... In the case of The Man in the High Castle, it would be "WW2 ended the other way round".
But just as we might like also to know what liquid, how the shark is portrayed, the dimensions of the tank, etc, we would also like to know what that initial premise entails for our future exploration. ... Read review
Imagine the world if the Allies had lost the Second World War...Philip K Dick trips the ... more
switches of our minds with his vision of the world as it might have been: the African continent virtually wiped out the Mediterranean drained to make farmland the United States divided between the Japanese and the Nazis...In the neutral zone that divides the rival superpowers in America lives the author of an underground best-seller. His book - a rallying cry for all those who dream of overthrowing the occupiers - offers an alternative theory of world history. Does 'reality' lie with him or is his world just one among many others?
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What if the Allies had lost the Second World War ...? The Nazis have taken over New York - ... more
the Japanese control California. In a neutral buffer zone existing between the two states an underground author offers his own vision of reality an alternative world that offers hope to the disenchanted ...Hugo Award winner Philip K Dick is one of the most original contributors to American sci-fi and his books were the basis for the critically acclaimed films "Blade Runner" and "Total Recall".
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Imagine the world if the Allies had lost the Second World War. This book trips the ... more
switches of our minds with a vision of the world as it might have been: the African continent virtually wiped out, the Mediterranean drained to make farmland, and, the United States divided between the Japanese and the Nazis.
Advantages: Good concept Disadvantages: Poorly executed
...as much that lies in the category of Art > Modern Art > British can be summarised in just a few words ("dead shark in liquid"), so much in the way of Fiction > Science Fiction > Alternate Worlds/Realities can be described in a similarly short way. In the case of The Man in the High Castle, it would be "WW2 ended the other way round".
But just as we might like also to know what liquid, how the shark is ... ...this case, it would be the following.
Japan and The Nazis managed to win the second world war, and as a result became the super-powers. The Germans have ploughed on ahead with those new-fangled plastics, and now the world is littered with Lufthansa skyways, rocketing people around the globe in minutes. They also have the monopoly on the rest of the solar system too, von Braun (presumably) getting all the industrialists out there and ... more
Just as much that lies in the category of Art > Modern Art > British can be summarised in just a few words ("dead shark in liquid"), so much in the way of Fiction > Science Fiction > Alternate Worlds/Realities can be described in a similarly short way. In the case of The Man in the High Castle, it would be "WW2 ended the other way round".
But just as we might like also to know what liquid, how the shark is portrayed, the dimensions of the tank, etc, we would also like to know what that initial premise entails for our future exploration. And so, in this case, it would be the following.
Japan and The Nazis managed to win the second world war, and as a result became the super-powers. The Germans have ploughed on ahead with those new-fangled plastics, and now the world is littered with Lufthansa skyways, rocketing people around the globe in minutes. They also have the monopoly on the rest of the solar system too, von Braun (presumably) getting all the industrialists out there and bringing all the much-needed minerals, ore, etc back.
The Japanese are second-rate to all this, but are still mighty, in the Pacific regions at least. And herein lies the crux for the Americans, and the American audience for this book. The USA has been split in three ways. The western sea-board is Japanese, the Eastern side is Germanic, and the middle ~ basically the dust-bowl and some mountains ~ is what's left for the 'free' Americans.
In all these areas people live as they can, and most harbour grudges against one or another side. We'll meet those people in a minute, but let us finish off by mentioning that race is an issue here, as some Americans can savour the Japanese more than others, and Germany, after they dammed, drained and made arable the entire Mediterranean, then practically obliterated the 'negro' from Africa, just as they did the Jews from Europe, and the residents of the new world's agricultural capital, The Ukraine. That, and the fact that this is a wholly earth-bound narrative, set sometime in the 1960s (or thereabouts), is nearly all we need to know.
So, we have our shark in a tank. But what is it all about? There, the title gives us the full intention ~ something about living people not being able to conceive of being dead, isn't it? To see what the full meaning and intention of Philip K Dick is here, we must turn to the characters, and the (at times, very tenuous) links between them all.
Robert Childan runs an emporium selling various items of historical interest ~ the corporate Japanese are dead keen on Americana as decoration for home and office. We first see him fending off a client chasing up a Civil War recruitment poster, of all things, but he can get his hands on a lot ~ Mickey Mouse watches, guns, famous vehicles (at a push), etc.
Frank Frink is a worker in a factory that actually creates some of the armaments and so on that Childan sells ~ their illegitimate side, at least, is a fine touch in faking memorabilia. He is a bit lazy, and so gets the sack, and his story arc is to get involved with an ex-colleague, and make and sell *real* American handiwork ~ something that has disappeared from all common perception ~ in the way of hand-soldered silver jewellry.
Frank is also missing his wife, who has hitched up with an Italian man in a truckers' diner, for the time being. They will be slowly travelling the country, and talking a lot about the situation, the back story of this alternate world, and a certain topic we shall come to soon.
Childan's client, a Mister Tagomi, is high up in the occupying forces, as it were, of the Japanese. He has important dealings with more important men from his home-land, and a mysterious visitor from abroad ~ seemingly from the Germanic Scandinavia. What their business is together must be explored by reading the book, not this website.
The jewellry makers successfully create a portfolio, and Childan ends up trying to introduce the concept to a pair of Anglicised Japanese who may be a lead-in to a major new market. Or may, however, have a fine line in embarrassing him.
And that, bar the exciting tease than one (or more!!) of these people is (or are!!) not what they seem, is that. Character summarised for you. And, unfortunately, plot.
