The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick was a change of pace for Dick as well as the science fiction genre. While there had been some previous alternate history novels, none had the reach or critical acclaim that Dick’s book had. And for Philip K. Dick, it allowed him to merge his two novel careers together. For most of the 1950s, Dick had been trying to be a successful mainstream writer while he was making a living as a science fiction author. With The Man in the High Castle, Dick was able to have a science fiction genre book which was also was very much a mainstream book. There are no robots or futuristic settings or spaceships, only a cast of characters trying to find their way around a confusing situation.
The book is set in an alternate history where the Axis won WWII and split the US. Germany has most of the East Coast and Japan has the West Coast. Our main character, Robert Childan, is a specialist in Americana (older American historic objects which fascinate the Japanese) and very much wants to be seen with and be friends with Japanese people. Since Japan took over the West Coast of the US, many people like Robert have become fascinated with the Japanese culture. Robert finds himself in the middle of two cross plots. The first deals with the the succession of German chancellors (including a German plot to nuclear bomb Japan) and the second deals with a book that posits an alternate history where the Allies won the war. Brought into this is Frank Frink a factory worker who was making fake Americans and then starts creating authentic new American jewelry. Frank’s ex-wife, Juliana, gets pulled into a plot to kill the author of the alternate history novel.
The wonderful part of the book is how much detail Dick goes into with the integration. Many of the American have adopted the Chinese philosophy based on the I Ching. The I Ching plays a major role in the plot and affects the actions of almost all the characters. Dick was well known for his ideas and this book is teaming with them. We not only have an alternate history, but there is an alternate history within the alternate history. The Japanese have a love for older Americana with disdain for anything recent while Americans have a love for the Japanese culture of the present while they know they don’t belong to it.
Robert Childan has his faith in his job and the Japanese tested when he finds out that a part of his Americana store is fake. And when he deals with the new crafts created by Frank Fink, he realizes the disdain that Japanese have for Americans. Those twin realizations shake Childan’s life and beliefs and send him to the same realization that Juliana Frink has after meeting the author of the alternate history book, that the world they are living in is not the real world.
The book is a great introduction to Philip K Dick and his ongoing theme of alienation and paranoia about what is real and what is fake. It deservedly won the Hugo award in 1963 and is the start of his busiest period of writing. Starting with the publication of The Man in the High Castle, Dick had 17 book published in the 1960s. It’s also one of the most influential science fiction books. The number of alternate history science fiction books has greatly increased since Dick and would not have been possible without him. There are many Philip K. Dick books that should be read, but The Man in the High Castle is probably your best introduction to him.