2014年8月14日木曜日

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

I read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?/BLADE RUNNER, written by Philip K. Dick.
This novel was first published as Do Android Dream of Electronic Sheep? in 1969, and filmed as BLADE RUNNER in 1982.
This is a science fiction novel about a bounty hunter lives in ruined earth, whose job is to kill (in the story, to retire) escaped androids from Mars.

I've known the title of it and had interest, so I borrowed the book from the library, but when I started reading this book, I found it very difficult at once.
The motive of choosing this book was just its title, so I haven't estimated how it is difficult to read SF in English. Though it was hard to catch the view of its world and keep reading, I managed to read through it. 

The outline of the story is quite simple, just retiring androids, but its concept and background are very complex. 
The setting is ruined earth where most human beings have emigrated to Mars. And where living things are highly valued, and a certain kind of empathy is needed to all people. 
In that world, a group of new-type androids, which never feel empathy, has escaped from Mars for the earth and the main character, Rick Deckard set to work.
There is no clear explanation about its background in the book, but instead characters' mind is described in detail throughout the novel, to animate the world view.
So it was hard for me to grasp the context at first, and I had to read through it twice to understand most of the content.
This book was difficult for me to read, but I could enjoy the atmosphere, and I want to read it again sometime.
I hope I will be able to appreciate English books someday.