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I’ve always been a fan of alternate history novels. When Amazon made Philip K. Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle” into a TV show I eagerly watched. I was fascinated by the concept: Germany and Japan won WWII and ruled the United States. The East was under German rule, while the West was under Japanese. The show followed characters on both coasts from a Nazi government worker to a Caucasian couple rebelling under Japanese rule in San Francisco.
The show was a disappointment; I found it slow and too dark at times. That being said, the season 1 finale was an excellent cliffhanger so I’m looking forward to diving in to season 2.
In the meantime I decided to pick up the book. I’ve never read any of Dick’s novels before. I know many TV shows and movies are based on his work (including “Blade Runner”). I was told his books are strange, but I decided to go for it.
“The Man in the High Castle” has the same premise as the show. The book mostly takes place on the West Coast. While the Nazis are discussed throughout the plot, the action is centered in San Francisco. There, Frank Frink, a metal worker is dealing with life after being fired from his job. He was born Jewish and has been disguising himself as a non-Jew his entire life.
Frink was once married to Julianna Crane, who now lives outside of German and Japanese rule in the Rocky Mountains, where she teaches Judo. Frink still pines for her, but she rarely thinks of him. She met a man named Joe and launched into a passionate affair with him.
Frink’s former co-worker, Ed, approaches him about using their metal-working skills to make jewelry. While the Japanese are obsessed with older American artifacts, there is no new art being made; only forgeries of items like Civil War era pistols. Another character, Robert Childan, a rather obsequious and odious man, runs an antique shop in San Francisco focusing on selling American artifacts. Childan longs to be recognized by the Japanese elite class as a master antique dealer so that his shop will become famous and bring in a lot of money.
Childan’s work brings him into the orbit of Nobusuke Tagomi, a Japanese trade official. Tagomi has his own issues. He is supposed to meet with Baynes, a Swedish industrialist, who keeps putting off their business because he wants a third party from Japan to be present when they speak.
The characters are linked in various ways. Julianna and Joe’s storylines are geographically removed from the others. All of the characters come into contact with a new book called “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy.” This book within a book (it’s film reels in the show) reveals an alternate history to the characters, one where the Allied Forces won WWII rather than Germany and Japan. The book is frightening and incredible to them.
In the book, cracks are beginning to show between Germany and Japan. The Germans destroyed Africa in their quest for Aryan purity. They are colonizing planets and developing incredible technologies, while looking to get rid of Japan. The Japanese find the Germans distasteful, but work with them as needed. During the book, Martin Bormann, the current Chancellor of Germany dies leaving a power struggle in Germany.
The various players are thrown by this news in different ways. Some lives depend on who takes power next. Some speculate on who would be better for Germany. But yet, this news heralds a time of change for all the characters. Frink and his partner, Ed, begin to make a new type of American art. Tagomi and Baynes finally meet with the third party in an intense sequence that reveals Germany’s plans for Japan. For different reasons, Julianna and Joe decide to meet the author of “Grasshopper.”
I realize this is an old book and maybe an odd choice to review, but with the show entering its second season, I felt it was relevant. At times the story is a bit slow and I wished for more character interactions. The way the author connects the various players works well in the novel.
