In awe. Strange to stumble upon this masterpiece so late in life.
While I ponder and probably after a reread, there may be more to say. For now: helluva read.
of course the alternate history framework of the novel is compelling, an engaging thought exercise about the other possibilities of war, those moments of immense directional change. what brings the book alive is the role of the I Ching for the majority of the characters (all but the germans, those ‘cynics with utter faith’…) , the cosmological propulsion of plot and character development. it serves as a mirror for each character, bringing to focus their fears and hopes and desires, their own form of prayer, a call for succor. on another level it is the representation of the appropriation of culture, and its propagation through subjugation. the japanese take from the chinese, then sow amongst their american subjects. one of those subjects, a fictional white american author, literally uses the I Ching to write his popular alternate history novel. look again and a real white american author, pkd, uses …
Jeg har ikke sett TV-serien (enda), og jeg visste ikke at den var basert på ei bok før jeg så den i en bruktbutikk. Boka forteller (den kontrafaktiske) historien om da Tyskland og Japan vant andre verdenskrig, og vi følger en gjeng ulike personligheter i USA - som nå er delt mellom Tyskland og Japan. Ett aspekt ved boka er skildringa av denne alternative virkeligheten, og det er unektelig spennende å få et innblikk i hva som kunne ha vært. Men boka bruker overraskende lite tid på dette, og fokuserer heller på dramatikken i livet til et knippe figurer som er mer indirekte knyttet til storpolitikken. Og det fungerer bra. Ellers: Jeg likte godt hvordan "boka-i-boka" blir utforska, men er ikke særlig imponert av orakel-opplegget.
Boring...
Philip K. dick explores an alternate history where the Axis powers won WWII and as usual through it asks a fundamental question pertaining to the nature of reality. This time his question seemed to be: "What is history?".
Now this is a real Matryoshka doll of a book, a book within a book within a book. Pay attention to those books, they are the real protagonists the actual people are nothing but a set dressing for this messed up world. Well, most of them are.
This should be interesting reading for every Philip K. Dick fan.
This is one of those books where a rating isn't enough to explain how I felt about it. It's not that it's a bad book, it's just that even trying to willfully disregard the 60's era racism it left me feeling icky.
Now, don't get me wrong. In an alternate history book where the Nazis won WWII it would be shocking if there wasn't any mention of racism. It's just that Philip K. Dick never really makes any point about that racism, he just has his characters act and talk completely racist and therefore makes them very unlikeable. None of the characters were well-rounded, even the two Jewish characters who were really underutilized and one-dimensional.
I did like how the one female character went from being a whiny damsel in distress to taking agency in a dramatic way, even if she did have to lose her mind and act like …
This is one of those books where a rating isn't enough to explain how I felt about it. It's not that it's a bad book, it's just that even trying to willfully disregard the 60's era racism it left me feeling icky.
Now, don't get me wrong. In an alternate history book where the Nazis won WWII it would be shocking if there wasn't any mention of racism. It's just that Philip K. Dick never really makes any point about that racism, he just has his characters act and talk completely racist and therefore makes them very unlikeable. None of the characters were well-rounded, even the two Jewish characters who were really underutilized and one-dimensional.
I did like how the one female character went from being a whiny damsel in distress to taking agency in a dramatic way, even if she did have to lose her mind and act like a lost little girl to do it.
And I really liked Tagomi's inner monologue, how he described his emotional and physical state all the time. There was some really nice language in this book and, as you'd expect with PKD, some interesting philosophical discussions.
I have a really hard time with Philip K. Dick because I really really want to like his work but what I've read of him so far has left me pretty cold. He clearly had a brilliant mind and I enjoy experiencing his weird view of the world, but his characters are always too underdeveloped and cartoonishly bigoted that I just can't. I can excuse a lot based on PKD being a product of his time but not everything. The lack of empathy and emotional connection he had with his non-white and female characters always comes through even when he's trying to be "woke".
But I'll keep reading a few more of his "classics" just in case I'm missing something.
I picked up this novel because I enjoy the TV series. I have to say that there are very few parallels between the two. The TV series is more of a dystopian soap opera and the novel is more of a fatalistic, alternative history and discourse on humanity. Both are good but the TV Series is much broader, more detailed, and in-depth. There are numerous thematic threads that appear in the series but not in the novel; and vice versa. Of al the Philip K. Dick books I've tried (3) this one is the most readable and enjoyable.
One by one, you're introduced to a cavalcade of unlikable characters, waiting for an actual narrative to begin. It starts in the last 50 pages, with brutal descriptiveness, and stops abruptly shortly thereafter without providing much of any resolution.
After reading it, I felt more disappointed at the missed opportunity to tell an interesting story in the world that was built so laboriously than anything else.
One by one, you're introduced to a cavalcade of unlikable characters, waiting for an actual narrative to begin. It starts in the last 50 pages, with brutal descriptiveness, and stops abruptly shortly thereafter without providing much of any resolution.
After reading it, I felt more disappointed at the missed opportunity to tell an interesting story in the world that was built so laboriously than anything else.
Another awesome book by Philip K. Dick. It was really interesting how it demonstrated what it's like to have your culture looked down upon. It made me think a lot about how Americans treat other cultures.
[Vous pouvez lire mon avis sur mon blog, merci :)]
I struggled to finish this book. The story didn't grab me and I didn't really care about what was going on until about 90% into it. All in all, I found it terribly unsatisfying and disappointing.
This won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for fans of Phillip K. Dick, you'll know what to expect and you won't be the least bit disappointed. if you've never read any of his books, then maybe it's time to take the plunge.
I read this book because I'd seen a couple of episodes of the TV series. Honestly, as usual, the book is better. They took a lot of liberties with the series (only way to stretch a relatively short book that long,) and the characters are sometimes quite different.
This is classic Phillip K. Dick. Dystopian alternative future. It's very conceptual, rather than character-driven, although a couple of the characters are better developed than the rest. Worth a read, for sure.
Borrowed this book from Geri, didn't really care for it.
