The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick is regarded as one of the eeriest novels of the 20th century. Dick's novel explores how different the world can be with the winning of a war. 

Summary

It's 1962 in the continental United States, except the US was divided between the axis victors of World War II fifteen years earlier: Germany and Japan. Slavery is once again legal. FDR was assassinated and replaced. Africa is being stripped for its natural resources and human bodies by Germany. The Japanese occupy the Pacific states and the Reich (Germany) occupies the western territories called "The South". All searching for the truth in their individual lives, Dick introduces A LOT of characters into the readers realm. 

Robert "Bob" Childan owns an antique store filled with "American" artifacts and attempts to put the pieces of the American story back together on the Pacific side. Childan is contacted by Mr. Tagomi, a powerful Japanese business associate, who is seeking a gift to impress a Swedish business revolutionary: Baynes. Childan does not know it, but some of the memorabilia in his store are counterfeit replicas of actual artifacts made by metal company Wyndam-Matson. Frank Frink (previously "Fink" - a Jewish name that would give away Frank's identity and get him executed) is newly fired from a Wyndam-Matson factory, but agrees to go into the jewelry making business with his coworker from his factory days. Frink's ex-wife, Juliana, has studied Judo in order to protect herself and now works as a teacher in Colorado (a middle ground between the Japanese and the Reich). Joe Cinnadella, an Italian WWII veteran and truck driver, and Juliana start a sudden, intimate relationship after they meet unconventionally at a diner. 

The I Ching and The Grasshopper Lies Heavy are the two most utilized and referenced texts in the novel. The characters often ask the I Ching what decisions they should make. Depending on which page they turn to after they ask the question, each person receives a hexagram in response. The Grasshopper Lies Heavy is a book written about a "fictional world" in which the United States and the allies won WWII. The characters reference the book to imagine a better world, or in juxtaposition, mock and exclaim frustrations about how fantastical the writing and plot are. (See the irony!)

All of Dick's characters come together to wind a complicated web of uncovering the truth behind the eerie end to World War II. 

Review

I don't like to review classics very much because who am I to say whether a master's work is "good" or "bad"? It is not up to me alone. However, in my humble opinion, I LOVED this book. I think the fact that readers cannot relate at all to this world is marvelous because it is the story of the complete opposite of reality. I think not being about to connect to many characters teaches readers more than when we read in our comfort zones. Please read this book. Being comfortable with the unfamiliar is one of literature's greatest missions. 

The first session of the Virtual Book Club was based on this novel. Read the club's discussion overview here.