The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (Paperback)

by Philip K. Dick (Author) "His head unnaturally aching, Barney Mayerson woke to find himself in an unfamiliar bedroom in an unfamiliar conapt building..." (more)
Key Phrases: conapt building, precog ability, parked ship, Palmer Eldritch, Leo Bulero, Barney Mayerson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Godlike--or perhaps Satanic--takeover artists and corporate psychics wage marketing battles for the human soul in this wildly disorienting funhouse of a novel.

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In this wildly disorienting funhouse of a novel, populated by God-like--or perhaps Satanic--takeover artists and corporate psychics, Philip K. Dick explores mysteries that were once the property of St. Paul and Aquinas. His wit, compassion, and knife-edged irony make The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch moving as well as genuinely visionary.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (December 3, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679736662
• ISBN-13: 978-0679736660
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,074 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A head trip at times, but worth the effort, December 9, 2001

By	Michael Battaglia - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Sporting one of the neatest titles in all of literature, SF or otherwise, this novel is considered one of Dick's handful of absolute masterpieces, written during his peak in the sixties. People who saw Blade Runner, went and read "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and liked it enough to want to explore Dick further and came here (remove the seeing Blade Runner part and that's me) may find this book a decidely odd experience. Not outwardly psychedelic in nature but certainly dealing with altered states of conscious and the nature of reality versus our perception of it . . . if you find yourself reading it and think you're missing something, trust me you aren't alone. Probably no one other than Dick knew exactly everything that is going on in here but for the rest of us it's an interesting dilemma trying to discern his exact meaning, or our best interpretation. In the future, the earth is unbearably warm, people are being drafted to be sent to dreary colonies and Can-D is the drug of the moment, a substance which allows people to "translate" into layouts based on a doll called Perky Pat and basically experience a life that isn't theirs. Then Palmer Eldrich returns from outside the solar system with his new drug Chew-D which he claims will deliver immortality and show the nature of God . . . and then things get funny. Dick's vision of a future world is absolutely fascinating and for us low brow folks who don't get all the wacky symbolism, makes the book worth it simply for his depiction of an overheated earth, the boring spiritual desolation of the Mars colonies, the pre-cogs who determine the latest fashions, it all feels bleak and despairing but there's a sense of humor lurking in the wings and a vague feeling that something larger is going on. It starts to lose coherency toward the end as the reader begins to question reality, especially what is the nature of Palmer Eldrich (great name, by the way) and eventually you find your head starting to hurt just a bit. And it's not that bad a feeling, as it turns out. PKD books are more experienced than described and nothing here is going to really be able to convey the texture of his novels, you just have to read it for yourself. It's not perfect but it's both thought provoking and entertaining on vastly different levels and so in that sense comes highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing, May 16, 2005

By	roy mover "loseven" (chelmsdale, taxachusetts usa) - See all my reviews

one of the nice things about this particular phil dick masterpiece is that the plot is so convoluted it's nearly impossible to "ruin" for a prospective reader in a review. if at any time you've browsed through mr. dick's intimidatingly large oeuvre of books on amazon, you've probably stumbled across some considerate fellow who, in a paragraph a few sentences or less, reveals some integral plot detail and thus ruins the entire novel. "flow my tears" was ruined for me in such a way, as was "martian-time slip." in order to fully enjoy the full impact of his books, it's best going in knowing the absolute bare minimum. this can be a tricky gamble, as some of the information about his lesser-known (but highly underrated) books can only be gleaned from reader reviews. but i honestly can't see that being a problem here, as this particular book is almost universally acknowledged as a sci-fi masterpiece.

although i've only read ten or so of phil's books, and not all of them have been brilliant, the cream of the crop ranks as some of the most mind-warping, entertaining and enlightening stuff i've ever read. "valis" was what got me hooked on this guy - and, ironically, it's the last book i'd recommend for a newcomer. no, that distinction would have to go with this absolute gem of a novel. it has all the dickian trademarks: shifting realities, ordinary protagonists, and an almost pathetic (but hilarious) sense of irony in the face of the unfathomable and all-powerful. but on top of all this it's extremely accessible, with engaging, well-drawn characters and a plot that hops along at a brisk pace. while some of the reviews here emphasize some of the more abstract concepts of the novel, don't let it deter you, as "three stigmata" is a total blast to read; extremely entertaining, emotionally engaging, and intellectually stimulating.

if you really want a good plot summary that won't give away too much, just scope out the description on the back of the book. but to elaborate a little further: if the idea of a godlike entity that interfaces with beings through the ingestion of a reality-warping drug appeals to you in any way whatsoever, you have to buy this book. it delivers on all of it's promises, and then some. it also contains some of dick's most brilliant throwaway ideas in any of his books - the rich go to clinics to have a gland stimulated that advances biological evolution in the patient forwards hundreds of years; industry pre-cogs predict what will be the next fashion craze; evil humanoids from the star system proxima may or may not be attempting to infiltrate our own solar system... the list goes on and on. and while it all can be a bit disorienting the first time through, it's still great fun, and as long as you view the events logically you'll know what's happening. plus, the ending has to be one of the most fitting and satisfying in any sci-fi book i've ever read.

some of the concepts can be hard to wrap your brain around, but they're infinitely rewarding once you at least partially understand them. i can't claim to understand everything that goes on in this book; i think anyone who does is a liar. but there are some fascinating ideas, suggesting that human beings are all connected on a subconscious, telepathic level, and that the properties of god can be reflected in the most unexpected places. but i've barely even scraped the surface of this brilliant book.

to all you overly literate types here who call dick post-modern, i say: bah, humbug. dick was not post-modern... he was pre-whatever comes this century. this book is a classic, a landmark, and an absolute joy to read. i'd give it ten stars if i could.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God promises eternal life... Chew-Z gives it now!, February 16, 2006

By	OverTheMoon ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Dick does dual-reality, as off-world colonies within their `P. P. Layouts' are addicted to an outlawed mind-altering drug called Can-D find themselves facing a new and improved mind altering drug that appears to also alter the fabrics of the real world. Leo Bulero and Barney Mayerson who run the Can-D market are trying to save company losses by exterminating the manufacturer of Chew-Z, Palmer Eldritch, who has just returned from a mysterious excursion to the outer limits of an unknown solar system. Which world is real and which is a fantasy and is Can-D in fact just a hallucination within the Chew-C hallucination, as everybody starts to experience parts of Eldritch's consciousness blend with their own hyper-reality, or have they all taken overdoses and are dead? Future alien phantasms come to tell them the story of what happened when Eldritch brought the alien Chew-Z back, nothing is coherent, mostly subliminally implanted, and yet users find themselves waking up back in their `P. P. Layouts' going about their own business trying to keep their off-world colonies working and waiting anxiously for their next hit.

The Three Stigmata is a story about the enterprise of religion while at the same time drawing conclusions about the way our world is heading towards a matrix of similar experiences to be shared by all, modern popular television serials almost the result of this kind of prophetical statement, it is not Dick's most accurate hit when it comes to telling the future, but still has a lot of elements worth considering and mulling over, such as one's fall from clemency through drug use to UN officials making money behind the scenes, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is a short enough tale with a lot of interesting moral considerations that could be only found in the heady wine of a Philip K. Dick novel with comparisons drawn to his other (and better work) `A Scanner Darkly'. Orion SF Masterworks series rates this as #52 in its list. Philip K. Dick is often referred to as the best science-fiction writer who did not write science-fiction. You can imagine this work sitting easily between William Burroughs and Arthur C. Clarke. See you at "The Cosmic Puppets", next.