Book review: The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch

by Philip K. Dick. 1964. 230 p.

“I’m inclined, as you can see, to be somewhat sympathetic to the Early- and Neo-Christian point of view, such as Anne holds. It assists in explaining a great deal.” – (p. 193)

Barney Mayerson is a precog in the Pre-Fash department of Perky Pat Layouts. His job is to foresee which styles of clothing and housewares will become popular. Leo Bulero, his boss, is chairman of the company, which manufactures doll-sized goods. His wealth and power, however, are made possible by the illegal side of his operation: the production and distribution of Can-D. The drug causes users to hallucinate themselves as living in the idealized bodies and worlds represented by the dolls and dollhouses. Most of the miserable drafted colonists living on Mars use the drug habitually to escape their bleak lives. For the masses, life on over-heated, over-crowded planet Earth is not much better. Still, for the wealthy like Bulero, there are satellite playgrounds, Antarctic resorts and clinics that can artificially evolve their customers.

But now something unexpected has happened: a ship from the Proxima system has crash-landed on Pluto. It carries the eccentrically brilliant businessman Palmer Eldritch, returned from his decade-long round trip. He brings with him an alien lichen, which he uses to start manufacturing his own drug: Chew-Z. The product’s motto? “God promises eternal life. We can deliver it.” Bulero and Mayerson must act quickly, to counter this new competition. But is Eldritch really Eldritch? Has something alien returned in his stead? Has something demonic taken possession of him? And just where does Chew-Z take its users? Bulero begins to realize that his private war is not simply about commercial rivalry. At stake is the freedom of humanity.

The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch is a disorienting book, and, as is so often the case with Dick, it can be hard to tell what it all means. One senses that the author himself is unsure at times, as the characters formulate and discard explanations of events. This is partly explained by the fact that Palmer Eldritch was based on a disturbing vision Dick himself had, one he did not understand. What is clear is that the book is saturated with religious symbolism and exhibits a fascination with theological concepts (this fascination is hinted at in Dick’s earlier work and grew in later novels.) Two important themes are transubstantiation and the Fall, so we find characters using technical philosophical language contrasting ‘accidents’ with ‘essence,’ and debating original sin, along with quoting Thomas a Kempis.

Dick can be viewed as a speculative theologian, forever trying out different theories to see how they fit his experiences. (Gabriel McKee's book on Dick's religious thought, Pink Beams of Light From the God In the Gutter, is a very helpful resource to those seeking more background information.) And while he can wander off into very strange territory, in the end he usually returns to some sort of recognizably Christian theology, albeit employed in unusual ways. Despite his Gnostic leanings, Dick here also backs away from strict good-versus-evil dualism, seeking to understand how all things, even Palmer Eldritch, could spring from God, or work together for good. This compassion and speculation make Three Stigmata a highly thought-provoking read.

3.5 out of 5