Philip K. Dick Web Resources
official Philip K. Dick website
Amazon.com's Philip K. Dick books
March 2001
Philip K. Dick
The Man in The High Castle
When asked to define reality in one sentence, he replied,
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away."
I first encountered Philip K. Dick in Galactic Pot Healer, in 1998. Though I enjoyed the book and was impressed with the author's writing style, I did not pursue any further study of him. Searching through the library in December of last year, I stumbled upon The Man in The High Castle; this one amazed me: not only was it highly entertaining, it said something, and said it well.
The Man in the High Castle is set in present day(1962) America; as you begin the book, it seems anything but science fiction. But soon it's obvious that something isn't quite right. Here's the catch: the Second World War ended in an Axis Victory. The Nazi Regime and the Empire of the Sun have partitioned their conquests: the United States has been divided into East and West America. Slighty reminiscent of Huxley or Orwell's dystopias, Dick paints a disturbing view of what things might have been like, or with another reading, what things are like. What do I mean? Dick seems to propose that much of this alternate universe is actually present in the universe that we live in, where the Allies were victorious. This questioning of what reality really is pervades many of Dick's novels.
The big hint that Dick is really talking about our universe comes from the title. The Man in the High Castle is an author who has recently written a book in which the war turned out differently than this universe; that is to say, the Allies won(our universe). So Dick has written a book about a Nazi-ruled world where someone writes a book about an Ally-ruled world. This flip-flopping of point of view is only one of the things that make the book a roller coaster of the mind.
Dick has also seamlessly woven three or four seemingly unrelated plots that by the end congeal into one. It's not difficult to follow, but you do have to think.
Hopefully I've whetted your appetite: the best way to enjoy Phil Dick is to read him. In addition, if your interested, visit the official Philip K. Dick website, which provides a good biography, list of novels, and a slew of other services.
