The Dice Man
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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What else might the dice dictate? Well, that I stop writing silly psychoanalytic articles ; that I sell all my stock, or buy all I could afford ; that I make love to Arlene in our double bed while my wife slept on the other side ; that I take a trip to San Francisco, Hawaii, Peking ; that I bluff every time when playing poker; that I give up my home, my friends, my profession. After giving up my psychiatric practice I might become a college professor … a stockbroker … a real estate salesman … Zen master … used-car salesman … travel agent …elevator man. My choice of profession seemed suddenly infinite."--The Dice Man (1971) by Luke Rhinehart |
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The Dice Man is a comedic novel published in 1971 by George Cockcroft under the pen name Luke Rhinehart and tells the story of a psychiatrist who begins making life decisions based on the casting of dice. The novel is noted for its subversivity, anti-psychiatry sentiments and for reflecting moods of the early 1970s. Due to its subversive nature and chapters concerned with controversial issues such as rape, murder and sexual experimentation, it was banned in several countries. Upon its initial publication, the cover bore the confident subheader, "This book can change your life" and quickly became a modern cult classic.
The book went through a number of republishings - in the United States it acquired the even more confident subheader "Few novels can change your life. This one will", in spite of its being a highly edited version of the original. Perhaps because of this, and despite the author and the character both being from the USA, it was initially less successful than in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. After a further UK reprint in 2003, The Dice Man enjoyed something of a miniature comeback as it was introduced to a new generation.
The themes of the book are continued in two other novels, The Search for the Dice Man and Adventures of Wim and a companion title, The Book of the Die.
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