Scan barcode
A review by liviajelliot
Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I have several mixed feelings with this book but, ultimately, I feel that the scientific theories inspiring this book are so incredibly outdated and debunked that it has now become offensive and ableist in parts.
Before the sour part, let's start with the good (non-spoiler) things!
PKD's prose in this book is simple and not at all fancy, yet it is somehow immersive and easy to read. A few sentences into the first chapter and I was already imagining the entire setting (I'm quite a visual reader) even though there are few descriptions and almost-no info-dump.
Another interesting point is how characters are interrelated. This is a multi-pov story that goes around a group of people whose actions end up affecting each other quiet heavily--and often unbeknownst to them. As a result, each chapter moves from one character to another, getting from them both a very unique and personal interpretation of the world, but also seeing how someone else's decisions end up having unintended effects.
Another interesting point is how common and day-to-day the world feels. This is a story about common people, involved in common activities, with common problems, and who end up being affected by something out of the ordinary. PKD presented that feeling of commonality very well, making some of their problems feel relatable amidst this vastly different world.
Of course, we also have the main character, Arnie Lott, who from his first appearance we already know he's an ass. This is not a "likeable" character--he is disgusting and the worst type of rich, entitled, mafia-like boss--and he is presented as such. Some times, even his gestures are disgusting, so you have to expect his opinions on people are also disgusting.
Now moving into warning territory, something to consider is that this book was published in 1964, and it is set in an alternate 1992 in which humankind has established a colony on Mars. As a result, there are several world-views that are too characteristic of the time in which it was written, and some fears that were propagated into this alternate future because--at that time--they were seen as perennial/untamable threats.
In terms of the setting (this is not a spoiler revelation, it's made clear quite soon on the story), there were actual Martians on Mars... who apparently are humans. Within this book, the martians are called Bleekmen, and described as having African features; as you may have guessed, they're often enslaved by the colonisers. The Bleekmen are portrayed as a very primitive society which doesn't even craft ceramic vases, instead using eggshells as vases; they have remained for centuries in a hunter-gatherer society, are superstitious, and speak with difficulty. It is awful, especially because of the name the author gave this native population.
To make matters worse, Arnie (the main character, you could say) has a slave Bleekman (called Helio), and refers to him as "his tame Bleekman".Note that there may be some intended meaning around this usage of the word 'tame' since Helio ends up sending Arnie in a quest that gets Arnie killed. I am honestly not sure if this adjective was an intended irony or not. You can imagine that the N-word is flung about mercilessly, that Bleekmen are not even considered human (by some characters, others do not share this view), and that to some extent, there is a particularly annoying trope. This trope, according to TV Tropes' definition: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicalNegro
To continue diving into problematic territory, in this in-book setting, there are cities that actually belong to Earth's countries. There is a New Israel, and every character believes the Jews living there are be rich or involved in power maneuvers (among other tropes).
Most concerningly, New Israel has a school that is called "Camp B-G" which is actually just an asylum for children with autism and psychosis. Here is where the problems begin. I'll have to continue with spoiler tags. Before that, let me clarify that the science in this book is mostly psychology, and thus it is based on some long-debunked theories around autism, psychosis, and motherhood. And oh boy, it has not aged well.
First of all, the children at Camp B-G are referred to as "anomalous", and every single parent with a kid there keeps it as a secret. Several characters speak about how shameful it is to have given fathered "anomalous" children and, to make matters worse, some characters go to the extent of considering eutanasia as a merciful end for these children. It can become very difficult to read, truth to be told.
My main problem with <b>Martian Time Slip</b> is that the book is based on a theory from the '60s which stated that autism was the childhood onset of psychosis; I understand this was actually the interpretation presented in the DSM-II, circa 1964. You can read this paper from 2009 analysing those long-debunked theories: https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664646/
Likewise, many characters often speak of autism as an "acquired" disease (which is not), and/or caused by the "refrigerator mothers" (which is also not the cause). The Wiki has a somewhat decent summary about this problematic, long-debunked theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator_mother_theory
There are two named autistic boys in the book, and both mothers have Master degrees, are professional, independent, and have their own jobs... and both fathers actively blame their wives for their kids' autism. On the contrary, the in-book women that are portrayed as sexy are generally quiet, thin, laid back, and stereotypical. The author's view, perhaps? Don't know; haven't read much from PKD.
