This PKD novel is a tale of Negroes, Jews, Neanderthals, and marital strife in rural Marin County. Like some of Dick's other realist fiction, certain plot points and settings are recycled. Here, for example, the idea of planting a fake artifact over land and community disputes (like in The Penultimate Truth) is used. Furthermore, like The Simulacra, a community of 'chuppers' (or Neanderthal-like people) in Northern California is repeated. However, where this novel gets interesting for fans of PKD are the questions of racism, marriage, and anti-Semitism. Leo Runcible, one of the major characters, and a Jew in a lily-white rural Marin County community, must deal with the anti-Semitic remarks and social discrimination Jews of the time experienced. Moreover, despite serving in World War II, and making a fuss about defending the rights of African-Americans, Runcible begins a conflict with neighbor Walt Dombrosio because the latter invited an African-American mechanic (and friend) into his home when Runcible's friends were visiting (Runcible was hoping to sell a home to his friend and involve him with the future development of Carquinez). Unfortunately, Dick only uses the black mechanic as a prop for understanding the way racial and social prejudices of the time impact the two dysfunctional married couples at the center of the novel.
Rape, abortion, alcoholism, racism, and the dilemma of loving and understanding another person abound in this novel, particularly with Walt and Sherry Dombrosio. Sherry, the product of an upper-class family, belittles and controls her husband, works outside the home against his permission, and Walt must confront the gender battles of the day, and like everyone else in the community, must confront the larger social totality which defines and limits their actions while trying to find some principles to abide by. Runcible attempts this through the noble effort of purchasing the water company and improving sanitation, and perhaps like the Indian relics they find and the ersatz Neanderthal-like residents of the more recent past, they're trapped with the fundamental uncertainty of the world around them. Will Carquinez experience "development" and invasion of the city? What about the negative impact of capitalist development on the environment, the dying descendants of the oyster farmers? Regardless of how one feels about the battle of capital and labor, simulation and reality, this realist novel is a hilarious account of rural life in Marin County.
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