“They wanted to have a good time, but they were like children playing in the street; they could see one after another of them being killed—run over, maimed, destroyed—but they continued to play anyhow.”
‘A Scanner Darkly’ takes its name from the biblical quote “Through a glass [mirror] darkly”. The expression comes from the writings of the apostle Paul where he explains how we do not see our reflections clearly, instead only a dark or distorted view of ourselves.
A Dark Reflection
Indeed, this book is best described as a dark and distorted self reflection by Phillip on drug use and counter culture. The hard hitting author’s note at the end makes this clear as he talks about the effect drugs had on him and those he knew. This is followed up by a list of these friends, with most of the names followed by ‘deceased’. A final gut punch from an already dark book.
The book opens with Jerry Fabian, an addict at the end of the road. Within a few paragraphs you realise his mind is broken as he can’t stop feeling insects on his skin and is convinced they are swarming everything he touches, leading him to spending hours in the shower, just trying to remove them. He himself realises that he’s gone too far and chooses to go to the rehab clinic.
This opening chapter sets a sombre tone that underlies most of the book. The main character, Bob Arctor is a long term undercover as a drug user and pusher who has to use drugs to maintain appearances. When we first encounter him, he’s in control of the amount he’s taking and their effects but the threat of the Rehabilitation clinic and its eventuality is made all too real by the opening.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Throughout, the drug-addled chatter is consistently humorous with discussions ranging from where the missing three gears of a bike are to how many spleen the average person has. Each exchange leads you on, letting you question whether the characters’ thoughts are heavily affected by drugs or whether they’re just messing with each other.
“In this particular lifestyle the motto is, “Be happy now because tomorrow you are dying,” but the dying begins almost at once, and the happiness is a memory.”
Issues
However, the dialogue is not without its problems. The book was written in 1977, and often it reads as such. Whilst set in 1994, The terminology used by the drug users is firmly from Phillip’s era as well as the attitude to drug addiction, though this could just be Phillip’s own views. He likens taking drugs to stepping out in front of a car. Not a disease, but an error in judgement. Yet he also ponders on how people get tricked into this life, how getting hooked is an inevitability.
The greatest example of the book ageing badly for me is the casual sexism and racism in the book. It could be put down to the period it was written in, or down to the faults of the characters, but in today’s age it makes the book a tougher read. Especially since without either it would still be the same book.
Aside from the discussions, the book mainly consists of the thought processes of Bob as he deals with his friends and begins surveillance of his own activities. Due to the need for anonymity, not even his superiors know his identity, and begin to suspect Bob of being the main criminal they need to apprehend. This leads Bob down the interesting route of increasing the need to separate his police activities from his addict self, and the inner turmoil he has over keeping both straight.
Whilst the self analysis is interesting and the conversations are fun, the overwhelming amount of both is the book’s biggest downfall. It’s best summed up by Phillip himself in a scene where Bob is reviewing the recordings of his house and getting sick of listening to the same inanities, hoping for something of meaning and purpose.
Normally, my standard approach to most books is to keep reading until the point where the plot drags you in. This book is different. If this sort of atmospheric reading isn’t something that hooks you and keeps you reading from the start, it doesn’t get any better. Not unless you can manage through until the last few chapters. The most redeeming factors for me came at the very end.
“I’m tired. This crap gets to you after a while.“
Journey before Destination
BEWARE: SPOILERS BELOW. SCROLL AHEAD FOR THE CONCLUSION.
The last few chapters come after Bob reaches the end of the line. Why Bob had to survey his own house is revealed before we follow his break and withdrawal. We finally end with the revelation about Substance D, the mysterious drug that Bob was both taking and trying to stop.
The redemption of the story for me, is the realisation that whilst Bob is the primary viewpoint, he was not the protagonist. He was not the one driving the story. He was just a pawn. He, along with the reader are just along for the ride, both with the authorities and with his drug habit. Whilst he made the initial decisions to choose this life, the other factors steered him. From the surveillance which is shown to be for his suspicious housemate, to his drug habit being engineered to land him in the rehab clinic, Bob Arctor is being manipulated and steered by others.
There’s a bittersweet satisfaction that after all this, in the final scene of the book, a brain damaged Bob makes one last decision that could make a big difference. A final result of the sacrifices those around him have all made.
I often end up judging a book by the final note it leaves, and this note of A Scanner Darkly left me deep in consideration and reflection.
“Strange how paranoia can link up with reality now and then.”
SPOILERS OVER
Conclusion
When I finished ‘A Scanner Darkly’, I didn’t know whether I liked it or not. Whilst its lack of obvious plot did put me off, the writing itself kept me coming back. The conversations left me caring about the characters and their schemes. The increasingly unreliable narrator with their growing paranoia kept me wondering as reality and illusion started to conflict.
I then spent the next day still thinking about the ending. Ultimately, this book will stay with me, and what is the definition of a good book if not that.
This dark reflection is the result of Phillip K Dick’s experiences and as such, even despite the features that age it, the characters’ experiences still feel relatable. Their mistakes, their pain and the fleeting joy they find is part of the human condition and it still resonates nearly fifty years later.
If the slow burn, atmospheric nature of the prose is something that you gel with, you’ll be thinking about this book for a long while to come.
I know I will.
“When do I see a photograph, when a reflection?”
Beyond The Spine Reviews 