Damn you all, I am from Tipazoo! (K-Pax - Gene Brewer)

Member Name: KingHerrod

Product:	K-Pax - Gene Brewer
Date:	17/07/02 (675 review reads)
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Do you know who you are? How do you know that your persona is actually you? How do you know that this really is Earth that we are living on? The most probable answer is that none of us can be entirely sure - of course we are all told that this is Earth and we are informed what is sane and insane, but who is really to judge what is sane and what is insane? Who are we to tell certain harmless people that they are mad and we are sane? Well of course society is the judge of that, just as society says that you are strange if you do not conform in your dress sense or way of expression - the sanity stage is just a more extreme version of a group of people's idea of what is or is not acceptable mental behaviour.

In his novel K-PAX, Gene Brewer, explores the notion of sanity and the power of the mind in ways reminiscent of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - K-PAX never quite hits the levels of this great book, but it is still an interesting, entertaining and thoughtful read.

Prot claims to come from the planet K-PAX, woooo hang on their buster, this is a chap with mental problems - people from other worlds, no not at all, not possible, are you mad - this guy is insane. Accordingly, prot ends up at the Manhattan Institute, a small and specialist psychiatric hospital. It is there he ends up under the care of Dr. Gene Brewer a psychiatrist determined to get to the bottom of this interesting and ultimately special patient. The question is, just who is prot? He has no apparent traceable background and appears to know an awful lot of detail about this planet K-PAX that rings true, with an astronomer contact of Dr. Brewer's, knowledge and this knowledge is not available beyond a select group of astronomers. Is prot an Alien? Is prot a savant in the midst of a delusional fantasy? Is prot simply a different personality of the real man, the real man who is not an alien and is an ordinary American with severe mental problems?

K-PAX is m
ore than just a journey of is prot an alien or not - in describing life on K-PAX to Dr. Brewer, prot seems to shine some light on the problems of our own world. Is religion really a force for good? Do we really need the democratic capitalist system viewed by the dominant group as the best way for societies to function? Are humans really superior to other life forms on our planet - or are they just arrogant pigs? Do humans really need to engineer so many synthetic medicines when there are countless herbs used by societies more in tune with their natural environment that do the same job?

""What about psychiatry? I suppose you are going to tell me there is no need for it on K-PAX."
"Why should there be, we don't have religious, sexual or financial problems to tear us apart.""

It is on religion that Brewer (the author) is most scathing:

""Then you don't believe in God?"
"The idea was kicked around for a few hundred cycles, but was soon rejected."
"Why?"
"Why kid ourselves?"
"But if it gives comfort?.."
"A false hope only gives false comfort.""

You just wait until he gets stuck into religious bigotry and the prejudices of one religion to another, then the exchange above just seems soft!

K-PAX is written in the first person from Dr. Brewer's perspective and it has a structure that feels like a case history as written by a psychiatrist, with each chapter being a separate session with prot and the events that have surrounded that session. Whether prot is alien or not, the unique way that his mind thinks and his unique gifts soon bring benefit to the other patients as a fresh approach is tried to relieve them of their mental problems that mean they cannot function in what we call society. This structure makes K-PAX an extremely easy book to read and the ideas within the book are expressed v
ery clearly, there is no subtle message for humanity in the book, it is rammed down the reader's throats. Have an open-mind; what we perceive as correct and the truth may not be as infallible as we think; our beliefs and our perseverance by our beliefs does not make them the truth; the ridiculous may not be ridiculous but just another form of existence. Furthermore, K-PAX is an illustration of just how little we really know about the human mind and what it is capable of - as for prot and whether he is human or alien, in the end the judgment is left up to the reader.

I have not got to the bottom of whether K-PAX is based on any of Gene Brewer, the author's work, I have no idea if he is a doctor, I guess this may just be another conundrum and twist to the book's plot. Is this the book that the Dr. Gene Brewer and doctor and friend of prot was intending to write? Is it based on a real life prot? Even if it is, is this just fiction? There is nothing to be gained from the answers but it is an interesting conundrum, is Gene Brewer, Gene Brewer? Who knows - but who are you?

K-PAX is an easy book to read, it flows, it is carefully structured, is well written and has a powerful if unoriginal message. There is a certain off beat humour to the story and in the end the tale is uplifting, in certain ways refreshing and optimistic about humanity and the human spirit. This is a good relaxing read, with just enough to keep the mind ticking over without making it hurt - it will make the reader think about their beliefs and perceptions, which in today's bigoted world is no bad thing.

There was a recent film version of this book, with Kevin Spacey cast in the role of prot - to be honest, I think the casting was perfect and I will watch the film with interest.

Published by Bloomsbury paperback.

ISBN: 0-7475-2547-1.

226 pages long and very easily they slip by as well.

Priced: £6.99.

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Further details of all Bloomsbury books can be found at www.bloomsburymagazine.com.

Now just don't go telling me that my young flat mate Geoffrey the mohican giraffe is just a delusional fantasy of mine.

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