K-PAX is a 1995 American science fiction novel by Gene Brewer, the first in the K-PAX series. The series deals with the experiences on Earth of a being named Prot. directed by Victor Sobchak. In 2010, the play made its North American debut at The Geneva Underground Playhouse in Geneva, Illinois directed by Eric Peter Schwartz.

Reception

Booklist called the novel "fascinating". Psychiatrist Allan Beveridge wrote that the novel is a good example of "why psychiatrists should read fiction", saying that it shows "how to approach moral quandaries and decision-making". Science fiction scholar David Ketterer compares it with the novel Star-Begotten by H.G. Wells. Reviewer Michael Berry wrote "There aren't many possible denouements for a book like this, and Brewer steers a middle course between the extremes of outright fantasy and predictable mundaneness. K-PAX displays the mildly off-putting attitude found in such movies as Rain Man and Forrest Gump, that we all can learn so much about ourselves from the simple-minded, but one can't deny that some of the story's episodes are genuinely funny and touching." Reviewer Lisa Koosis wrote that Prot "is one of the more extraordinary characters found in current science fiction" and that the author, "without actually having the characters set foot on another planet, manages to bring an alien world to life".

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, 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 The complaint was later withdrawn when Subiela could not afford continued litigation, but maintained his stated position on the matter until his death in late 2016.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?

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

  • Gene Brewer Official Site