If you think that's terrible, there is actually worse in the book. The whole plot is about how these kids perceive the world differently and, in particular, Manfred (the autistic protagonist) sees the world faster and is sort of trapped seeing his own future as a senile man jailed in a carers' home. At several points, it is strongly implied that people with autism or psychosis have actually superpowers/telepathy. As a result, PKD ended up incurring in another undesirable trope, often known as the "mystical disability". You can read about it here: https://disabilityinkidlit.com/2014/08/01/corinne-duyvis-the-mystical-disability-trope/
Although the time-slip scene was curious, by that point in the story I had rolled my eyes way to much, and was thus unable to appreciate it. It is the very same definition of a book that did not age well.
Before the sour part, let's start with the good (non-spoiler) things!
PKD's prose in this book is simple and not at all fancy, yet it is somehow immersive and easy to read. A few sentences into the first chapter and I was already imagining the entire setting (I'm quite a visual reader) even though there are few descriptions and almost-no info-dump.
Another interesting point is how characters are interrelated. This is a multi-pov story that goes around a group of people whose actions end up affecting each other quiet heavily--and often unbeknownst to them. As a result, each chapter moves from one character to another, getting from them both a very unique and personal interpretation of the world, but also seeing how someone else's decisions end up having unintended effects.
Another interesting point is how common and day-to-day the world feels. This is a story about common people, involved in common activities, with common problems, and who end up being affected by something out of the ordinary. PKD presented that feeling of commonality very well, making some of their problems feel relatable amidst this vastly different world.
Of course, we also have the main character, Arnie Lott, who from his first appearance we already know he's an ass. This is not a "likeable" character--he is disgusting and the worst type of rich, entitled, mafia-like boss--and he is presented as such. Some times, even his gestures are disgusting, so you have to expect his opinions on people are also disgusting.
Now moving into warning territory, something to consider is that this book was published in 1964, and it is set in an alternate 1992 in which humankind has established a colony on Mars. As a result, there are several world-views that are too characteristic of the time in which it was written, and some fears that were propagated into this alternate future because--at that time--they were seen as perennial/untamable threats.
In terms of the setting (this is not a spoiler revelation, it's made clear quite soon on the story), there were actual Martians on Mars... who apparently are humans. Within this book, the martians are called Bleekmen, and described as having African features; as you may have guessed, they're often enslaved by the colonisers. The Bleekmen are portrayed as a very primitive society which doesn't even craft ceramic vases, instead using eggshells as vases; they have remained for centuries in a hunter-gatherer society, are superstitious, and speak with difficulty. It is awful, especially because of the name the author gave this native population.
To make matters worse, Arnie (the main character, you could say) has a slave Bleekman (called Helio), and refers to him as "his tame Bleekman".
To continue diving into problematic territory, in this in-book setting, there are cities that actually belong to Earth's countries. There is a New Israel, and every character believes the Jews living there are be rich or involved in power maneuvers (among other tropes).
Most concerningly, New Israel has a school that is called "Camp B-G" which is actually just an asylum for children with autism and psychosis. Here is where the problems begin. I'll have to continue with spoiler tags. Before that, let me clarify that the science in this book is mostly psychology, and thus it is based on some long-debunked theories around autism, psychosis, and motherhood. And oh boy, it has not aged well.
My main problem with <b>Martian Time Slip</b> is that the book is based on a theory from the '60s which stated that autism was the childhood onset of psychosis; I understand this was actually the interpretation presented in the DSM-II, circa 1964. You can read this paper from 2009 analysing those long-debunked theories: https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664646/
Likewise, many characters often speak of autism as an "acquired" disease (which is not), and/or caused by the "refrigerator mothers" (which is also not the cause). The Wiki has a somewhat decent summary about this problematic, long-debunked theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator_mother_theory
There are two named autistic boys in the book, and both mothers have Master degrees, are professional, independent, and have their own jobs... and both fathers actively blame their wives for their kids' autism. On the contrary, the in-book women that are portrayed as sexy are generally quiet, thin, laid back, and stereotypical. The author's view, perhaps? Don't know; haven't read much from PKD.
If you think that's terrible, there is actually worse in the book. The whole plot is about how these kids perceive the world differently and, in particular, Manfred (the autistic protagonist) sees the world faster and is sort of trapped seeing his own future as a senile man jailed in a carers' home. At several points, it is strongly implied that people with autism or psychosis have actually superpowers/telepathy. As a result, PKD ended up incurring in another undesirable trope, often known as the "mystical disability". You can read about it here: https://disabilityinkidlit.com/2014/08/01/corinne-duyvis-the-mystical-disability-trope/
Although the time-slip scene was curious, by that point in the story I had rolled my eyes way to much, and was thus unable to appreciate it. It is the very same definition of a book that did not age well.