άργησα να το διαβάσω, μιας και τελευταία φορά που είχα διαβάσει βιβλίο του ήταν τον Φεβρουάριο του 2015, και σίγουρα μου έλειψε η γραφή και η τρέλα του.
Το εικοστό δεύτερο αυτό βιβλίο του Φίλιπ Ντικ που πέρασε στην λίστα μου με τα διαβασμένα, είναι εντελώς διαφορετικό από τα υπόλοιπα. Δεν είναι επιστημονικής φαντασίας. Δεν υπάρχουν εξωγήινοι, δεν υπάρχουν ρομπότ, διαστημόπλοια και ταξίδια στον χρόνο και τον χώρο, δεν υπάρχουν κυβερνητικές συνωμοσίες και παράλληλα σύμπαντα. Πρόκειται για ένα κοινωνικό δράμα, η ιστορία του οποίου διαδραματίζεται σε μια μικρή πόλη της Καλιφόρνια, στις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '50. Η πλοκή έχει να κάνει με μια εικοσάχρονη κοπέλα, την Μέρι Αν Ρέινολντς, η οποία νιώθει ασφυχτικά περιορισμένη από τους γονείς και την πνιγηρή και βαρετή ζωή της στην πόλη αυτή. Θα βρει μια κάποια διέξοδο στην Καλιφορνέζικη σκηνή της Τζαζ, σ'έναν μαύρο τραγουδιστή και ένα πολύ μεγαλύτερο σε ηλικία πωλητή δίσκων και λάτρη της κλασικής μουσικής. Όμως θα καταφέρει να ξεφύγει από την μιζέρια;
Είδατε; Καμία σχέση με επιστημονική φαντασία. Άλλη μια σημαντική διαφορά σε σχέση με άλλα βιβλία του, είναι η γραφή, τα αρκετά έντονα συναισθήματα που περνάει ο συγγραφέας μέσω της πλοκής και των χαρακτήρων, καθώς και η απίθανη σκιαγράφηση της νεαρής πρωταγωνίστριας, όπως και των υπόλοιπων βασικών χαρακτήρων της ιστορίας. Σοβαρά τώρα, ο Φίλιπ Ντικ έδωσε ρέστα με τους χαρακτήρες του. Ήταν σαν να γνώρισα αληθινούς ανθρώπους, με σάρκα και οστά. Δεν μπορώ να πω ότι το περίμενα, τουλάχιστον όχι σ'αυτόν τον βαθμό. Ειλικρινά. Και οι περιγραφές των σκηνικών και των σκέψεων των χαρακτήρων μου φάνηκαν εξαιρετικές και έντονα ρεαλιστικές. Δεν συμβαίνουν κουλά και ανεξήγητα πράγματα, είναι φανερό ότι ο Ντικ είχε σώας τας φρένας όταν το έγραφε και ότι απείχε ακόμα από παραισθησιογόνες ουσίες κάθε είδους.
Αυτό είναι ένα από τα λίγα "συμβατικά" μυθιστορήματα που έγραψε ο Φίλιπ Ντικ κατά την διάρκεια της τεράστιας συγγραφικής του καριέρας, αλλά εκδόθηκε για πρώτη φορά πέντε χρόνια μετά τον θάνατο του (αν και γράφτηκε την δεκαετία του '50, όταν ο συγγραφέας ήταν δεν ήταν εικοσιπέντε χρονών), γιατί δεν έβρισκε εκδότη να το βγάλει για πολλά χρόνια και όσο ήταν ακόμα ζωντανός. Σοβαρά, τους φάνηκε τόσο κακό; Ή μήπως επικίνδυνο για τα ήθη και τα έθιμα της εποχής; Δεν ξέρω. Προσωπικά νιώθω ότι είναι ένα από τα καλύτερα βιβλία του που έχω διαβάσει. Εντάξει, είναι άλλης κατηγορίας και κλάσης σε σχέση με τα ΕΦ αριστουργήματά του ("Το ηλεκτρικό πρόβατο", "Ubik", "Ο άνθρωπος στο Ψηλό Κάστρο", "Τα τρία στίγματα του Πάλμερ Έλντριτς", "Κυλήστε δάκρυά μου, είπε ο αστυνομικός", "Ελεύθερη ραδιοφωνία Άλμπεμουθ" και πάει λέγοντας), όμως παίζει να είναι και ένα από τα πιο προσωπικά του έργα. Τι να σας πω, το λάτρεψα!
May 24, 2016
4.5 stars
I didn't expect to like it so much.
To be honest, nothing much happens and it's a rather simple story, but the depth and complexity of the characters, in particular Mary, really made the book engaging and hard to put down.
A quiet, yet truly captivating read.
"- Is she always like this?"
"- Most of the time. Mary lives in a universe of leaky pots."
I didn't expect to like it so much.
To be honest, nothing much happens and it's a rather simple story, but the depth and complexity of the characters, in particular Mary, really made the book engaging and hard to put down.
A quiet, yet truly captivating read.
"- Is she always like this?"
"- Most of the time. Mary lives in a universe of leaky pots."
June 8, 2022
Prima opera non di fantascienza che leggo di Philip K. Dick, e prima opera sua giovanile (infatti la scrisse tra il 1953 e il 1955 - aveva circa 25 anni - ma fu pubblicata postuma, nel 1987).
