The Man of the High Castle - Philip K Dick - Book Review

                                   

                I have always been an ardent reader of world history. Especially the World War 2 era. Many times, I have imagined many "what if? ' Scenarios in many of the greatest happenings in the world, especially in WW2. What if World War 2 ended the other way? When I saw such a thought as a book, I definitely had to read it. 

                The novel is set in a world where Nazis and Japan won World War 2.  The world is divided and ruled by Nazis and Imperial Japan. The story focuses on America. There seems to be a lot of development in the world but the Jews and whites are scorned and their life is very difficult in these times. The Nazis and the Japanese are in an uncomfortable coalition and are wary of each other. Slavery is legal. Robert Childan owns an antique shop that specializes in selling American items to high-profile Japanese clients. He receives an order one day from a high-ranking Jap official who wants a gift for a visiting foreign industrialist. There are also parallel stories involving Frank Frink who recently got fired from his job and his ex-wife Julianna Frink who goes on to have a short relationship with an Italian driver. Throughout the plot, the book banned by Nazis " The Grasshopper Lies Heavy" makes its presence with various characters reading the same secretly. How does the book play an important role? How do the characters' lives turn out in the course of the book? forms the rest of the plot.

                The story premise is interesting in its own way. I always had this scenario in the back of my mind whenever I read anything related to WW2. But the read was not as smooth as I expected. I tended to drift off in some places. The writing style was not enough to keep me glued to the book. The language is simple enough though. It was interesting how the world was presented in the book. And how the Americans and British people would have lived under the Nazis and the Japanese. The pacing did affect the flow of the story. I really liked the book "Grasshopper Lies Heavy" which came at many instances of the story and I did enjoy parts involving the same. People trying to read a Nazi-banned book on what the world would look like if the Allied Powers had won. Well! That's definitely interesting. There was 'iChing' oracle which comes often and dictates everything and this did seem confusing to me. The way how this book ended was a bit unexpected. The final conversation between Juliana and the author was not satisfactory for me and did not bring a sense of satisfaction.

                    In short, the concept and premise make this a very interesting read. But the whole book gives me an average feel to me. Dystopian and historical fiction enthusiasts will definitely find this read an interesting premise.