My previous experience of Philip K Dick has been skirting the edges. Staying away from the major works and spending time with those that might be considered ‘hidden gems’. I’ve enjoyed my time there immensely, but it’s time to head for the city centre.
At first glance, .The Man In The High Castle seems like a bit of an oddball in the sci-fi heavy world of Dick, but this is somewhat superficial. Yes, it’s not a ‘sci-fi’ book, but it definitely fits into the broader (and better) classification of ‘speculative fiction’. And anyone familiar with Dick’s work will find well-trodden themes within – particularly those of identity and the nature of reality/what is real.
When I started reading, I found the language of the book odd. It’s stilted and clipped, often not utilising full sentences. It wasn’t until I dug deeper into the nature of the world presented within the book that it began to make sense. This isn’t our world; this is a world where America is occupied by foreign nations. The language has changed along with the culture, fostered in a world dominated by non-native English speakers.
The same goes for the way characters act. I found their actions and thought processes odd, but they make more sense when viewed, not from a modern point-of-view, but as a result of merging/clashing cultures.
The ‘book within a book’ is wonderfully imagined. Written, not simply as an account of our own history, but as the speculation of the inhabitants of Dick’s fictional world. It’s not simply a story of the Allies’ triumph, but of the ‘what could have been’ dreams of a defeated people.