Mary è una ragazza ventenne che ancora non sa cosa vuole fare nella vita, e si lancia in relazioni difficili: prima con un cantante di colore poi con un proprietario (quasi sessantenne) di un negozio di dischi.
Mary ha un padre violento, che le tira i capelli, la denigra, la tratta male e che ha abusato di lei quando era ubriaco. Infatti è un padre che ama bere e si ubriaca spesso, e una madre silente e sottomessa. Siamo nell'America degli anni 50 dove è ancora forte il razzismo verso le persone di colore. Mary dunque fugge e cerca il sostegno di uomini molto più grandi di lei: è ancora nella via di mezzo tra una bambina e un'adulta e cerca soltanto una cosa: l'amore, quello vero. Ma cerca anche di essere libera e autonoma: un suo lavoro, un suo ragazzo, una sua casa dove potersi rifugiare. Durante tutto il romanzo seguiremo le sue vicissitudini piene di errori, rifiuti, fughe, relazioni finite male, cotte, ripensamenti, paure, demoni da sconfiggere (che il titolo "gigante" non si riferisca forse proprio al suo demone che la blocca e non le lascia prendere la giusta decisione?). Dall'altro lato troviamo Joseph, un uomo che decide di stabilirsi nel paese di Mary e vi apre un negozio di dischi ma verrà presto raggiunto dai suoi "amici" Beth e Danny. Ma c'è anche Paul, il pianista del night, che sembra essere pure innamorato di lei.
A me piace molto Philip K. Dick, e ho apprezzato i suoi celebri capolavori di genere fantascientifico. E devo dire che leggere questa sua opera acerba, giovanile, mi è davvero piaciuto, perché emerge il suo stile, sempre scorrevole, e nello stesso momento però ti accorgi che la trama spesso sembra un po' frammentata, e non ci narra tutto dal punto di vista di un solo protagonista. Emerge la cura che Dick ha per la musica, citando canzoni e cantanti, e quindi per un esperto di musica degli anni 50 e anche prima potrebbe essere interessante prenderne nota. Non sono riuscito a capire bene Mary, forse dal carattere troppo cangiante e tendente al vittimismo, ma si giustifica visto quello che ha subito dal padre.
Lo consiglio a chi ama Philip K. Dick e vuole scoprire come scriveva da giovane.
Mary è una ragazza ventenne che ancora non sa cosa vuole fare nella vita, e si lancia in relazioni difficili: prima con un cantante di colore poi con un proprietario (quasi sessantenne) di un negozio di dischi.
Mary ha un padre violento, che le tira i capelli, la denigra, la tratta male e che ha abusato di lei quando era ubriaco. Infatti è un padre che ama bere e si ubriaca spesso, e una madre silente e sottomessa. Siamo nell'America degli anni 50 dove è ancora forte il razzismo verso le persone di colore. Mary dunque fugge e cerca il sostegno di uomini molto più grandi di lei: è ancora nella via di mezzo tra una bambina e un'adulta e cerca soltanto una cosa: l'amore, quello vero. Ma cerca anche di essere libera e autonoma: un suo lavoro, un suo ragazzo, una sua casa dove potersi rifugiare. Durante tutto il romanzo seguiremo le sue vicissitudini piene di errori, rifiuti, fughe, relazioni finite male, cotte, ripensamenti, paure, demoni da sconfiggere (che il titolo "gigante" non si riferisca forse proprio al suo demone che la blocca e non le lascia prendere la giusta decisione?). Dall'altro lato troviamo Joseph, un uomo che decide di stabilirsi nel paese di Mary e vi apre un negozio di dischi ma verrà presto raggiunto dai suoi "amici" Beth e Danny. Ma c'è anche Paul, il pianista del night, che sembra essere pure innamorato di lei.
A me piace molto Philip K. Dick, e ho apprezzato i suoi celebri capolavori di genere fantascientifico. E devo dire che leggere questa sua opera acerba, giovanile, mi è davvero piaciuto, perché emerge il suo stile, sempre scorrevole, e nello stesso momento però ti accorgi che la trama spesso sembra un po' frammentata, e non ci narra tutto dal punto di vista di un solo protagonista. Emerge la cura che Dick ha per la musica, citando canzoni e cantanti, e quindi per un esperto di musica degli anni 50 e anche prima potrebbe essere interessante prenderne nota. Non sono riuscito a capire bene Mary, forse dal carattere troppo cangiante e tendente al vittimismo, ma si giustifica visto quello che ha subito dal padre.
Lo consiglio a chi ama Philip K. Dick e vuole scoprire come scriveva da giovane.
November 14, 2023
Novela centrada en Mary, joven obsesiva, algo inocente y sobre todo impulsiva. Todos bailamos al son de sus estados de ánimo, dando giros sorpresivos a la trama, encauzando los diálogos en derroteros singulares, algunos cómicos otros cargantes. Cuesta seguir la lectura si cae antipática, pero el conocer su trasfondo ayuda a empatizar con sus obsesiones y al final, al menos a mí, me terminó conquistando.
