Book Review: The Search For Philip K. Dick by Anne R. Dick

The Search For Philip K. Dick by Anne R.  Dick

279 pages, Paperback

October 2010 by Tachyon Publications

I have many thoughts on this book and the first one I have to get out of the way is the fact that I can't read this book like a civilian. What I mean is that through the course of doing 6 year now of Philip K. Dick research, including a hundred or so podcast episodes, and many articles and currently writing my own book, this book is an incredible resource. I avoided this book for a while. Then I was In Indiana at the famous Vons bookstore off the Purdue Campus and impressed by their PKD, and decided I would pick up a book I needed for the podcast.

Introduced by my homey David Gill, I thought this was the time. I hesitated because I wasn't sure it would be a fair book. Written by Anne Rubenstein Dick - this biography was written by Phil's third wife. For years Phil and Anne's relationship was brutal. He claimed to be afraid of her reminding anyone who would listen that her first died, and he thought she was going to kill him. In a haze, he also chased her away from his home in Oakland with a pistol. Yeah, some not-pretty moments.  I really don't like to dwell on the negative.

That said with the latest project I am researching the minute to minute stuff is the details I need and in this book Anne provides crazy amounts of detail.  The other reason why is this...despite the roller coaster that the Point Reyes/ Anne marriage years were I consider it to be the best period of Phil's writing career. I also know some avoided this book assuming that Anne would just beat up Phil. I personally she was fair. It is clear she wanted to set the record straight and defend herself. Which is fair as there are multiple biographies, movies etc out there.

Anne clearly still loved and respected Phil. This memoir starts with the relationship they had and then through detailed research, Anne tried to understand Phil. She is trying to understand what happened to her marriage and in the process we are trying to understand the writer.    She has her reason to research and write it and we have our reason to read it. They are totally different but the finished book is an important document.

Keep in mind Anne is not a writer, and as such there are some clumsy details. At times there are more details than the average reader needs. THAT SAID. that is stuff that Dickheads like myself are totally digging into. Does the average reader need to know that was Anne who picked the Ludwig Binswanger book at the library? No, but this researcher certainly noted it. David Gill in the introduction pointed out that Anne told us which piece (the old shoe) Phil choose for family monopoly. Does the average reader need a chart of the real-life friends on whom Phil based the characters in Dr.  Bloodmoney after? Dickheads will eat it up.

Anne could've hated Phil, he certainly crushed her publically, it seemed clear friends that knew her saw through Phil's stories. Either way, it seems clear to me that Anne without coming out and saying as much blamed the drugs for what happened to Phil, her marriage, and the relationships that came later. Phil said as much in A Scanner Darkly and The Divine Madness of PKD by Kyle Arnold makes a great case for this.  

I gained lots of respect for  Anne,  not that I didn't have it before. She could've been more bitter but the way she approached this project. This book is important to the scholarship of Philip K. Dick. A must read for anyone trying to understand one of the most important voices of the