ALIENS WILL EAT YOUR...lunch. Or is that mad people? I can never tell them apart. (K-Pax - Gene Brewer)

Member Name: Barold

Product:	K-Pax - Gene Brewer
Date:	26/05/09 (15 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Engaging characters and plot

Disadvantages: Start book, finish book, wonder where the weekend went

(Some cut and paste from my film review on account of laziness)
The premise of this book is simple enough. Prot is picked up by the police at Grand Central Station after an old woman is robbed and based on his reactions taken to the Manhattan Psychiatric Centre. He states that he is from another planet - specifically the planet 'K-PAX'.
The rest of the book is based around his time in the psych centre and his relationship with the various residents and staff there. We are taken on an emotional and revelatory journey as Dr Powell tries to cure him of his delusion. There is no definite indication of whether Prot is delusional or actually from another planet so you the reader are left to decide for yourself which view you find more convincing (or which you enjoy more). Prot is a delightful character, full of gentle kindness and very innocent. I think it's for this reason that I personally prefer the alien theory - I don't want to spoil a perfect being by making him simply an unwell man.
If you've seen the film this book will be very rewarding (although you mayl find yourself thinking the Prot bits in a Kevin Spacey voice) as it goes into a lot more depth and has many more unexplainable mad/alien moments. The various characters in the book are interesting and I found myself caring a lot about what was happening in relation to some relatively minor people. Although there isn't a lot of suspense here, the story is more than interesting enough that I went through the book very rapidly indeed, and everyone I've forced into reading it has very much enjoyed it too.

Summary: Fascinating drama raising interesting questions