K-PAX
OCLC 45697130 | |
K-PAX is an American
K-PAX was adapted into a theatrical film of the same name, released in 2001.
Series
- K-PAX (1995)
- K-PAX II: On a Beam of Light (2001)
- K-PAX III: Worlds of Prot (2002)
- K-PAX IV: A New Visitor from the Constellation Lyra (2007)
- K-PAX V: The Coming of the Bullocks (2014)
Synopsis
In 1990, a man is picked up by the New York Police after being found bending over the victim of a mugging at Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan. After responding to the police questions with somewhat strange answers, he is transferred to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation. Although not physically ill, he is found to harbor the strange delusion that he is from a planet called K-PAX in the Lyra constellation. The patient calls himself "prot" (pronounced to rhyme with "goat", and intentionally written in lower-case to reflect the insignificance of an individual life form in the universe). He is eventually transferred to the Manhattan Psychiatric Institute (MPI), where he becomes the patient of Dr. Gene Brewer.
Prot is extremely fond of fruit, including banana skins and apple cores, which he eats during each session. He tells Brewer that he is 337 Earth years old, that he has visited Earth often, and that on this visit he has traveled to most of the world's countries for the past four years and nine months. He exhibits a sense of humor, reassuring Brewer on the first session that, despite being one,
Though prot's dialogue is usually satirical, he turns out to be highly suggestible and easily hypnotized. Once Brewer learns this, he begins more serious therapy. With the help of journalist Giselle Griffin, Brewer discovers that prot may be Robert Porter, who was traumatized by the murder of his wife and child, and his subsequent killing of the perpetrator, and that prot may be an alter ego resulting from dissociative identity disorder. Brewer speculates that the name prot is derived from Porter's surname.
When prot "returns" to his own planet, Robert Porter is left in a
Adaptations
The 2001 film K-PAX was directed by Iain Softley and based on the first book in this series. Kevin Spacey portrays prot, and Jeff Bridges plays the psychiatrist.[1]
K-PAX was made into a stage play, also written by Gene Brewer, and has been performed at the Lion and Unicorn Theatre,[2] directed by Victor Sobchak.[3] In 2010, the play made its North American debut at The Geneva Underground Playhouse in Geneva, Illinois directed by Eric Peter Schwartz.[citation needed]
Reception
Booklist called the novel "fascinating".
Lawsuit
Upon the release of the film version of the book, Argentinian director Eliseo Subiela claimed that K-PAX plagiarized his 1986 film Man Facing Southeast,[9] and sued Brewer. The complaint was later withdrawn when Subiela could not afford continued litigation, but maintained his stated position on the matter until his death in late 2016. Brewer went on to release a memoir exploring his inspiration for the books, called Creating K-PAX or Are You Sure You Want to Be a Writer?[10]
See also
- K-PAX, a movie from 2001
- Man Facing Southeast, a movie from 1986 that preceded the novel
- Kirk Allen, a psychiatric patient who claimed to live in the worlds depicted in Edgar Rice Burroughs' series of novels titled Barsoom
- Anarchism
- Utopia
References
- ^ a b c Scott, A. O. (October 26, 2001). "K Pax (2001) FILM REVIEW; Now Arriving on Track 10: The 3:15 from Outer Space". The New York Times.
- ^ "Act Provocateur New Writings". Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
- ^ Waites, Aline. "Ham & High reviews". Hampstead and Highgate Express. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
- ^ Beatty, William (March 1, 1995). "K-PAX". Booklist. 91 (13): 1177.
- .
- ^ Ketterer, David (July 2009). "The "Martianized" H.G. Wells?". Science Fiction Studies. 36, Part 2 (108).
- ^ Berry, Michael (March 12, 1995). "Thrillers, Killers and the Cosmos". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Koosis, Lisa (July 6, 2006). "One Remarkable Journey: A Review of "K-PAX"". www.rusbiz.com.
- ^ "Subiela reitera que "K-Pax" es un plagio de "Hombre Mirando al Sudeste", pero de calidad".
- ^ "Other Books". GeneBrewer.com. Retrieved August 8, 2010.