Al dejar de lado la ciencia ficción, Dick concentra sus motivos en la construcción de personajes enfrentados a la terrible tarea de vivir en este mundo hostil, sin precogs ni extraterrestres estrafalarios, pero manteniendo una idea similar, ese tono ansioso que emana de los protagonistas, de inquietudes existenciales buscando una forma de enfrentar la vida, que en el caso de Dick parece que eran la vida misma. Hasta que tuvo la revelación, claro (ya me dieron ganas de releer Sivainvi)
Recomendable novela, se lee rápido.
Al dejar de lado la ciencia ficción, Dick concentra sus motivos en la construcción de personajes enfrentados a la terrible tarea de vivir en este mundo hostil, sin precogs ni extraterrestres estrafalarios, pero manteniendo una idea similar, ese tono ansioso que emana de los protagonistas, de inquietudes existenciales buscando una forma de enfrentar la vida, que en el caso de Dick parece que eran la vida misma. Hasta que tuvo la revelación, claro (ya me dieron ganas de releer Sivainvi)
Recomendable novela, se lee rápido.
February 26, 2008
Mary Ann Reynolds is just emerging from her chrysalis of childhood to face the reality of 1950s' California. Her home is Pacific Park, a sleepy town in the middle of nowhere. Her new acquaintances, Joseph Schilling who owns the new record store, Paul Nitz who plays piano at the Lazy Wren Club, black blues singer Carleton Tweany, her loser fiancé Dave Gordon and a host of other kooky weirdoes and freaks are about to help Mary Anne Reynolds discover who she really is.
Had any other writer, treating the 1950s in such a mellow chilled out fashion, written Mary And The Giant, I'd have gone 'Yaaaaah', and given it an average score for the sort of storybook it is. Yes, the characters are rich and varied, and the narrative's interesting without being too formalised, and the writing has moments of brilliance. But there's no one great thing that really draws you in. Sure Mary Anne's a bit weird but there's been many a book about psychologically damaged characters over the last 200 years, right? It's an empty book in many ways and in others it just goes beyond the pale. Let me explain...
This is a mainstream book by the science fiction author Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report and A Scanner Darkly are a few movie adaptations of his writing). Dick was renowned for his numerous science fiction books and short stories. Over a period of 20 years he was a prolific writing machine. He also wrote a number of mainstream novels but only one, Confessions Of A Crap Artist was ever published in his lifetime. Now, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Philip K. Dick is not a science fiction writer. I don't care how much anger you put into your retort - it's just water off a duck's back. A better way to describe Dick may be to say that he is a 'temporal location manager for biographical anecdotes of social concern'. Well, what does that mean?
Take his handling of the racial tensions in 1950s' America. Take his handling of the effects of drugs on otherwise normal human beings. We all know, or at least we should be now, that Philip K. Dick had a drug problem. Was he schizophrenic, as some writers have speculated?
Let's look at his female central character, Mary Anne Reynolds. You read enough Dick fiction (I think I've read over half of published output) and you see this singular, strong female lead in all Dick fiction. She's wrong somehow, broken, damaged beyond repair. She's always beautifully young (maybe schoolgirl young) and she's always got pert breasts and she's always a delightful person on the surface but totally bonkers once you scratch down a little. There's always this impression that the girl just doesn't belong. She can't hold down a job and she is totally (terrifyingly) spontaneous in everything she does. Dick says it in summary, later in the book, "Someday, in a hundred years, her world might exist." And then it hit home like a freight train.
Mary Anne Reynolds (like most other Dick girls) is a replicant from the future. It's just the way she reacts to social situations with painful naiveté while at other times she's a domineering bitch. Obviously for the former she has no recorded memories on which to fall back for guidance and the latter she's shooting someone else's psychological bullets from her gun. Mary Anne Reynolds is indeed a jarring character that has slipped out of some alternative universe and is struggling to cope in our alien environment. But there's more. And this revelation happened within the first few paragraphs.
One of my all-time-favourite Dick books is an early one called The Game Players Of Titan, which is about a postwar world where the real estate poker/ monopoly game 'Bluff' is the latest global craze among those who survived the war with the Vugs, and key characters from that book are presented here without their sci-fi trappings. It's an odd realisation but it works. I kept waiting for the Earth stomping Vugs to arrive. And it added a surreal sense of unease as the cold-hearted narrative unfurls.
I wouldn't say I loved this book as much as, say, A Scanner Darkly which was the most mainstream Dick book I'd read up to this point, but I did enjoy it greatly for this alternative-universe frisson of shock and realisation.
Had any other writer, treating the 1950s in such a mellow chilled out fashion, written Mary And The Giant, I'd have gone 'Yaaaaah', and given it an average score for the sort of storybook it is. Yes, the characters are rich and varied, and the narrative's interesting without being too formalised, and the writing has moments of brilliance. But there's no one great thing that really draws you in. Sure Mary Anne's a bit weird but there's been many a book about psychologically damaged characters over the last 200 years, right? It's an empty book in many ways and in others it just goes beyond the pale. Let me explain...
This is a mainstream book by the science fiction author Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report and A Scanner Darkly are a few movie adaptations of his writing). Dick was renowned for his numerous science fiction books and short stories. Over a period of 20 years he was a prolific writing machine. He also wrote a number of mainstream novels but only one, Confessions Of A Crap Artist was ever published in his lifetime. Now, I've said it before and I'll say it again. Philip K. Dick is not a science fiction writer. I don't care how much anger you put into your retort - it's just water off a duck's back. A better way to describe Dick may be to say that he is a 'temporal location manager for biographical anecdotes of social concern'. Well, what does that mean?
