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A review by caliesha
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
2.0
A couple thoughts about this one.
By looking at an alternate history of WWII, PKD shows the gravity of what actually occurred. I liked the theme of historicity throughout - looking at how certain objects regarded as "antiques" have no inherent value outside of the stories we place upon them. In doing some reading about PKD, I learned that he consulted the I Ching frequently while writing this book, making the Grasshopper-plot line even more meta. In his book about an alternate reality, his reality still exists. These elements (id est structure, world-building, theme) were great.
The biggest problem I think I had with this was that it lacked an emotional punch. I didn't feel connected to the characters, in fact, I was confused by their relationships at times and what the bigger picture was meant to be. It didn't help that the book just... ended. I get it that there couldn't be a big resolution for any of the problems, but I wasn't satisfied. It seemed that PKD cared more about his world than the people in it which left me, aka the reader, detached. Oh well.
Overall - 2.5 stars.
By looking at an alternate history of WWII, PKD shows the gravity of what actually occurred. I liked the theme of historicity throughout - looking at how certain objects regarded as "antiques" have no inherent value outside of the stories we place upon them. In doing some reading about PKD, I learned that he consulted the I Ching frequently while writing this book, making the Grasshopper-plot line even more meta. In his book about an alternate reality, his reality still exists. These elements (id est structure, world-building, theme) were great.
The biggest problem I think I had with this was that it lacked an emotional punch. I didn't feel connected to the characters, in fact, I was confused by their relationships at times and what the bigger picture was meant to be. It didn't help that the book just... ended. I get it that there couldn't be a big resolution for any of the problems, but I wasn't satisfied. It seemed that PKD cared more about his world than the people in it which left me, aka the reader, detached. Oh well.
Overall - 2.5 stars.