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Virtual Book Club Session #1: The Man in the High Castle

In early May, I was sitting in my bedroom - reading - missing my classmates when a genius idea struck me. I love talking about books. I love seeing my peers. Put them together, and presto,  a quarantine book club came to my mind. After a couple of days and a sign-up sheet, I had a group of about 15 young women. First, an introduction to the author and the book: The Man in the High Castle. 




The topics of our discussion in the four meetings were about four main ideas: Dick's writing style, the representation of power, orientalism, and relating to characters in literature. 

Stylistic Licence
The group decided Dick's writing style was complicated, but surprisingly warm for a sci-fci writer. Freshman at our school read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury in the classroom. Ray Bradbury writes very mechanically, as a robot, to convey his futuristic, eerie points. 

Philip Dick writes in High Castle from multiple (a lot of people appear in this novel - A LOT) perspectives very personally. While the chapters are not told by the specific persons (a narrator tells them), the book sections have personal details that makes characterization quick. While the book/action is a little slow to start, readers get to know characters quickly and easily. 

Like Bradbury, Dick picks certain scenes to write dialogue robotically. When he does so, the scenes are supposed to feel cold, uncomfortable, and hardening. 

Representing Power
The power dynamic in High Castle is what makes the plot move along and makes the setting and status quo seem oppressive and reverse-history. The two most powerful "sides" are the Reich (German) and the Japanese. 

We decided German power was represented by (1) being quick-witted, and high-minded and (2) speaking in German as often as possible - while this may seem obvious, other characters, even non-powerful German characters, do not speak in long, consonant filled German words. The German language almost acts as a symbol. It represents a complex language that people lower than the 'elitest' of the elite could not possibly understand. The powerful German officials have no respect for nature.

In sharp contrast to the German powerful, the high-up Japanese constantly consult the I Ching. The German officials think there is no power in anyone but themselves; however, the Japanese think of ancestors, ask the I Ching, and consider the laws of nature before they make a decision. They are never assertive and are always skeptical of people who make decisions quickly. 

Orientalism
Since there are two, largely competing "sides" or cultures in this novel, orientalism plays a large role in the first two described issues: power struggles and characterization as well as interaction. Orientalism is when characters from a certain place stereotype and speculate about characters from the place opposite of them. For example, Frank Frink speculates about people from the East quite a lot. 

Orientalism is largely important in a book like High Castle because Dick must use characters' thoughts and dialogue to show the struggle between two main cultures and areas. The West (Pacific States, Rocky Mountain States, and mostly Japanese) are prejudice towards the West ("The South", Reich, and the United States of America) and vice versa. 












Character Relations
A couple of girls in the group expressed their concerns for not being able relate to any characters. They explained they could not truly "get into" the novel until (1) the plot picked up (which I agreed with) and (2) until they found a character they could latch on to and relate to in the story; one they could follow more closely than the other dozen characters in Dick's story. 

We collectively decided that it is better not to relate to characters in a provocative novels like High Castle. We thought that a reader learns more out of her literary comfort-zone than in reading a book where she is reading about people that are very similar to herself. 


Please enjoy The Man in the High Castle and read along with these thoughts in mind. After finishing, check back here and see if you agree with our small club's opinions. Happy reading!
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