Take his handling of the racial tensions in 1950s' America. Take his handling of the effects of drugs on otherwise normal human beings. We all know, or at least we should be now, that Philip K. Dick had a drug problem. Was he schizophrenic, as some writers have speculated?
Let's look at his female central character, Mary Anne Reynolds. You read enough Dick fiction (I think I've read over half of published output) and you see this singular, strong female lead in all Dick fiction. She's wrong somehow, broken, damaged beyond repair. She's always beautifully young (maybe schoolgirl young) and she's always got pert breasts and she's always a delightful person on the surface but totally bonkers once you scratch down a little. There's always this impression that the girl just doesn't belong. She can't hold down a job and she is totally (terrifyingly) spontaneous in everything she does. Dick says it in summary, later in the book, "Someday, in a hundred years, her world might exist." And then it hit home like a freight train.
Mary Anne Reynolds (like most other Dick girls) is a replicant from the future. It's just the way she reacts to social situations with painful naiveté while at other times she's a domineering bitch. Obviously for the former she has no recorded memories on which to fall back for guidance and the latter she's shooting someone else's psychological bullets from her gun. Mary Anne Reynolds is indeed a jarring character that has slipped out of some alternative universe and is struggling to cope in our alien environment. But there's more. And this revelation happened within the first few paragraphs.
One of my all-time-favourite Dick books is an early one called The Game Players Of Titan, which is about a postwar world where the real estate poker/ monopoly game 'Bluff' is the latest global craze among those who survived the war with the Vugs, and key characters from that book are presented here without their sci-fi trappings. It's an odd realisation but it works. I kept waiting for the Earth stomping Vugs to arrive. And it added a surreal sense of unease as the cold-hearted narrative unfurls.
I wouldn't say I loved this book as much as, say, A Scanner Darkly which was the most mainstream Dick book I'd read up to this point, but I did enjoy it greatly for this alternative-universe frisson of shock and realisation.
August 3, 2019
Superb example of PKD's mid 50s non-SF social observational work. We see the changing position of women, and civil rights, and even the emergence of politicised folk music, with a hapless wannabe guitarist who seems to be equal measures Dylan and Tom Lehrer. Music is a big topic, the shifting tastes not just between daytime classical and easy listening but also within jazz and pop and vague intimations of avant-garde incursions on all their territories. Domestic violence, abusive male parents and racist loons rampaging with handguns mean this would be a very stiff proposition for a faithful Hollywood version even 60 years later, never mind when it was written. If you look carefully, you can already see hints that Phil would like to switch the speculation to an interzone away from modern California, to expand the sense of characters drifting uncertainly on the edges of a world partitioned by unspoken laws of class, race and gender.
March 3, 2017
After "Voices from the Street", PKD tries again to make his public enjoy the life of an artist, seen from a impersonal and sometimes too rational point of view.
I'm a huge fan of VftS, and even though that is not the PKD I came to like and enjoy very much, I think he did an amazing job. That said, he tried again with this book, but I think he ended up having something that didn't quite work out. Not for me at least.
Mary is a horrendous character, I hated her, and every single word she muttered or shouted or said. The constellation of people orbiting around her are simply pale in comparison to the woman, as they are described, but never understood by the pen of the author, so I didn't quite feel the story as something real, and I must say that I hated every single line of it. I am sorry PKD.
I'm a huge fan of VftS, and even though that is not the PKD I came to like and enjoy very much, I think he did an amazing job. That said, he tried again with this book, but I think he ended up having something that didn't quite work out. Not for me at least.
Mary is a horrendous character, I hated her, and every single word she muttered or shouted or said. The constellation of people orbiting around her are simply pale in comparison to the woman, as they are described, but never understood by the pen of the author, so I didn't quite feel the story as something real, and I must say that I hated every single line of it. I am sorry PKD.
February 10, 2016
The depth of characters in Mary and the Giant is incredible, and with Philip K. Dick staying completely away from sci fi elements his ingenuity is concentrated completely on character study and interaction. The narrative is minimal in scope, a small town drama with characters so believable that I have memories of the book that are as vivid as film. As usual the author has made some hilarious observations which give the impression that he had such fun commenting on the sometimes absurd, sad and obscene behaviour of humans, that I often have the image of him laughing out loud while he wrote. He writes in a fantastic way that seems to highlight how much of a parody the real can seem to be, and how this can be so amusing on one level yet sad on another. An excellently quiet book, yet so loud in presenting the thoughts and dreams of characters that it is just as memorable as Philip K. Dick's more famous high concept sci-fi works.
April 14, 2016
Now here we are again back to a book that is not science fiction. It's one of Dick's dramas that features more or less normal people... circa 1950. Dick's heroes are generally ahead of the times, in their attitudes toward race and this book is no exception. Our heroin has a relationship with an older black musician.
Perhaps I was drawn into the story when she swapped her musician for a man twice her age. I've dated much older women... and now that I'm older, much younger women and hearing people's attitudes toward that always fascinates me. I wondered if they'd have the same issues that I've had ... some of the cultural disconnections that happen with age.
