Philip K. Dick is a fantastic speculative fiction writer, the creator of the novel Blade Runner was based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? as well as the original stories filmed as Total Recall, Minority Report, and A Scanner Darkly. His novels deal with diverse themes and the wealth of ideas are written in usual styles, so the reader is always entering a new world.
The Man In The High Castle has been recently filmed for TV as a (highly recommended) Amazon original series, and having seen it I had already accepted the concept and unfortunately imprinted the characters in my mind before I read this novel. Standing on it's own it is strikingly original and when published in 1962, would have been beyond its time.
It it 1962 and America lives in shame, divided down the middle after losing the Second World War. Nazi Germany reigns over the eastern states from the seat of Hitler in Berlin, while the Japanese rule the Pacific states - leaving the strip running down the Rockies a neutral zone. In San Fransisco, the blacks and the Chinese have become virtual slaves, the whites are second class citizens who run their lives by consulting the i-ching. In all areas, Jews have been exterminated or have gone into hiding. Frank Fink is a Jew with a false identity making inoperative replica handguns of the Old West for collectors. His plan is to create his own original jewelry if he can find a shop to carry it. His ex-wife Juliana works in the neutral zone as a cafe waitress. One night she befriends an Italian truck driver who introduces her to a book - The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, mysteriously written by 'the man in the high castle' which imagines the world we know today - a world where America and Britain won the war. Many people are drawn to read and recommended it, from a wealthy Japanese couple in California to a high-ranking Nazi Reich Consul. Juliana slowly realizes the truck driver she is talking with is more powerful than he seems and that she is heading to meet the author himself, esconded in his mythical high castle.
While always interesting, this story is politically heavy, and I found it dried up when getting into class divisions and military technicalities. I didn't find the Grasshopper book itself became more than a curiosity both for the characters or the reader. I'd add a warning: the language of this reality is extremely blunt in its use of derogatory racial slang with no one spared, which make uncomfortable reading. As a portrayal of a post war alternate universe, Dick does a terrific job covering every detail and the construction of the class system flawless, even to the slightly pigeon English everyone uses. Remarkable writing. That said, I can't recommend it.
What I found was the recent TV series took these characters and created more expansive and deeper situations than this novel, and while reading it I continued to feel it was only a beginning. Unusually, this took me over a week to read, sort of a challenge to finish it. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is a favourite classic of mine, but I can't add this to that category.
1962 / Tradeback / 2746 pages
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