Beyond the Door by Philip K. Dick
One of the most imaginative writers to emerge from the science fiction space, many of Philip K. Dick's novels and stories have been adapted to the screen, including Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which became the basis of Blade Runner.
Dick was a complex and troubled personality who often wrote about the illusory nature of reality and the dangers of manipulation by electronic media.
Beyond the Door, narrated by Lee Purcell, is a short, pointed tale about a cuckoo clock that changes the dynamics of a family. As one of his earlier works, it lacks the polish and depth of later stories, but captures the wry, skewed outlook that was present in many of Dick's tales. For deeper insights and stories about his life, visit the Philip K.Dick Fan Site.
“We live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, political groups. I ask, in my writing, ‘What is real?’ Because unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms. ”