Beyond The Door: Short Story

28 pages

Published Jan. 7, 2014 by HarperPerennial Classics.

ISBN:: 978-1-4434-3319-8

(1 review)

"Did you ever wonder at the lonely life the bird in a cuckoo clock has to lead --" wrote the editor of "Fantastic Universe" in January, 1954, blurbing this tale "-- that it might possibly love and hate just as easily as a real animal of flesh and blood? Philip Dick used that idea for this brief fantasy tale. We're sure that after reading it you'll give cuckoo clocks more respect."

But certainly Doris Thomas respected the clock. She went to it after the little bird came out to do his thing. She bent over the little door, her lips close to the wood. "Do you hear me?" she whispered. "I think you're the most wonderful cuckoo in the world." She paused, embarrassed. "I hope you'll like it here."

You've got to know he did. . . .

1 edition

LeRoy Miller reviewed Beyond The Door: Short Story by Philip K. Dick

Another quick read from a master craftsman.....

4 stars

while I don't think I've heard (or seen) this story before, there is something familiar about it. Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits have both had episodes with similar themes - perhaps that is why it seems familiar.

This is a good very quick read, very easy to follow. Although somewhat predictable. It does hold up to other stories from Philip K. Dick in the fact that it's fun, quick, and has themes that inspire other stories to be told.