''Dayworld'' is a trilogy of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for his sequences of novels, especially the ''World of Tiers ...

, inspired by his own acclaimed short story "

The Sliced-Crosswise Only-On-Tuesday World "The Sliced-Crosswise Only-On-Tuesday World" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip José Farmer, first published in 1971 in ''New Dimensions 1: Fourteen Original Science Fiction Stories.'' The story later formed the basis for F ...

". They are set in a

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

future in which people are allowed to live only one day of the week. For the rest of the six days they are "stoned", a kind of

suspended animation Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. It may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogen ...

. The novels focus on a man, Jeff Caird, who is a daybreaker: someone who lives more than one day a week. As the series progresses, the main character seems to be suffering from

dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

. The novels comprising the trilogy are: * ''Dayworld'' (1985) * ''

Dayworld Rebel ''Dayworld Rebel'' is a 1987 science fiction novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, the second book in the Dayworld Trilogy. Plot summary In this sequel, Jeff Caird has created a new personality for himself submerging his previous persona ...

'' (1987) * ''

Dayworld Breakup ''Dayworld Breakup'' is a 1990 science fiction novel by American writer Philip José Farmer, the last book in the Dayworld Trilogy. Notes See also *Philip José Farmer bibliography In a writing career spanning more than 60 years (1946–2008), ...

'' (1990) In 2016, a prequel to the trilogy, ''Dayworld: A Hole in Wednesday'', by Philip José Farmer and Danny Adams, was published (7 years after Farmer's death in 2009). Adams also collaborated with Farmer on the short novel ''The City Beyond Play''.

Plot background

Jeff Caird is a citizen of Tuesday-World N.E. (New Era) 1330. The book starts on D5-W1 (Day-Five, Week-One) in the Second Month of N.E. 1330. (Each day of the week is the same day number, i.e. Sun-Sat will still be D5-W1). The book takes place over a full week, from Tuesday-World D5-W1 to Tuesday-World D6-W1. Jeff Caird is an 'organic' (police officer) by profession. Each day of the week organics have a different outfit. Also, each day of the week has a different fashion trend, TV shows, news, and so on, most people only knowing about each in his or her own day. However, Jeff Caird is a daybreaker, and not only that, he's an immer. The immers are a group of individuals living and acting beneath the radar of the government. The goal of the immers is to slowly and subtly change the government for the better. There are immers in just about every aspect of society in each day of the week. Jeff Caird is special in that he is a daybreaker as sanctioned by the immers, used to pass messages from day to day. As a daybreaker, Caird has mentally created a different identity for himself for each day of the week, different jobs, different friends, and different wives all included.

Stoners

A stoner is the device which triggers the suspended animation which each and every citizen of the respective day must, by law, be in by 11:30 PM. At 11:35 (in accordance with a five-minute grace period) the stoners turn on and the occupant is essentially frozen in time, resembling a stone statue. At 12:15 AM the following morning, citizens of the current day are de-stoned. A stoner resembles a cylindrical upright capsule with a circular window in the door. Novels by Philip José Farmer Dystopian novels Science fiction novel series {{1980s-sf-novel-stub