Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

8 reviews

happyharlequin319's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can understand why this book could be triggering to some people, but as a person who’s also struggled with addiction, I really resonated with the way that PKD portrayed what it’s like. It’s completely brutal and honest about both the ups and the downs of addiction and the ultimate cost for so many. While I didn’t necessarily agree with every single point that PKD tried to make, I could understand where he was coming from, which made this book really thought-provoking for me. Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone interested in a dark read set in a not too distant future (which is actually the past at this point). I’m a little torn on recommending this book for people who are/have been addicts in general. Just please be aware of where you’re at in life and know that this book could potentially be really triggering if you’re still struggling. That being said, it really helped me understand more about what I went through and helped me feel not so alone. So take with that what you will.
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funfamilyvideos's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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tomasalbanez's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Esse livro é uma loucura. Uma crítica à guerra às drogas do ponto de vista dos anos 60/70. 
Do mesmo jeito que o Kafka te faz sentir a morosidade e o tédio mortal em "O Processo", Philip K. Dick te faz sentir a perda da sanidade pela escrita desnorteada e serpenteante enquanto você acompanha o personagem principal em sua espiral rumo à insanidade. Quase não terminei o livro por causa disso e porque todas as mulheres são tratadas como um par de seios ambulantes (a única com mais personalidade é o cúmulo da Manic Pixie Dream Girl). 
Isso tudo se torna retroativamente muito mais interessante quando você lê a nota do autor e as entrevistas no final do livro que falam sobre a experiência dele com as drogas e suas pesquisas na psiquiatria, além de definir essa obra como "Um romance que trata de algumas pessoas que foram punidas demais pelo que fizeram", não vendo pessoas viciadas como vítimas da guerra contra as drogas, mas como "crianças que queriam se divertir, brincando na rua e testemunharam as crianças ao seu redor sendo mortas, mas ainda assim continuaram brincando".
Não esperem um final feliz.
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wtv's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny mysterious reflective
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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doctorw0rm's review against another edition

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

4.25

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kurumipanda's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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cerebulon's review against another edition

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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v171's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-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

3.0

This was equally interesting and depressing. I'd heard a lot of buzz about this several years ago when I believe there was a movie coming out, which initially piqued my interest. It details a depressing life of a police agent working undercover as a drug addict in a drug den, but subsequently becomes addicted to drugs in the process. Side effects of this drug include psychotic breaks that lead to him being unable to distinguish reality from hallucination. I found the overall story to be sadly realistic in the way that addicts are both criminalized but also used as tools in the legal system only to be discarded when they have no more utility. The twists were interesting and unexpected, but some of the logic fails when you take a moment to think about it. For example, this seems to be a pretty technologically advanced setting with scramble suits and the ability to hide advanced monitoring software, but for some reason there is still a reliance on getting police officers addicted to drugs in order to infiltrate crime circles. Like.. surely there's a better way. The characters weren't as fleshed out as much as I would have hoped and were honestly just used as props to move the story forward, but there were times when characters did bring a sense of charming realism to a scene or two. Overall, this book was fine. Quick read, but nothing to write home about in my opinion. 
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