Title: The Man in the High CastleAuthor: Philip K. Dick
Pages: 274
Genre: Alternate History / Dystopian Fiction
Publisher: Mariner, 2011
Series: Stand Alone
Synopsis: It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war -- and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.
Review: This is a really odd book and is hard to understand in places. It's also a good novel. While I'm not sure I came away completely understanding it, I know I won't soon forget it.
California, Oregon, Washington and part of Nevada are the Pacific States of America, run by the Japanese. The rest of the nation is run by the Nazis. The Middle East is owned by the Italians. And everywhere, people are being slaughtered. Africa is nearly empty - a barren land used for dumping toxic waste. The few black people left are used as slaves. The Jews have nowhere to hide because they are arrested and sent to Germany for elimination. Russia has almost no Russians left. The rest of the Americans, the Europeans and the Chinese are the lower class now, held in disdain by all the world's powers.
All in all, this novel was unsettling, upsetting and eye-opening. It made me realize how lucky we are. This book forces you to ask yourself hard questions about hatred, racism, and power.
Rating: 5.5 / 10
Wow, this book sounds like it has one heck of an interesting premise.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of the author but never checked out his works. It sounds like something I would probably enjoy, anyhow. :) Quite interesting.