Book Review: Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick (48 in 2012? #36)

     I seem to have found a theme running through the books I read, or at least the ones I have read and wrote about this year.  I feel I have written quite a bit about the idea of identity.  It seems to be something lots of authors feel the need to explore.  Wither they are dealing with their own issues with the subject or it's just a topic that is easy to mine great stories from, it has popped up time and time again in the books I have read for this 48 in 2012 challenge.  Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said is yet another example of an author exploring the loss of identity and the bigger issues this may lead to.  This story uses the idea of celebrity and it's fleeting nature to question how me define ourselves.
     Philip K. Dick is widely considered one of the greatest science fiction writers ever.  This novel is certainly proof of his genius.  Although it never reads as well as Vonnegut, the ideas conveyed are truly impressive and the world created is amazing.  Some of the dialogue may feel forced and stiff but it does little to undermine the true genius of the story Dick has created.  The characters are well drawn and compelling leaving the reader to care for them even if the world they live in and the actions they take seem a little odd.
     Flow My Tears is set in what would have been the future when the novel was written in 1974.  The feeling of being outdated can be the downfall of many a science fiction novel, but Dick was able to create a world that still feels fresh and possible today.  With the small exception that LPs were still the predominate form of playing music, he made a world that could still happen.  When thought in the context of when it was written, he may have even been ahead of its time with the way it deals with the idea of celebrity.  I wonder what Dick would have thought of today's insane obsession with celebrity, an obsession that seems to add to the points made in Flow My Tears.
     This book isn't for everybody.  As much as it may be a strong satire, it is still very much a science fiction story.  If you're not a fan of science fiction you will probably find it dense and confusing or just plane boring.  But, lucky for me, I love the genre and this book.