Re-read -

I definitely understood this more upon re-read, but I still didn't like it very much.

My semi-misogny point still stands, and it was kinda depressing but not in a very thought-provoking way.

Star rating has stayed the same.


First read -

To be totally honest, I just didn't understand this AT ALL. 

It seemed as if the narrator was both the same character (all have a dog, all read by same person in audiobook, all chapters are written with the same narrative voice) and completely different (gets caught at the end of the second chapter but story carries on without mentioning it, no side-character overlap, no location overlap) at the same time. If I had read the foreword I would have learnt this is because the ‘chapters’ are actually short stories Dick wrote separately then combined and linked together. However, I don't usually read forewords as I find they can spoil the story for me, so tend to only read them after I finish a book. In this case, I definitely wish I had read the foreword before reading. 
 
I really appreciate stories with odd concepts that are never fully explained. But SOME explanation is needed to be able to make a compelling point, and I feel there wasn't enough worldbuilding/plot explanation for me to fully get Dick's ideas. My main thoughts throughout were just confusion and bewilderment, rather than being opened up to new ideas. 
 
On another note, I found it mildly infuriating that in each chapter the main character seemed to know almost nothing about the world and the ongoing situation, and it was always explained to them in really simplistic terms by male characters. Maybe this was because the audio book was narrated by a woman, but it did feel a little misogynistic, which is strange coming from a queer, female author. 
 
I am tempted to re-read this with new eyes, so may adjust my rating later...