Book Title:  Humpty Dumpty in Oakland
Author: Philip K. Dick
Publishing Company: TOR, A Tom Doherty Associates Book
Year:  2007
# of Pages: 252
ISBN-13:  978-0-7653-1690-5 
ISBN-10:  0-7653-1690-0
$24.95 U.S.
$28.95 Canada 

Reviewer:  Deborah Ground Buckner (Kansas City Correspondent - USA)

Before Philip K. Dick made his name in science fiction writing works that became the basis of such films as Blade Runner and Minority Report, he experimented in stories of proletarian realism.  Many of these early works, written in the 1960s, went unpublished for years.  Humpty Dumpty in Oakland was first published in 1986.  TOR has recently issued a new edition of this early work.

In 1960s California, Al Miller is a used car salesman-and a bad one at that-conducting his business from a rented lot where he offers half a dozen or so rebuilt wrecks for sale.  Al's life becomes even more uncertain when his landlord, "the old man," Jim Fergesson, announces he has sold his automotive garage and the land on which the car lot sits.  The old man's heart is giving out, and doctors have told him he can no longer do the heavy mechanical work that has made his living.  Jim assures Al the new owner will probably continue to rent to Al, but there are no guarantees. 

When a long-time customer arrives at the garage looking for Jim, Al is impressed by the man's sharp clothes and flashy Cadillac.  Jim tells Al the man is Mr. Harman, a businessman who deals in "dirty records."  Harman tells Jim of a new residential and commercial development that will include a modern garage where Jim could invest his money from the sale of his own business.  Al becomes convinced Harman is a con man out to take Jim's money.  Al is not above being a con man himself; after all, he believes a used car salesman is one of the biggest con artists one could be.  When his attempt to blackmail Harman fails, Al gets sucked deep into a world he cannot begin to understand, and his downward spiral is as fast and furious as Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall.

Characterization is rather weak in this early work, though.  There is a poor attempt at writing dialect for Jim's Greek wife and the "Negroes," as the book states, with whom Al does much of his business by omitting the verbs from their sentences.  It not only fails to produce a realistic dialect, but it is confusing to read. 

A few literary references seem strained and contrived.  In one instance, Jim tells of listening to one of the "dirty records," a monologue "about Eva crossing the ice; you know, in Uncle Tom's Cabin."  It is not clear whether the error in this reference is attributable to Harman's record company, Jim's recollection, or Dick's failure to recall that it was Eliza who crossed the ice; Eva was the child who died.  Similarly, in a discussion between Al and his wife, Julie, she refers to the possibility of an opportunity arising for him.  "'By killing him?' he said.  'And taking his place?'  It sounded like something out of Macbeth."  Al does not come across as a character who would have been familiar with Shakespeare's Scottish play, and this injection of opinion by the author seems out of place. 

This early work does, however, demonstrate Dick's ability to construct a fast-moving plot that will keep the pages turning.  That makes this an entertaining read and shows the groundwork for his later riveting science fiction.