Nothing ended the way I had hoped, but I felt satisfied somehow with the whole story. I highly recommend.
Perhaps I was drawn into the story when she swapped her musician for a man twice her age. I've dated much older women... and now that I'm older, much younger women and hearing people's attitudes toward that always fascinates me. I wondered if they'd have the same issues that I've had ... some of the cultural disconnections that happen with age.
Nothing ended the way I had hoped, but I felt satisfied somehow with the whole story. I highly recommend.
Read
February 9, 201965 "One Who" capitialization seemed incomplete for referring to Jesus by title
121 kow - know
146 "To get the coffeepot. - indentation was half width
Goes along with "old men going after young women" trend I've been on having watched Valerie & Her Week of Wonders & The Audition. The largest age gap goes to The Game Players of Titan, however, where Mary Anne is an eighteen year old who's getting somewhat involved with some guy who's a century & a half old
The illustration is inaccurate: Mary Anne is described at a few points throughout the novel as being short haired
121 kow - know
146 "To get the coffeepot. - indentation was half width
Goes along with "old men going after young women" trend I've been on having watched Valerie & Her Week of Wonders & The Audition. The largest age gap goes to The Game Players of Titan, however, where Mary Anne is an eighteen year old who's getting somewhat involved with some guy who's a century & a half old
The illustration is inaccurate: Mary Anne is described at a few points throughout the novel as being short haired
August 22, 2013
Small town California in the 50s through the story of young Mary. A 20yr old that's ready to declare independence and yet with no clear idea on how to go about it. She's vulnerable and yet has the strength to get herself through and out of some uncomfortable and even dangerous situations. The 50s vignettes made for an interesting read.
June 23, 2010
I had no idea Dick wrote literary fiction until I found this (and a few other titles) at the library. This is a really compelling book, and it confirms my feeling that Dick writes Northern California better than just about any other writer, in any genre.
December 7, 2016
The word that comes to mind when I want to talk about Philip K. Dick's mainstream fiction is "evocative." There is something about the way he captured the 1950's American west that captivates me. Certain authors have a knack for writing about a certain place and time, and for Dick that place and time is 1950's and 60's California. To a reader in the early 21st century, that's as exotic a place as any of the planets or alternate realities he wrote about in his science fiction. This is the time when every small town has a main street lined with little shops, each one owned by an actual person. Before the big box stores and outsourcing. The conservative social mores of the prewar era are just starting to come under attack. We can see that through the lens of hindsight, but Dick's characters can't.
Mary Anne Reynolds, the title character, is a prototype of the "troubled young woman" character that would later appear in many, many Dick novels. However, here we get a subtler, more nuanced version of the over-the-top shrews that sometimes appear in his later books. Mary is simultaneously naive and practical, spontaneous and deeply apprehensive. She has a developed backstory, and even (gasp!) a character development arc. I think some of this is because his portrayal of Mary predates his tumultuous divorces, and I also suspect she is a rare example of a female character that Dick based on his mother, rather than one of his wives or girlfriends. She is much more in line with Angel Archer from The Transmigration of Timothy Archer than most of the women he wrote in the intervening years. Mary escapes an abusive father to erratically wander through a couple of self-destructive relationships with older men, and quits several jobs in the meantime. But in the end, she seems to find stability and even some happiness. A direction in her life at the very least. The final chapter could legitimately be criticized as a Hollywood happy ending cop-out, but it does give her the development and resolution that so many of Dick's female characters didn't get. In most ways it is a more conventional story than Dick's other novels, but it is a more satisfying reading experience than many of his more experimental works. An interesting snapshot of Dick as a young writer just getting a grip on his craft.
Mary Anne Reynolds, the title character, is a prototype of the "troubled young woman" character that would later appear in many, many Dick novels. However, here we get a subtler, more nuanced version of the over-the-top shrews that sometimes appear in his later books. Mary is simultaneously naive and practical, spontaneous and deeply apprehensive. She has a developed backstory, and even (gasp!) a character development arc. I think some of this is because his portrayal of Mary predates his tumultuous divorces, and I also suspect she is a rare example of a female character that Dick based on his mother, rather than one of his wives or girlfriends. She is much more in line with Angel Archer from The Transmigration of Timothy Archer than most of the women he wrote in the intervening years. Mary escapes an abusive father to erratically wander through a couple of self-destructive relationships with older men, and quits several jobs in the meantime. But in the end, she seems to find stability and even some happiness. A direction in her life at the very least. The final chapter could legitimately be criticized as a Hollywood happy ending cop-out, but it does give her the development and resolution that so many of Dick's female characters didn't get. In most ways it is a more conventional story than Dick's other novels, but it is a more satisfying reading experience than many of his more experimental works. An interesting snapshot of Dick as a young writer just getting a grip on his craft.
June 17, 2012
My Philip K. Dick Project #10
Entry #10: Mary and the Giant (written late 1954-early ‘55, published April 1987)
Mary and the Giant is an odd book. This is Dick’s third “mainstream” novel, although like most of them went unpublished during his lifetime. Like Voices From the Street, it follows the disintegration of a life over a short period, in this case, the title character, Mary Anne Reynolds.
