K-Pax
A Novel
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4.5 • 13 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Adapted into a major motion picture of the same name starring Kevin Spacey, Gene Brewer's K-PAX has touched the hearts and expanded the horizons of readers around the world--a thought-provoking masterpiece of modern-day fiction.
Psychiatrist Gene Brewer doesn't have a diagnosis for the mysterious new patient who calls himself "prot" (rhymes with goat). But this strange and likeable man cannot be--as he claims--from the planet K-PAX.
Or can he? Prot knows facts about space that are confounding the experts. He is soon revealing Dr. Brewer's own deepest pains and most sublime longings. And his tales of K-PAX have other patients competing to go along with him when he heads "home". Now the doctor is racing the clock to find prot's true identity before he losses a man whose "madness" might just save them all. . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This gripping first novel is a moving study of split-personality disorder and of a psychiatrist's desperate efforts to rescue a tragically lost soul. A patient calling himself ``prot'' and claiming to be a visitor from the planet K-PAX, an idyllic world without wars, government, sex or religion, is brought to the Manhattan psychiatric institute run by a character named... Gene Brewer (who is a psychiatrist, not a retired molecular biologist like his creator). Self-assured, wisecracking prot, who seems to possess arcane knowledge of subjects ranging from astronomy to paleontology, announces that he will return to K-PAX on August 17, just two months away. Before then, though, he enlists fellow patients in his fantasy; some of them, touched by his humanity, show marked improvement. Moreover, when Brewer invites prot home for a July Fourth barbecue, the man's mere presence seems to trigger dramatic changes in the psychiatrist's family. Brewer's daughter confesses that she's a lesbian, while his son, a pilot, divulges his deep-seated fear of flying, and switches careers. Aided by Giselle, a sleuthing reporter whose mawkish crush on prot strikes one of the few false notes here, Brewer finally brings out the repressed personality of a man scarred by trauma. Throughout, the narration's matter-of-fact, clinical tone makes this touching and suspenseful story all the more convincing. Film rights to Lawrence Gordon for Universal Pictures; audio rights to Brilliance.
Customer Reviews
Interesting
Interesting book on which the movie is based, there are however a few typos in the digital version. The story itself is interesting enough that I read it one day. A must read for a fan of the movie.
Great idea
The idea is amazing. The writing itself is a little wordy, but overall the story is very thought-provoking and enjoyable.