4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of PKDs least known books, March 7, 2009
I first became a fan of Philip K. Dick shortly after his death, before his popularity had hit its full stride. Picking up his books in the early 1980s was sometimes a bit of a treasure hunt: while a few were readily available (such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, The Man in the High Castle), others were quite elusive, like The Man Who Japed or The World Jones Made. Eventually, I would get them all, but there were still his unpublished books to get: Mary and the Giant, Puttering About in a Small Land, etc. One title always stood out among these works: The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike. At long last, I have had a chance to buy and read this book.
Like much of PKD's posthumously published books, The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike is not a science fiction novel but rather a mainstream story of life for a pair of 1950s Marin County, California couples. Leo Runcible is a successful real estate agent who likes to think of himself as liberal: when a neighbor has a black man as a dinner guest, Leo defends the neighbor's right to do so, at the cost of a friendship and a business deal. Nevertheless, Leo is bitter at the neighbor, Walt Dombrosio, for creating the provocative situation, and soon gets his revenge by getting Walt arrested for drunk driving.
Walt loses his license and is dependent on his wife to transport him daily to work. For Walt, this will cause damage to his marriage and eventually lead him to his own revenge against Leo, which will have consequences no one could have anticipated. The wives, meanwhile have their own issues to deal with. Leo's wife, Janet, is almost pathologically neurotic and has an uncanny ability to make any situation worse. Sherry Dombrosio is the only reasonably well-adjusted character among the four, but saddled with the brutish Walt, she will also be the one who suffers the most.
Was the book worth the quarter-century wait? Well, it's good, but it's not THAT good. As with much of PKD's posthumously published books, this is not quite Dick at his best, which is probably why it never was published earlier. Also, for those fans expecting his wonderful science fiction, this work could be disappointing. For PKD completists, however, this should be a worthy addition to their collections.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Quirky rather than funny, intrigueing if a bit dated., November 7, 2002
This review is from: Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike (Paperback)
Set in California, a man plays a prank on his neighbours by faking a hominid skull in his back yard.
The archeological find turns out to hide a sinister truth about the area, an ancient ill that has been forgotten and that threatens the lives of the new residents of the area.
Dick's novel is not one of his greats but is certainly worth a read. It is a nice example of how a prank can backfire and end up working for the good of all.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gripping non sci-fi story with all the sci-fi familiarities of PKD, November 10, 2009
I read this book after being very impressed by PKDs Humpty Dumpty in Oakland, which was the first non-science fiction book of the author that I had read. Again I am very impressed by the way the book is written.
The story takes place in the early 60s in a rural community. Interesting as this set-up might be for a European born in 1986 this is admittedly not the most fascinating time and place. However this would not be a PKD book if all of the people living in this rural community wouldn't be paranoid, miserable or, most often, both.
The brilliantly written thought patterns of the characters in this book is so enticing that the main story line about the man whose teeth were all exactly alike is not even that important but more a way by which the author drives the characters into certain thought and action patterns that cause them to be ever more distrustful and destructive to themselves and those around them.
While not the happiest of books (like many of PKDs works) it is wonderfully written and very enticing. The time and place, with for example the pressing idea that women should be at home and men should be earning money made the story all the more interesting.
Highly recommended
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