Mary is an interesting character, a twenty year-old only child of a dysfunctional marriage. She’s childlike, naive, impetuous, but at the same time serious and smart. Throughout the book, Mary is a tough character to get a bead on. Some of her dialog is frankly ridiculous, but charming nonetheless.
Like Voices From the Street, Mary is infused with a sort of weary melancholy, but never goes to the same extremes as Voices did in its final moments. It’s a quiet sort of book, for the most part, tighter and better constructed than Voices. A few moments are surprisingly heartbreaking, especially Mary and Schilling’s final scene. The ending follows the same structure as Voices and is perhaps a little too pat.
Mary is a broken person, and so is everyone in this book. So is everyone, Dick says in this book, but still whole and unique in their own ways. There’s a sort of quiet and unspoken humanity that runs through this book, not quite apparent to me except upon reflection. Schilling himself is one of my favorite Dick characters, a big gentle old man whose biggest dream is to have his own classical record store in a sleepy California town. Dick’s passion for music runs throughout this book, from extensive discussion of Schilling’s extensive classical tastes to the soulful performances of Tweany at the black bar, The Lazy Wren, to Mary and the other kids bop music.
I’m not sure Dick could ever have been a great mainstream author, but he was no slouch either. He so wanted these books to be published, so I hope wherever he is, he gets some measure of comfort knowing that these little treasures are being read alongside his more famous sci-fi works.
Stray thoughts:
# Like Voices From The Street, this is worth reading for it’s depiction of 50‘s California alone.
My edition: Gollancz Hardcover, 1988
Up next: “The Man Who Japed”!
Entry #10: Mary and the Giant (written late 1954-early ‘55, published April 1987)
Mary and the Giant is an odd book. This is Dick’s third “mainstream” novel, although like most of them went unpublished during his lifetime. Like Voices From the Street, it follows the disintegration of a life over a short period, in this case, the title character, Mary Anne Reynolds.
Mary is an interesting character, a twenty year-old only child of a dysfunctional marriage. She’s childlike, naive, impetuous, but at the same time serious and smart. Throughout the book, Mary is a tough character to get a bead on. Some of her dialog is frankly ridiculous, but charming nonetheless.
Like Voices From the Street, Mary is infused with a sort of weary melancholy, but never goes to the same extremes as Voices did in its final moments. It’s a quiet sort of book, for the most part, tighter and better constructed than Voices. A few moments are surprisingly heartbreaking, especially Mary and Schilling’s final scene. The ending follows the same structure as Voices and is perhaps a little too pat.
Mary is a broken person, and so is everyone in this book. So is everyone, Dick says in this book, but still whole and unique in their own ways. There’s a sort of quiet and unspoken humanity that runs through this book, not quite apparent to me except upon reflection. Schilling himself is one of my favorite Dick characters, a big gentle old man whose biggest dream is to have his own classical record store in a sleepy California town. Dick’s passion for music runs throughout this book, from extensive discussion of Schilling’s extensive classical tastes to the soulful performances of Tweany at the black bar, The Lazy Wren, to Mary and the other kids bop music.
I’m not sure Dick could ever have been a great mainstream author, but he was no slouch either. He so wanted these books to be published, so I hope wherever he is, he gets some measure of comfort knowing that these little treasures are being read alongside his more famous sci-fi works.
Stray thoughts:
# Like Voices From The Street, this is worth reading for it’s depiction of 50‘s California alone.
My edition: Gollancz Hardcover, 1988
Up next: “The Man Who Japed”!
March 21, 2012
This has all the stuff I like about Dick; memorable characters with great dialogue and, even though this is not a scifi novel, a protagonist having trouble with reality. What I admire most though is just how prescient it was. 'Someday, in a hundred years, her world might exist. It did not exist now. He thought that he saw the new outlines of it. She was not completely alone, and she had not invented it in a single-handed effort. Her world was partially shared, imperfectly communicated. The persons in it had insufficient contact; they could not communicate with each other, at least not yet.' He wrote this sometime between 1951-53. This quote and the few hundred words either side of it are what pulled this novel together for me. I can't help but wonder what kind of controversy this novel would have caused had it been published at the time. One of those novels that gets better in the few hours after finishing it. A lingerer for sure.
May 25, 2013
A story about a quirky messed up, rather paranoid, all over the pathological map girl. It's no "Crap Artist" masterpiece but a pretty neat book just the same.
Yet another of Dick's lost 50's "non-genre" gems.
Yet another of Dick's lost 50's "non-genre" gems.
June 30, 2015
It is not often I listen/read regular fiction and now it happened twice in the row. Book illustrates very well situation in America in the middle of twentieth century and shows which challenges independent woman faced if she would ignore social norms.
May 15, 2018
Pocos personajes tan odiosos como Mary Anne Reynolds. Con razón esta novela estuvo tanto tiempo sin publicarse.
April 8, 2023
A lesser known early PKD realist fiction featuring a love triangle pushing social norms in the 1950s and centered around a record store- classic.
This one however didn't have any of the endearing character quirks nor an evident culmination in a witty denouement that one will find in other PKD realist fiction like The Broken Bubble, Confessions of a Crap Artist, or The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike, so Mary and the Giant will only going to get a 3/5 from us. Not a bad book, but quiet dry, very boomer liberal perspective. The main character Mary is quite sympathetic, but struck us as a prototype antecedent of the precocious girlboss feminism that has become so tiresome these days.
