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Mary And The Giant by Philip K. Dick
01/11/2005 . Source: Sue Davies 
pub: Gollancz. 232 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 7.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-575-07466-3. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk
This is another novel written by Philip K. Dick in the 1950s and rejected by his publisher. It was published posthumously and gives an interesting coda to his writing career.
Mary Ann Reynolds is not your average young woman. Restless at work, unfulfilled by her white boyfriend and scared of her sexually charged father, she lives several parallel existences. Preferring the company of her jazz-loving acquaintances to her staid fiancé, Mary Ann ditches him at every opportunity. She is fascinated by the jazz playing giant black man called Tweany. Her desire for him runs against any rule that society might impose. Her friend Paul Nitz is a beacon in her stormy life, negotiating the rocks of society's taboos.
When Joseph Schilling opens a record shop in her home town, Mary Ann senses an opportunity to better herself but is repulsed by his apparent sexual advances on her initial visit to the shop. Soon she is drawn back to the emotional maelstrom of the jazz club with its temptations.
Following Mary Ann over a short period of her life, this novel wants to get under her skin but by the end we are left with a sense that she is unknowable. Like any human she makes choices, is driven by events and attempts to carve out her own particular existence.
Once again, Dick achieves a wonderfully resonant sense of place with his vivid descriptive ability. All the late-night sleaziness combines with the sweat of honest toil to produce this compact tale of a young girl adrift in a world she refuses to recognise.
Known for his Science Fiction, Dick proves that he could do it without invoking the alien clause. I really enjoyed this and would not hesitate to recommend it as a novel that got under my skin. As we desperately try to fathom the actions of others, it gives us a little insight into our own dreams and desires and how we re-work ourselves to fit into what society requires.
Sue Davies
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