Mary and the Giant
By (Author) Philip K Dick
Orion Publishing Co
Gollancz
1st September 2005
9th June 2005
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
813.54
Paperback
240
Width 167mm, Height 198mm, Spine 20mm
211g
Mary Anne Reynolds is a young and vulnerable woman, determined to make her own way in the world. But Pacific Park, California, in the 1950s is not really the place for Mary. Her relationship with a black singer offends against the small town's views on sexual mores and exposes its bigoted views on race. This is a powerful portrayal of the claustrophobia of small-town California, and Mary Anne Reynolds is one of the most memorable characters Dick ever created.
Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) was born in Chicago but lived in California for most of his life. He went to college at Berkeley for a year, ran a record store and had his own classical-music show on a local radio station. He published his first short story, Beyond Lies the Wub in1952. Among his many fine novels are The Man in the High Castle, Time Out of Joint, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said.