This one however didn't have any of the endearing character quirks nor an evident culmination in a witty denouement that one will find in other PKD realist fiction like The Broken Bubble, Confessions of a Crap Artist, or The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike, so Mary and the Giant will only going to get a 3/5 from us. Not a bad book, but quiet dry, very boomer liberal perspective. The main character Mary is quite sympathetic, but struck us as a prototype antecedent of the precocious girlboss feminism that has become so tiresome these days.
September 26, 2025
Despite a few touching lines and the sense that Dick himself is aware of the shortcomings of this « mainstream » novel, MARY AND THE GIANT will not not likely change the face of the Earth, and will be quite difficult to understand and appreciate in 2025.
June 10, 2020
I'm a full on dickhead, and I enjoy most of his mundane work, but this one doesn't work for me. He's trying to say something about the protagonist, Mary, but I'm just not getting it. She has a weird, annoying, impulsive personality, which is well laid out, but I don't get why she's that way or what it means.
May 27, 2013
I must admit I found this book to be quite odd. But not in a normal nice Philip K Dick odd way. There were some really great elements to this story, a young woman (20) who was working and hanging out in a jazz bar, wanting to get together with the black jazz singer. Unhappy in her life and the conventions around her. But things would happen and I'd be like, that sounds like fun, and the characters would be frightened or something would happen that I thought seemed rather creepy and they were happy. When I read a Kerouac book I totally get it. I've been to those parties, I've hung out with those people and had those conversations. His writing seems so true to me. This was as if it was written about a whole different world, even though he was writing about the same time as Kerouac and similar things.
There were still parts I enjoyed, up until the ending. In the end the girl decided she needed to not take the money from her 58 year old boss/sugar daddy and break out on her own. She gave up the expensive apartment he'd rented for her and got herself a room in a black boarding house. She went and quit her job and the old guy tried to get her to break out on her own. To think about moving, getting a career, going back to school so she could be independent. Then tells her to go hang out with her friend. I thought this is really great, young woman turning away from romance to go on her own and make something of herself. Then it turns out her friend also has feelings for her the last scene is her with a baby while the man is away getting an education for a new career and working. I don't know if we're supposed to have thought she was pregnant before she hooked up with the guy or that she hooked up with him and then got pregnant. But it was a totally lame ending. Her sitting in a park with a baby waiting for her man to come back. A man who in the story had only really done two things, puked in the toilet at the part and banged his head and passed out, and help her paint her new apartment. Neither really seemed to give much indication of him being a great guy.
So I can see why Philip K Dick didn't really get his career going writing non-scifi. I actually think A Scanner Darkly is a MUCH better non-scifi book just about people's lives.
There were still parts I enjoyed, up until the ending. In the end the girl decided she needed to not take the money from her 58 year old boss/sugar daddy and break out on her own. She gave up the expensive apartment he'd rented for her and got herself a room in a black boarding house. She went and quit her job and the old guy tried to get her to break out on her own. To think about moving, getting a career, going back to school so she could be independent. Then tells her to go hang out with her friend. I thought this is really great, young woman turning away from romance to go on her own and make something of herself. Then it turns out her friend also has feelings for her the last scene is her with a baby while the man is away getting an education for a new career and working. I don't know if we're supposed to have thought she was pregnant before she hooked up with the guy or that she hooked up with him and then got pregnant. But it was a totally lame ending. Her sitting in a park with a baby waiting for her man to come back. A man who in the story had only really done two things, puked in the toilet at the part and banged his head and passed out, and help her paint her new apartment. Neither really seemed to give much indication of him being a great guy.
So I can see why Philip K Dick didn't really get his career going writing non-scifi. I actually think A Scanner Darkly is a MUCH better non-scifi book just about people's lives.
April 14, 2013
Mary è una giovane ragazza intrappolata in un mondo, in un'esistenza che non sente sua, che in effetti non lo è e che fino a quel momento aveva tentato in tutti i modi di rigettarla. Per sopravvivere e per non farsi inghiottire dal suo demone Mary si aggrappa ad uomini più grandi di lei e apparentemente forti e quando anche questi la deludono si rifugia in se stessa chiudendo chiunque altro fuori. Quello che lei cerca è solamente amore. Lotta con le unghia e con i denti per riuscire a conquistarsi un piccolo angolo di tranquillità in quel mondo che è l'unico in cui le è concesso di vivere.
Mary vive un forte dissidio che la lacera e la spinge ad un comportamento incoerente, spesso dettato da emozioni e sentimenti nati quasi per caso. Cerca disperatamente di trovare un equilibrio tra il bisogno spasmodico di aiuto, di avere qualcuno cui affidarsi completamente, e quello altrettanto pressante di essere libera, di non dover dipendere da nessuno.
Il titolo del romanzo “Mary e il gigante” è a mio parere fortemente significativo. La sua chiave di lettura è duplice. Chiarisce la natura dei rapporti che la protagonista instaura con gli uomini della sua vita, ma, una volta terminato il libro, appare evidente che il gigante di cui si fa menzione è l'ombra stessa di Mary, dei suoi timori, problemi e tormenti.
