The Man In The High Castle

Can also be found here: [...]Philip K. Dick’s Hugo Award winning book, The Man in the High Castle, ponders the horrific but possible idea that World War II had gone the opposite way. Rooted in the idea that FDR was the USA’s savoir, the leader that indiscriminately pulled the country out of depression and into a position of worldwide economic and militaristic dominance, is assassinated in the 1930’s. Thus the USA is under a different steward, one who lacks the necessary abilities to navigate a decade wrought with peril, and in the end this leader forfeits the war. In this world, the Germans have divided the United States in two, sharing it with Japan while dominating it as a whole with their secret police.A thought provoking world structure is presented. Japan dominates the East, Germany the West. The Germans have decimated Africa on the heels of their successful European campaign of genocide, have entered space and begun intergalactic colonization, and they have their sights set on the East in an effort to take the world wholly into their grasp. That said, the novel offers a compelling story, one full of characters that intrigue while working to establish a universe distinctly different than our own. Germans still hunt down Jews, most of which have gone into hiding by changing their names and appearances. Hitler rots in an asylum, having gone insane as the result of disease, and his cronies and supporters are passing away in due time, leaving messy, nearly medieval battles of succession. Either way, the quest for the ideal man remains, with all of those who defy the mold being cast aside and left expendable.Yet, while the novel mentions German politics and examines a moment of German succession, the events concentrate more on the state of the States, specifically in the western half, the one controlled by the Japanese. Here life has descended into two communities: dominate class of Japanese and a subservient culture of Americans. The Americans, such as Frank Frink and Robert Childran hold the Japanese in high esteem, wishing to serve them, earn their respect, and come to understand their culture. On the other hand, the Japanese view the Americans with a degree of curiosity, collecting relics of American past, relics that Americans once mass produced and now go to great lengths to counterfeit. Collectors, such as Tagomi strive to understand their surroundings, live in fear of their German partners, and constantly consult the I Ching for answers. The mysticism of the oracle rains supreme, answers their questions, and writes their future.Strangely enough, the book’s title is owed to writing within the writing. A book within the book, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, comes from an author reputed to live in fear, hiding out in a high castle protected by security in order to keep the Germans at bay, for the author known as Abendsen has written a novel in which the Germans are defeated and the Americans win the war. Such material boarders on treason and thus leaves the author open to attack, hence his secure hiding spot. While the alternate reality here isn’t the same as the truth, it creates ire among the German secret police, inflames the masses, and calls the war itself into question. This ponderance hits on one of the books main points: what is reality, how is it determined, and where is our plain of existence. Are we a book with a book? A truth? Or are we at the mercy of the Oracle. In the end the novel asks more questions than answers, yet serves as a satisfying glimpse into a world that never was from the world we hope that is.

This story is told from seven different points of view which include the unlikely characters of: a judo instructor; an antique dealer; a publisher; and a craftsman. Not what you would expect from a story about an alternate history where the axis powers (Japan and Germany) win World War II and divide up pieces of the world.Most refreshing, was PKD’s choice of setting the story in a timeline after World War II. He establishes a plot just far enough along that the main historical players are still walking around in the background, which roots the story into the reader’s subconscious. Yet, the world has moved on from active conflict. The tale centers around a society that is getting on with things. A drawback for this is that he’s not giving you much action like you might normally get in an alternate history centered around World War II.That said, there is always some violence lurking in the background (on the other side of reality or the other side of a door). The story is full of gamesmanship, surreptitious politics and cultural conflicts. However, as noted by other reviewers, this is mostly in the inner monologues of the Point-of-View, characters, which proves fascinating as the characters continually strategize and second guess their ways through the surrounding clash of cultures.This book felt very different when compared to some of the other works by PKD I have read (not many). The prose felt the tightest and most polished I’ve seen from him. That said, PKD seemed to make a purposeful, stylistic choice when building out the voice for the individual characters and he wrote many of them in a staccato, broken-type of prose when monologuing their internal thoughts. This gave the sentences an “alien-like” feel and threw off the reading a bit, but was not too distracting. The distinction between thoughts and dialog also served as a continual reminder to the reader that the current reality is not the same reality that they themselves inhabit.In typical PKD fashion there is a never-ending stripping away of reality’s onion skin layers. Behind everything going on, someone or some thing is driving the currents of life in different directions. The characters, at times, all feel lost and flailing among the forces around them—but then again—don’t we all have these moments?To find order and meaning, many of the characters turn to an ancient Chinese divination book that acts as an oracle. The randomizing patterns in this tome make reference to philosophical expositions which can put a certain “lens” on current events or things to come. Yet, as with most fortunetelling, interpretation is everything. PKD does manage to find a way to use this device in a masterful and unconventional way and tie many of the plot points together. The denouement is simply bursting with all the existential genius which this author is famous for. Just a great picture of how much, seemingly unrelated things can affect other things.So much of this story is focused on the individual. So readers looking for Nazi showdowns against Imperial Japan might be a bit disappointed. There is action in this book and it is powerful and pointed when it happens, but as I said previously, it is used sparingly. Instead, PKD uses the historical and cultural ques of the Axis powers to build his world in a framework that echoes the existential struggles facing his characters.As each of the individuals struggles to find their place in the world, so too do the new nations ebb and flow in living reality (or unreality), finding their new place on the changed landscape.This is well worth a read and probably a re-read. PKD’s prose is not intimidating, though it may put off some at first, it always compliments the heavier philosophies running beneath the surfaces of his works. The Man in the High Castle is no different. However, it feels much tighter. The ending though, is probably typical of a PKD work. A great read for a clear mind, but not necessarily a casual get away.Podcast: If you enjoy my review (or this topic) this book and the movie based on it were further discussed/debated in a lively discussion on my podcast: "No Deodorant In Outer Space". The podcast is available on iTunes, Tune-In Radio, Stitcher, Google Play Music, YouTube or our website.

Vi la serie y compré el libro, todo bien hasta ahora, es Phillip K. Dick osea que es calidad…

Nice version of the novel.

The author leaves you in the cold at the very end of the book. Interesting to know about I Ching , which was used by all characters in the plot except the Nazi's

Cosa sarebbe successo se l'Asse avesse vinto la Seconda Guerra Mondiale? Philip Dick, nel suo romanzo, cerca di dare una spiegazione abbastanza plausibile dei fatti.Se siete qui sicuramente avrete visto la serie TV su Amazon Prime ma il libro e la serie sono molto diverse, nonostante ciò resta un romanzo piacevole ed interessante.Ad esempio alcuni personaggi principali della serie come l'Obergruppenführer John Smith non è presente nel romanzo, i caratteri e la psicologie dei personaggi sono diversi rispetto alla serie (a differenza di Childan che nel romanzo sembra essere il personaggio più importante insieme a Mr. Tagomi). Ma la differenza principale sono l'oggetto che mostra la realtà alternativa: nella serie sono dei cinegiornali mentre nel libro dei "libri proibiti".