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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
One of the few books I’ve read this year that I really didn’t enjoy. The concept is really neat (in case you’ve missed the Prime series, it’s a dystopian story set in an America where we lost WWII so America is controlled half by Japan and half by Nazis) but the storyline itself was just pretty boring. It’s told from the perspective of many different characters and one thing I did enjoy is the thing that connects all these characters – a book they’re all reading about what America would be like if the Allies had won WWII (so as a reader, I’m reading a book in which the characters are reading a book with the opposite plot, which is creative). It’s well written, I think I just do better with books with more action.
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A book which, stuck with me so immensely upon finishing it that I sat alone for hours, then wrote an entire essay on my feelings on it, after which I went on a mad raving to my fiancé about its implications. Reading it at the time which I did could not have been more impactful, and I can say that immediately upon putting it down that I felt so moved by it that it became an instant favorite. Set in an alternate world where the Axis won the Second World War, and split up America between the Japanese and the Nazis. It is centered around a mystery involving a novel, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which itself depicts an alternate world where the Allies won the war, resulting in a world very different from the one in which we live. A fascinating exploration of action and inaction, race, nationalism, an expert deconstruction on the ideologies of the Axis powers, and most importantly, hope for a better world, one only possible through choosing to make it better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, War, Classism
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
I very much enjoyed myself for 2/3 of the book. The last third, though... it bored me to tears. The only redeeming event was Juliana slashing Joe's throat. Other than that? I don't need to know the particulars of the struggle for power in the Nazi regime after Bormann's death. I don't need to read with all the I Ching users the interpretation lines and hear their worrying about the damn thing. And I certainly don't know what to make of the man in the high castle himself, who might or might not be a stand-in for PKD, and I am also not convinced that the oracle "has written the book". A very strange ending for a book that, until that very last moment, tried so hard to get all the details right, all the small and big might-have-beens.
There were also other things that didn't sit right with me. Most of all I don't believe that any conquered nation would embrace so wholeheartedly the culture and idioms of their oppressors.
On the bright side: I really liked the prose; it felt very modern.
There were also other things that didn't sit right with me. Most of all I don't believe that any conquered nation would embrace so wholeheartedly the culture and idioms of their oppressors.
On the bright side: I really liked the prose; it felt very modern.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
unfortunately, i had a hard time getting into the book. got truly invested only at the end when everything clicked into place. interesting premise, very meta. wish it gripped me sooner though
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot