The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

“Isn't a miserable reality better than the most interesting illusion?”

Wow. What a wild ride!
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A classic, mind-bending Dick that was probably the inspiration for Inception. It took me a few days to put the broken pieces of my brain back together after this one. Along with “Ubik”, “The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch” is now officially one of my favorite Dick novels. Man, that feeling after finishing the book, I was completely helpless. ⠀
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I'm not into religion and, in fact, I agree with what Fran Schein said to Barney: outdated junk. However, that mix of drugs and religion was masterfully executed. There were times when I thought “Oh, okay. We are going back to reality.” And then ... boom! “I guess not”. This is what I like the most about Dick's writing: nothing is what it seems, you can't tell the difference between what is real and what is not. Even in the end you are just a victim of ambiguity and subjective interpretations are left open. Michael Moorcock criticized the narrative as “incoherent” and, you know what, I agree. The plot can be incoherent, bumpy, erratic or whatever you want to call it but that's part of its beauty. ⠀
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Sometimes words are not enough. This is a masterpiece.