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Have you ever wondered if it is possible to create a society governed by madmen? Well, this splendid novel by the brilliant and irreplaceable Dick (1928 - 1982) is based precisely on this premise.
"Clans of the Alphane Moon" (225 pages) was written between '63 and '64 and tells the intricate vicissitudes of a society led by schizophrenics on a moon in the Alpha system. Interestingly, some have found remarkable similarities between this society and ours. The book is partly a parody, but at the same time demonstrates how it is possible, in some respects, for different and 'disturbed' minds to form an apparently functional society. The 'lunatic' Clans are made up of the Para (extreme paranoids, the leaders living in Adolfville); the Schizo (schizophrenics, visionary mystics, living in Gandhitown); the Poli (polymorphic schizophrenics, the calmest, sometimes their emotional fluctuations bring them close to normality); the Os-Com (obsessive-compulsives, they are important and useful officials); the Dep (depressed, living in the Cotton Mather colonies, liked by no clan); the Eb (hebephrenics, great workers and ascetic mystics, living in Gandhitown) and finally the Mani (maniacs, inventors, and warriors, living on the Da Vinci Hills).
Already the opening scene of the book is unforgettable for the presence of the likeable and almost pathetic Gabriel Baines, a Para who is preceded by his inseparable simulacrum (Mani War Industries) that is an accurate copy of himself, used to avert possible dangers. In this crazy and intricate world, we also meet Chuck Rittersdorf, the typical unfortunate dickian protagonist, and his wife Mary, a psychiatrist by profession. Another notable character is Lord Running Clam, a strange pseudo-gelatinous creature, who agrees with Saint Paul because he considers charity the greatest virtue. It's a great novel, capable of making the reader reflect, containing brilliant ideas that, however, will not be developed in depth because, in my opinion, the story describes too little the clans and gets lost in the 'plots' between Earth's CIA and the Alphane aliens. Despite this, Dick managed with a 'stroke of genius' to sweep away the fierce competition of novels present in those years, offering a work still unique in its genre and outside any scheme, even within the same 'Dickian' production.
Moreover, I would like to add two of my ideas that I might apply to any of my other possible reviews. The first is a musical pairing in tune with the book, that is: which record could be listened to in the background during its reading. The second is an assessment of any intrinsic difficulties in the novel's structure.
Musical pairing: Brian Eno "Nerve Net". Reading difficulty: 3 out of 5. Now I must bid you farewell because outside the window I noticed two guys in white coats heading quickly towards my door. Worried regards.
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