Post Mon Dec 03, 2007 12:28 am

Humpty Dumpty in Oakland

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Humpty Dumpty in Oakland (Hardcover)
by Philip K. Dick (Author)
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Tor Books (October 2, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0765316900
ISBN-13: 978-0765316905

http://www.amazon.com/Humpty-Dumpty-Oak ... 36&sr=1-26

From Booklist
Long before establishing himself as one of sf's foremost innovators, Dick served his writing apprenticeship by penning sober mainstream tales about harried American workers. First published in 1986 in England and now receiving American publication, this early novel recounts the intertwined fates of California-based used-car-salesman Al Miller and his aging landlord, Jim Fergusson. Perpetually down on his luck, Miller sees the world through cynical lenses, whereas Fergusson, despite a recent heart attack, remains optimistic. When Miller discovers that Fergusson is selling their shared business and taking the advice of a shady record producer to purchase a new one, he becomes suspicious. With the aim of undermining the deal, Miller recklessly talks his way into a job for the producer and bumbles headlong into life-unraveling charges of fraud. Dick aficionados will recognize the familiar themes of psychosis and confrontation with inimical powers that permeated his later work. As a formative novel, this book contains surprisingly strong writing and character development and reveals an interesting dimension of the Dick canon. Hays, Carl