Time Out Of Joint

Philip K. Dick

Oct 2012 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

From the Hugo Award–winning author of The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick's twisty and paranoid Time Out of Joint is "marvelous, terrifying fun, especially if you’ve ever suspected that the world is an unreal construct built solely to keep you from knowing who you really are. Which it is, of course" (Rolling Stone).

"The time is out of joint; O curs'd spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!" (William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act I, Scene V)

Ragle Gumm has a unique job: every day he wins a newspaper contest. And when he isn’t consulting his charts and tables, he enjoys his life in a small town in 1959. At least, that’s what he thinks.

But then strange things start happening. He finds a phone book where all the numbers have been disconnected, and a magazine article about a famous starlet he’s never heard of named Marilyn Monroe. Plus, everyday objects are beginning to disappear and are replaced by strips of paper with words written on them like "bowl of flowers" and "soft drink stand."

When Ragle skips town to try to find the cause of these bizarre occurrences, his discovery could make him question everything he has ever known.

Ratings and reviews

Like all good things, this story too had to end. My initial thought on finishing this story was that I wished it would have gone on longer. However, having read it, I understand why it could not.

weird but interesting

About the author

Over a writing career that spanned three decades, PHILIP K. DICK (1928–1982) published 36 science fiction novels and 121 short stories in which he explored the essence of what makes man human and the dangers of centralized power. Toward the end of his life, his work turned to deeply personal, metaphysical questions concerning the nature of God. Eleven novels and short stories have been adapted to film, notably Blade Runner (based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly, as well as television's The Man in the High Castle. The recipient of critical acclaim and numerous awards throughout his career, including the Hugo and John W. Campbell awards, Dick was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005, and between 2007 and 2009, the Library of America published a selection of his novels in three volumes. His work has been translated into more than twenty-five languages.