Reviews

Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick

leviathandreamer's review against another edition

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

cdbaker's review against another edition

2.0

I read this for a book club. I...don't understand why we think of Philip K. Dick as a great writer. I tried to consider that this book was written in 1974 and think of how it might have been groundbreaking for its time, but it had very few redeeming features. The main character was terrible, PKD wrote women as if he'd never met one, and massive aspects of the story just seem like they went completely unexplained. Ugh.

mightysparks's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

corvid133's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

batbones's review against another edition

4.0

A winding immersive dystopian novel which at first poses a mystery that unravels eventually to depict what is essentially a thought experiment on mind/universe dynamics - can a change in the mind alter a person's reality? And more implausibly but no less interestingly, can such a change in perception have ramifications on shared reality and so the realities of others? The key unsurprisingly is drugs, but despite the familiar themes and occupations - oppressive states, surveillance, the relationship between personal identity and outward/official identity, genetic modification, 'prince and the pauper' reversals - the story still feels fresh and fascinating. Philip K. Dick builds gorgeous, compelling worlds and characters out of these ideas. My favourite is the unexpected poetry that resides within the stories, that even after all the exploration of concepts, the fleshing out of characters and the new world, there is still room for the exquisite songs of John Dowland, and moments of sheer tenderness between human beings.

daicongrrl's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

ngrosky89's review against another edition

3.0

Fast paced and fun to read, but the ending fell short. I'm used to PKD novels making my head explode with revaltions by the end...this one doesn't quite live up to the standards I have from previous books.

smalefowles's review against another edition

3.0

When I was younger, I just sailed through PKD's idea-laden tales, and all the bleakness just sort of rolled off my hopeful back. Now that I'm aged and broken, I can only read a PKD novel every two months or so, and that's probably actually too often.

What I'm saying is that I expected the police state and ontological uncertainty, but wasn't braced for the interrogation of the nature and survival of grief.

Flow my tears, indeed.

gsroney's review against another edition

3.0

“But look at the aspirations of that rabbit and look at his failing. A little life trying. And all the time it was hopeless. But the rabbit didn't know that. Or maybe did know and kept trying anyhow. But I think he didn't understand. He just wanted to do it so badly. It was his whole life, because he loved the cats.”

Kind of disjointed and definitely one of Dick's weaker works, with the dressings and potential of being great.

leahlusk91's review against another edition

2.0

I was not a fan of this book sadly. It was honestly one that I suffered through because a good friend said it was his favorite. . . but I haaaave to disagree. The only emotion evoked in me, the reader, was pure agony. No likable characters. Not one. The ending- don't get me started. Don't want to leave any spoilers but I was outwardly yelling as go through the last 30 pages. Next!