Cardboard Universe, The: A Guide to the World of Phoebus K. Dank (P.S.) [Paperback]

Christopher Miller (Author)

Book Description

Series: P.S. | Publication Date: April 14, 2009

Genius or fraud? Hack or Hemingway? The life and work of obese, obsessive, logorrheic pulp novelist Phoebus K. Dank have long enflamed bitter controversy—and numerous drunken rants often culminating in vomiting, unconsciousness, or both. In this uproarious novel, Christopher Miller pulls back the curtain on two unforgettable critics—fawning scholar William Boswell (the world's leading Dankian) and his mortal enemy, the murderously snarky Owen Hirt. No stone is left unturned—and no gooey mess unstepped in—in this essential study of Dank's all-too-brief existence and all-too-extensive oeuvre.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Miller's follow-up to Sudden Noises from Inanimate Objects once again experiments with narrative, exploring the life and death of prolific science fiction novelist Phoebus K. Dank through a definitive encyclopedia of the author's work; the commentators—one sycophantic, one antagonistic—devote as much space writing about themselves as they spend on their subject. Dank, based loosely on Philip K. Dick, wrote scores of novels involving secret Martians, twins and doppelgängers, enhanced or diminished senses, and near-futures in which global warming and new viruses lead mankind in drastic new directions. Unlike Dick (who features in one of Dank's alternate universe tales), Dank is an extraordinary hack (though one of his commentators would violently disagree). The book is clever and often very funny, and the murder mystery at its heart is more complex than it first appears. A near total lack of dialogue, though, creates a feeling of endless description, and the structure lends itself to momentum-crippling padding. This novel should prove a delight, though, to science fiction fans with a sense of humor about their genre. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

There has been an enthusiastic resurgence of interest in Philip K. Dick ever since his death in 1982. Given the many biographies, reissued novels, and films based on his stories, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to spoof Dick’s unconventional life and literary legacy. In this “encyclopedia” of the late Phoebus K. Dank, the likenesses to Dick’s career are frequent and only thinly veiled. As were his counterpart’s, Dank’s formative years are spent in Berkeley, and his writing career moves from churning out potboiler fiction to winning sf awards while suffering intermittent psychological breakdowns. The encyclopedia’s A-to-Z entries constitute a fanciful mixture of Dank trivia, plot descriptions of Dank’s myriad stories, and thematic analysis. The most entertaining elements, however, are the arguments, sprinkled throughout the entries, among the volume’s Dank-obsessed biographers, one of whom is responsible for Dank’s demise. Must reading for Dick fans and anyone who enjoys a little irreverent fun at the expense of a literary idol. --Carl Hays

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1 edition (April 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061686360
• ISBN-13: 978-0061686368
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,400,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, April 14, 2009

By 

A Reader (Lawrence, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cardboard Universe, The: A Guide to the World of Phoebus K. Dank (P.S.) (Paperback)

This book is a terrific read! Once I started it, I couldn't stop. The short entries, like from an encyclopedia, make the pace really move, and before I knew it, I was very wrapped up in the plot, which unfolds slowly and beautifully. Also the book is just hilarious -- and the ending, though I don't want to give anything away -- is quite sad. All in all, a complete winner, end to end. Bravo!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully crafted masterpiece of unreliable narration from Christopher Miller, April 25, 2009

By 

Rene Duguay (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cardboard Universe, The: A Guide to the World of Phoebus K. Dank (P.S.) (Paperback)

In Cardboard Universe, Chris Miller tells the gloomily yet hilariously believable tale of three no-talent writers: Bill Boswell, the story's narrator; Phoebus K. Dank, its ostensible subject; and Owen Hirt, Boswell's nemesis. But, as anyone familiar with Miller's earlier novel, Simon Silber, should expect, things are not as they seem. The characters may not be what or even who (or is that whom?) they say they are, or even think they are.

Phoebus K. Dank is a science fiction writer modeled on Philip K. Dick, but living half a century later. Though moderately successful, he is not particularly talented - both of the other characters point out the weaknesses of his work, Boswell smarmily and Hirt viciously. Unlike Boswell (who can't get his fiction published) and Hirt (who can't get anything published) Dank makes a decent living as a writer. It's obvious that Miller knows Dick: Every detail of Dank's life is set out in deliberate imitation of or contrast to some element of Dick's. And Dick's oeuvre - especially Valis - is mercilessly parodied. At this point Philip K. Dick's fans may be stirring uneasily, not certain whether Miller loves Dick or hates him. Dank seems drawn from the unflattering portrait in Thomas M. Disch's The Dreams Our Stuff is Made of rather than the more hagiographic portraits of Rest assured: Such obsessive attention to detail can only come from true devotion; as G.K. Chesterton said, parody is the worshipper's half-holiday. And just to dispel any doubts, Miller praises Dick in an afterword.

Including a character based on a fairly well-known real person can be dealt with in several ways; Miller, happily, chooses the path of humor. Throughout the novel he pokes fun at the conceit, whether mocking the book's own disclaimer that "any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental," or mocking himself for choosing to write the book this way, or playing post-structuralist games: Dank lives in an alternate universe in which Philip K. Dick never existed, but Dank begins to suspect Dick's and by extension Miller's existence, choosing at the end to go on strike. (In another, comical afterword, he interviews Miller, disdainfully.) Many other such games can be found throughout the book: Spot the lipogram! Watch it disappear beneath another!

This isn't to say Miller has written a collection of obscure egghead in-jokes, though. For instance, I'm not much of a Philip K. Dick fan, and haven't read half the works parodied or referred to in The Cardboard Universe. I'm sure jokes by the dozens sailed over my head, but there were enough, from the crudely physical to the airily cerebral, to keep me smiling throughout.

I can't say too much about Boswell or Hirt without giving away too much of the story, but here are the basics: Boswell is a sycophant and failed novelist who becomes, as his name would suggest, Dank's biographer, which Dank himself finds "not plausible." At least one of Boswell's novels, described but never presented, seems to be a burlesque of the structure of the aforementioned Disch's 334 - another Oulipo reference. Hirt is a boyhood friend of Dank, as much of a failure as a poet as Boswell is as a novelist. Naturally, the two detest each other.

While all three characters are as cluelessly inept as the two protagonists of Simon Silber, Miller is up to something darker here; Bill Boswell is made from something more sinister than Norm Fayreweather Jr. And now I've said as much as I can without unforgivable spoilers...

As in Simon Silber, the influence of Nabokov and John Kennedy Toole is clearly visible; here there's a third influence equally present - a novel about Philp K. Dick must, at least some of the time, be Dickian. The Cardboard Universe will make you laugh, and possibly cry, while reading, and it will make you think afterward. Ultimately there's something serious being said here about the relationship between writers and those who study them; this deserves a place on the shelf of literature about literary criticism alongside David Lodge's Rummidge College trilogy.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, Genius, Hilarious..., April 16, 2009

By 

Orange Shelves "Orange Shelves" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cardboard Universe, The: A Guide to the World of Phoebus K. Dank (P.S.) (Paperback)

Finally, some innovative fiction with a sense of humor! This novel is the real deal and Christopher Miller is a genius. Unlike much of the innovative stuff out there, this isn't selfish esoterica you have to pretend to like; this is intelligent and groundbreaking in its narrative structure, but it's also hilarious. Best book I've read in a long while. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.