For the majority of the writing here is a discussion, either in the form of conversation or interior monologue, of the repercussions for the thus-divided, losing, America. (Britain gets nare a mention, but that is not at all why this review is so negative.) While the plot strands come together (mostly reasonably), they are merely there to shed light on the background to the premise of the story, while failing to hide the fact there really is very little story indeed.
While Dick here is never exactly repetitive, he could have been a lot more concise about the way various characters have biases towards the pioneering (but genocidal) Germans, or against the invading, conquering, insulting (in their opinion) 'Japs'. Many of the plot threads serve to reveal whether these characters' presumptions and feelings were right or not ~ hence, perhaps, the slightly thriller-ish strand of the mysterious European with his news.
The focus at times for many of the characters here, and the main factor in the story arc of Juliana Frink and her new man, is a samizdat book, "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" (don't ask), in which the revolutionary author proposes an alternative world, one in which Europe and America won WW2. This enfolding of the concept within itself must have been blindingly revolutionary to some in 1962, as very post-modern and novel, but in conception at least it fails. The pointed return to the concept of "Grasshopper" shows that while that book is just as poorly written as "Castle", it at least has a concrete plot.
There is also another book used heavily by Dick here, one which lends a suitably alien feel to much of the Japanese American parts. The Japanese seem to have concurred with the Nazis that all religion must be banned, and so the I Ching, or the Book of Changes has become the mental panacea for many characters, as they use it to divine their future, or help them analyse their own thoughts. This might still be one of the plus points for The Man in the High Castle, but again is over-used.
To prevent this from becoming a hatchet job, there must be mention made that the writing style is really quite easy, Dick's ideas and alternative reality very well thought out. The book is short enough to not outstay its welcome, and there is always a feeling that some engaging material might be just around the corner, which will make the whole reading of it worthwhile.
It is just that Dick seems to have got so hung up on the concept, he failed to put much in that is worthwhile, which is a shame, as this must be summarised as a failure, both in the writing and in the way of an entertaining read. It's generally thought of as one of his better novels, as well, but it most certainly is not coming to a cinema screen near you soon. Two stars, as this is not a hateable book, but no recommendation.
Like the shark, it just doesn't move. Now that would be a piece of modern art...
Advantages: Highly readable and thought-provoking Disadvantages: The benign dictatorship isn't a convincing concept.
"The Man in the High Castle" is one of the dozen best Philip K Dick novels, and therefore stands among the best sf novels of all time. The scenario is familiar - an alternate world in which the allies lost the Second World War - but Dick's use of this scenario is unique.
Although the Nazis are pursuing their unspeakable policies in Africa, the action takes place in an unexpectedly benign Japanese dictatorship. Some of the characters, using the I ... ...the real one. Crucially, neither is ours: the real version has been published in an sf novel called "The Grasshopper Lies Heavy". Dick's own novel could therefore be viewed as a metaphor for the creative process, in which the author strives to find the truth in his words, but only a fictional, Platonic author can achieve it.
This is not to say that the novel is dense, difficult or unreadable. Dick always couches his philosophical questing in highly ...
NeilHudson 10.09.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
Advantages: Great idea. Disadvantages: It was such a dull book I could not even finish reading it.
The concept of this book is brilliant - a world where the Axis powers won the war, Africa is wiped out and North America is divided between Germany and Japan. However, as much as I wanted to like this book and this 'legendary' sci-fi writer, this book was just...dull. Another example of a classic people rave about that just isn't a good read. I tried to battle on with this book only leave it lying in my parent's car not bothering to retrieve it.
... ...writing style and, well, how the novel revolves around men in high places (yes I am aware of the title). I think that if you were reading a story that imagines such an alternate future you'd want a little more perspective from the common person. I respect Dick's status as a writer but this bored me to tears. ...
Renza 17.01.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick
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Advantages: interesting alternative history setting; reasonably suspenful plot Disadvantages: inconsistencies in setting, over-explained, journo-style, wooden characters
Perhaps it was a mistake to read this book just after a Nabokov and write its review during the process of reading the most recent William Gibson. But I have to say I am sorely disappointed. After reading enthusiastic blurb quotations regarding 'Fatherland' as well as several positive reviews, I expected perhaps not a masterpiece, but a high-class, utterly convincing thriller which might be even straying into the realm of literature. It wasn't.
As a reader of s-f I am perhaps familiar with exercises in creation of alternative worlds, and thus less in awe of somebody who managed to imagine and describe a 75 year old Hitler and a Berlin in which Speer's architectural vision has been realised. And of course, I have read that alternative-outcome-to WW II masterpiece of PhilipK. Dick, "The Manin the HighCastle" - wonderfully delirious ...
Product Information for "The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick" »
Product details
Type
Fiction
Genre
Science Fiction
Title
The Man in the High Castle
Author
Philip K. Dick
ISBN
0425043231; 0425086569; 0425101436; 0575082054
Manufacturer's product description
It is 1962 and the Second World War has been over for seventeen years: people have now had a chance to adjust to the new order. But its not been easy. The Mediterranean has been drained to make farmland, the population of Africa has virtually been wiped out and America has been divided between the Nazis and the Japanese. In the neutral buffer zone that divides the two superpowers lives the man in the high castle, the author of an underground bestseller, a work of fiction that offers an alternative theory of world history in which the Axis powers didnt win the war. The novel is a rallying cry for all those who dream of overthrowing the occupiers. But could it be more than that? Subtle, complex and beautifully characterized, The Man in the High Castle remains the finest alternative world novel ever written, and a work of profundity and significance.
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