the man in the high castle (philip k dick)

Realised with some surprise I have never actually read any Phillip K. Perhaps, from so long ago I can’t recall it. His reputation is as something of a pulpy eccentric, bolstered by screen adaptations, including of this novel. So, the depth and complexity of a slightly rangy text came as a surprise. Dick displays an erudite, measured tone, in a counter-factual novel which is anchored in Japanese culture and Nazi lore. The play on the war being lost and the USA being conquered by the axis forces, dividing the country down the line of the Rockies, is a smart narrative idea, and Dick embraces the cultural impact of this with aplomb. It’s as much a novel about the meeting of East and West as it is about the speculative premise, or rather, that premise is an excuse to interrogate these ideas.