Valis, by Philip K. Dick

             Dick, is a hard book to put into a genre. It is part science fiction, part religion, part philosophy, and part autobiography. Dick took used elements of each to create a truly unique novel about a schizophrenic man's decent into insanity, the irrationality of the universe, and the hidden mysteries of reality.
             This story really only has one main character, protagonist Horselover Fat. Fat (as Horselover Fat is referred to throughout the book) is, if anything, an intelligent man. This is revealed throughout the book. Fat does, and has done, many drugs. This leads to his mental breakdown (which this story chronicles), "His psychiatrist once told him that to get well he would have to do two things; get off dope (which he hadn't done)." (Dick 9). Fat is a very opinionated man, and he has great passion for what he believes in. More than many things, he is a cynic. His blatant cynicism becomes evident at many places in the book,.
             It reminds me of a girl I once knew who was dying of cancer. I visited her in the hospital and did not recognize her . and when I bent close to her to ask her how she felt she answered, when she could understand my question, "I feel that God is healing me." She had been religiously inclined and had planned to go into a religious order. On the metal stand next to her bed she had, or someone had, laid out her rosary. In my opinion a FUCK YOU, GOD sign would have been appropriate; the rosary was not. (Dick 25).
             (This book has great focus on religion and Fat's belief in God. This may seem contradictory to this last quote, however Fat doesn't hold the tradition Christian beliefs about God. Fat believes that he exists, but never does he say that he believes that he is deserving of praise.).
             This book has very little in the way of setting and plot. Valis is by no means a traditional novel with a lot of character development, a plot with a beginning, climax, and resolution, and a rich setting.