The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick

...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...

 

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