K-Pax

Rating:
Summary: Man From Utopia?
Review: "prot" is a patient at Manhattan Psychiatric Institute. Gene Brewer is his psychiatrist. But "prot" is remarkably well-adjusted, displays no obvious symptoms, and gets along famously with staff and fellow patients. Only one thing--he has a delusion (?) that he is a visitor from a planet named K-Pax--a utopian world with no crime, no violence, no need for laws or government.

Prot is the doctor's most fascinating case. But what exactly is the diagnosis? Is he really a space alien? Delusional? Split personality? And is he really going to depart for K-Pax on a date certain, as he insists? Can Dr. Brewer break through his defenses and find what makes him tick? And if he can, should he? You will just have to read the book to find the answers.

This is one of those novels looking back to the time when psychiatrists actually spent hours talking to their patients, when quirky patients with odd hang-ups spent months or years languishing in psychiatric hospitals, and when it really seemed to matter what the "underlying cause" of a patient's malady might be. Those days are long gone, but the concept lingers on as a cultural myth. So this novel is part of a grand tradition. In this mythic tradition, the patients are often not sick at all, indeed they may have greater wisdom than those who treat them. So it is with "K-Pax" where the enigmatic prot is remarkably helpful to his fellow patients and even staff, in a way the busy psychiatrist can't begin to emulate.

Author Brewer's writing is pedestrian but readable. He has obviously read a lot about psychiatric matters, though his knowledge is clearly second-hand. The story drags a bit, but it raises interesting questions and is worth reading. If you are a fan of those mythic psychiatrists and their mythic hospitals, well, this book might be for you. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber

Rating:
Summary: A Psychological Mystery with a Sci-Fi Twist
Review: =====>

This book (first published in 1995) by Gene Brewer consists of sixteen chapters (or "sessions") and, as well, has a prologue, epilogue, and even a short glossary. It is a novel that is very easy to read and that held my interest right to the end.

The story is about a man who claims to come from the utopian world called K-pax (a planet "about seven thosand light years [away and] in...the constellation Lyra"). This man is the prot-agonist of this story and calls himself "Prot" (pronounced pr-OAT) meaning (on his world) "sojourner" or traveler. (Note that K-paxians "capitalize the names of planets, stars, etc. [for example, 'K-pax' would be 'K-PAX'], but not those of persons [and] countries [for example, 'Prot' would be 'prot']." Since I am not a K-paxian, I will not use this convention for this review.)

Eventually, Prot ends up in a mental institution and the psychiatrist who treats him is Dr. Gene Brewer. (Notice that the doctor has the same name as the author.) The entire book is mainly about the interaction between Prot and Dr. Brewer.

When reading this novel, you'll find that Prot has wit, humor, and much knowledge (especially in sciences like astronomy and physics and in philosophy). Dr. Brewer finds Prot quite rational and he later says, "I had never experienced a case like this, one for which I couldn't seem to find any handle."

Dr. Brewer asks his astronomy friends to formulate astronomical questions for Prot. Prot answers all these questions (despite the fact that these answers were known only by a few eminent space scientists). As well, Prot demonstrates certain otherworldly abilities. Thus, both Dr. Brewer and the reader don't know whether Prot is indeed an extraterrestrial or a traumatized human suffering from "hysterical amnesia and delusion."

Prot has a positive influence on all people he meets especially on Dr. Brewer, his family, and other patients in the institution. This gives the novel a certain warmth and charm. Also, the author Brewer, through his character Prot, offers interesting social commentary. My favorite is in the form of questions: "Is [K-pax] any duller than on Earth? Whose inhabitants spend most of their lives trying to get laid, watching sitcoms on television, and grunting for money?" Through his character of Dr. Brewer, the author reveals and explains certain psychological concepts.

Suspense is created when Prot tells Dr. Brewer that he must eventually return to K-pax. As well, even though all the other patients want to go with him to his utopian world, he promises that only one can come with him. As the announced date of his "departure" approaches, the question asked by Dr. Brewer and his staff is as follows: "What will happen when this day arrives?" As well, the other patients wonder whom Prot will choose to come with him.

By the end of the book, most but not all of the questions posed throughout the novel are answered. In other words, the novel ends on an ambiguous note. (However, some readers may not find the ending ambiguous.) In fact, the last sentence of this novel is by Dr. Brewer and reads: "And sometimes at night I go out and look up at the sky, toward the constellation Lyra, and I wonder..."

Note that this novel is the first in a trilogy. The next novel is entitled "On a Beam of Light" and the last is entitled "K-Pax III: The Worlds of Prot."

Finally, the 2001 movie entitled "K-PAX" is good but not as detailed as the novel. You don't have to read the book first in order to understand the movie. However, if you want to understand the finer nuances of the movie, I recommend reading the novel first.

In conclusion, this is a fascinating novel that will hold your attention to the end. Dr. Brewer states that Prot's story "taught me about myself." I believe that Prot's story will also teach the reader about himself/herself!!

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Rating:
Summary: Captivating character study and social commentary
Review: I picked this book up and read it in one day, at two sittings. It's an intriguing novel done as a psychiatric case study of the main character, "prot", a homeless man who believes himself to be from the planet K-PAX. The story is a voyage of discovery into prot's character and a social commentary on the ills of our time. Although there are touches of sadness, the overall quality of the book is optimism. I didn't find it as compelling as the other reviewers, although it was certainly enjoyable and well done. I don't see this as a must-read for sci-fi fans at all--it isn't by any means a science fiction novel. Rather, for those of you interested in the human condition and in people; for those of you willing to take a touch of magical realism with your reality, this will be a good read.

Rating:
Summary: Just delightful
Review: This is a wonderful little book - it is relatively short, insightful, witty, and best of all gives us a unique insight to the fascinating subjects of mental health and interstellar travel. The story is simple enough - the main character prot (no capitalisations except for other planets!) claims to be from the planet K-Pax, but is he simply a mentally traumatised man called Robert? This is a very clever book which has you thinking yes and no to both of these questions as you read along.

Another very clever plot devise is that the author writes in the first person, and refers to himself as the psychiatrist who is treating prot/Robert. This is done with such skill and candour that you can almost get drawn into thinking that this is a true case study of a doctor who is relating the story of his most fascinating subject. It is very, very clever.

Finally, it is also very uplifting. Some of prot's observations and advice to his fellow psychiatric inmates changes their lives almost exclusively for the better - somewhat simplisticly sure, but hey, this is a novel for entertainment, and here it hits the mark very well.

I recommend it highly.