The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
Hugo Award Winner 1963
Science Fiction, 259 pages
Vintage Books, a division of Random House
FTC Disclosure: Library Book
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Do you truly believe that time is linear?
What if it weren’t? What if running parallel to our own reality was another, which is so close to our own, that from time to time it converges, crosses, then returns on its path?
This isn’t the type of science fiction I was expecting. In fact, I looked up the meaning of the term and found that I was a bit off the mark. To quote the famous science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein:
Science Fiction is speculative fiction in which the author takes as his first postulate the real world as we know it, including all established facts and natural laws. The result can be extremely fantastic in content, but it is not fantasy; it is legitimate–and often very tightly reasoned–speculation about the possibilities of the real world. This category excludes rocket ships that make U-turns, serpent men of Neptune that lust after human maidens, and stories by authors who flunked their Boy Scout merit badge tests in descriptive astronomy.
– from: Ray Guns And Spaceships, in Expanded Universe, Ace, 1981
Philip K. Dick’s book is just as Heinlein says, for he takes “the real world as we know it” and “speculates” what would happen if one set of events happened instead of another. In his story, Germany and Japan were the victors of World War II. His imagined society is well researched and worked out. Not only on the surface, but deep down within the personalities of his characters.
And this is what makes The Man In The High Castle such an intriguing read. The interactions between races, genders, and social classes are real, enlightening, and disturbing. The author’s skill is showing us that no matter what reality in which people live, their humaness prevails; the good, the bad, all of it. He offers us glimpses of what could be, and makes it seem plausible.
But then again, this is what science fiction is supposed to be. And it explains why many of Dick’s works have been adapted to film: “Blade Runner” (from Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep), “Total Recall” (from We Can Remember It For You Wholesale), “Minority Report”, “Screamers” (from Second Variety), and “A Scanner Darkly” to name a few.
Thanks to Dhympna over at Culinary Carnivale, I am slowly being reintroduced to a genre I set aside years ago and am happy to have discovered it again.
I highly recommend this book as not only an introduction (or reintroduction) to science fiction, but to Philip K. Dick. I can’t wait to get my hands on his other stories. Especially Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Blade Runner is one of my favorite movies and I feel confident the book will just as good, if not better.
So, I finally made it through the book. I think it took me a bit longer because I used teach (insert loud snicker here) the history that Dick is altering.
The first thing that struck me is the story within the story, because really, the various characters seem to be framing a completely different story. If that makes sense, which I am sure it does not.
And, I wonder, if the author himself did not use the I Ching while writing the book.
When I was reading about this book-within-the-book, it all came down to the interpretations each character was making regarding what the author was trying to get across. Which is what we all do when we read, right?
That alternate realities are in the eye of the beholder?
As for the I Ching. Yes, according to accounts/interviews I read, Dick did use it while writing the book.
I sort of agree with that definition and sort of don’t. I agree that it must be rooted in reality, but I think that serpent men from outer space are just fine in that.