In conclusione credo che Dick con questo romanzo abbia saputo perfettamente ricreare una realtà forte ed emblematica del periodo in cui i fatti sono ambientati, anche se molti sono gli spunti che spingono il lettore a riflettere sul periodo che noi stiamo vivendo.
Mary vive un forte dissidio che la lacera e la spinge ad un comportamento incoerente, spesso dettato da emozioni e sentimenti nati quasi per caso. Cerca disperatamente di trovare un equilibrio tra il bisogno spasmodico di aiuto, di avere qualcuno cui affidarsi completamente, e quello altrettanto pressante di essere libera, di non dover dipendere da nessuno.
Il titolo del romanzo “Mary e il gigante” è a mio parere fortemente significativo. La sua chiave di lettura è duplice. Chiarisce la natura dei rapporti che la protagonista instaura con gli uomini della sua vita, ma, una volta terminato il libro, appare evidente che il gigante di cui si fa menzione è l'ombra stessa di Mary, dei suoi timori, problemi e tormenti.
In conclusione credo che Dick con questo romanzo abbia saputo perfettamente ricreare una realtà forte ed emblematica del periodo in cui i fatti sono ambientati, anche se molti sono gli spunti che spingono il lettore a riflettere sul periodo che noi stiamo vivendo.
September 11, 2012
It's hard to form a clear judgment of Mary and the Giant in the context of either the 1980s, when it was published, or today. It's a book of and about the 50s that couldn't have been published in its own time. There are a complex combination of things going on here: intentional racism by the antagonists, unintentional racism sneaking in because of the time, an appalling indifference to Mary's sexual abuse at the hands of her father (even as an adult), all wrapped up in the recurring theme of rescue that could either be plot symmetry or the 50s idea that the solution to every girl's problem is being carried somewhere by a man. Seriously. It's like they think Mary can't walk, despite having seen her do so many times.
But. The story itself, of a small-town girl trying to escape herself before ultimately learning that where you go, there you are, is quite interesting. Like Dick's sci-fi, it's fast paced and totally readable, and many of the characters are relateable and enjoyable. I'd have liked a little more backstory on some of them, and a more detailed epilogue, but Dick was never a man for details. That forthright directness is what keeps Mary and the Giant from descending into standard romantic drivel. And the lack of drivel is, in a nutshell, what kept it from being published for 25 years.
But. The story itself, of a small-town girl trying to escape herself before ultimately learning that where you go, there you are, is quite interesting. Like Dick's sci-fi, it's fast paced and totally readable, and many of the characters are relateable and enjoyable. I'd have liked a little more backstory on some of them, and a more detailed epilogue, but Dick was never a man for details. That forthright directness is what keeps Mary and the Giant from descending into standard romantic drivel. And the lack of drivel is, in a nutshell, what kept it from being published for 25 years.
August 7, 2018
Mary and the Giant may be one of Dick's oddest books. Which is strange considering it's not science fiction. It's merely a story of a girl. I wanted to like the book, but I hated the protagonist. Mary is the epitome of neurosis. The most interesting thing about this book, that kept me hooked, was the time period. Reading this book so far after it was written was like seeing the changes in history. A woman who behaves like Mary in today's society would most certainly be on prescription medication. She's bi-polar and maybe even partially schizophrenic. But after reading it, I wonder more about if that's how people should be? Maybe in Dick's time, that was just normal. Old movies always show men slapping women to calm them down. Saying that women don't make sense. But in today's society, a prescription is considered the right answer. I'm sure I am seeing this book completely different than how Dick wanted it to be read. Men from that time period to now still behave the same. Trailing after the pretty girl even though they know it's their downfall. I don't know if I can recommend this book. It's not like any other of Dick's work but it still is intriguing for sure.
October 8, 2007
I read somewhere that Philip K. Dick, for all his science fiction success, had difficulty getting his work outside the genre published, so a lot of his work set in contemporary times was released after his death. If such a scenario is the case with Mary and the Giant, it would go a long way toward explaining this novel's shortcomings. The story of a young woman trying to find her way in 1953 small-town America, with its visionary undercurrents of feminism and racial prejudice, could perhaps have been one of the defining works of the second-half of the 20th century. Instead, it reads like a first draft, with characters too hazily defined for the reader to connect with and a prose style that, while beautiful at times, is in sore need of sharpening. Had this book been published in his lifetime, I imagine the author could have made significant headway toward these issues in the editing and rewriting process.
March 20, 2016
The depth of characters in Mary and the Giant is incredible, and with Philip K. Dick staying completely away from sci fi elements his ingenuity is concentrated completely on character study and interaction. The narrative is minimal in scope, a small town drama with characters so believable that I have memories of the book that are as vivid as film. As usual the author has made some hilarious observations which give the impression that he had such fun commenting on the sometimes absurd, sad and obscene behaviour of humans, that I often have the image of him laughing out loud while he wrote. He writes in a fantastic way that seems to highlight how much of a parody the real can seem to be, and how this can be so amusing on one level yet sad on another. An excellently quiet book, yet so loud in presenting the thoughts and dreams of characters that it is just as memorable as Philip K. Dick's more famous high concept sci-fi works.
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