The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

My neighbor overheard me saying that I hadn't been able to "get into" any books lately. He then suggested that I read Philip K. Dick, fully knowing that I don't do sci-fi. A few days later he gave me two books. With the preface that The Man in the High Castle loosely revolved around the I Ching, I chose this.

I easily swallowed this, as it's alternate history. The story is set in various former American cities, against a 70s backdrop wherein the Axis Powers (of Italy, Japan, and Nazi Germany) were victorious after World War II. The characters run the gamut- from a Japanese tradesman, a female American judo instructor, her estranged (and Jewish) ex-husband, to a Swedish industrialist who is actually a Reich counterintelligence representative. Lines cross, and a plethora of themes and political realities are explored.

Dick fleshes out theories and influences by employing two major works: the aforementioned I Ching, and a fictional book entitled The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. Folks from every culture turn to the I Ching for guidance, while Grasshopper is banned by the now ruling German and Japanese. Excerpts from the book are included in the story, and the characters debate the ideologies it presents.

While I won't be turning to a major science fiction fan, I enjoyed this book. The following are quotes that made me think...even if only insofar as to doubt how much I've considered my own political leanings lately. (Don't get me started on our need for an external frame of reference or how our natures are bent by our nurture...)


"It's idealism that makes him that bitter. Asking too much out of life."

"We cannot enter the monstrous schizophrenic morass of Nazi internecine intrigue; our minds cannot adapt."

"...the Doctrine of Original Sin. ...We are all doomed to commit acts of cruelty or violence or evil; that is our destiny, due to ancient factors."

"To save one life, Mr. Tagomi had to take two. The logical, balanced mind cannot make sense of that. A kindly man could be driven insane by the implications of such reality."