REVIEW: The Man in the High Castle

A novel by Philip K. Dick

I recently saw an Amazon Original Series called The Man in the High Castle. The alternative history angle intrigued me so I watched the first episode and was hooked. This led me to search out the book in the library and compare it to the show. Philip K. Dick wrote the story in 1962 and imagined a world in which the Axis powers won World War II. The United States is divided into three basic regions. The east is controlled by the Germans and called the Greater Nazi Reich, the west is controlled by the Japanese and called the Japanese Pacific States and the mountain area is a sort of neutral zone.

The book is told from multiple perspectives including Mr. Tagomi, a high ranking Japanese official, Juliana, a citizen of the neutral mountain states, Frank Frink, estranged husband of Juliana, and Robert Childan, owner of an antiques shop in San Francisco. Their lives cross paths in different ways and for different reasons. Surprisingly though, there isn’t a strong Nazi voice in the book. Instead, the other characters are either reacting to or talking about what the Germans are doing or planning to do.

The plot is a little thin and centers on two main lines. One is the trip Juliana and mystery man Joe take to find the author of a popular novel called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. In it, the author imagines a world in which the allies won World War II and the world is very different. The book is banned in the East but is readily available elsewhere. The other story line concerns Mr. Tagomi and his planned meeting with a Nazi defector and Japanese general concerning Operation Dandelion. This is a Nazi plan to wipe out the Pacific States and Japan itself in order to rule the world singularly.

The book won a Hugo award in 1963 and rightly so. But it is a novel of ideas and not much action. Much of what happens after World War II is inferred by the characters and not stated outright. If the inner working of the characters’ minds intrigues you, then this book would appeal. Surprisingly however, I found the Amazon series of the same name much more intriguing. It delves deeper into the motivations of each character and expands upon the world of the novel in a fresh and realistic way. We get to see how normal Americans fare in this new world and it isn’t pretty. The television series makes a few changes to the plot as well, but they are for the better. Joe’s role is much bigger in the show and The Grasshopper Lies Heavy is a newsreel with footage showing the Allies winning the war.

Bottom line, this is one of the rare occasions when I actually think that the television/movie adaption is better than the original print story.

— Reviewed by Mike Nelson, Mount Pleasant Regional Library, Mount Pleasant, S.C.

This book and other great books are available in the Charleston County Public Library catalog in New Books and Large Print and electronically as an E-Books and MP3 Audio download.