Christianity or Bust

Ubik was the second novel by Philip K Dick that I read in a fortnight, I think.

It was an enjoyable read. There were some really interesting concepts in it such as “half life” (a state where people whose bodies have died but brains are still partially alive are still able to communicate with the living) and all those jargonic words such as “precogs”.

I can’t really be bothered commenting much on this book. There’s a sensation of knowing what is going on but knowing that Dick is screwing with your mind about what the main characters perceive as reality.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read any Philip K. Dick books. Yet, I’ve always known he is a great science fiction writer.

The Man In The High Castle isn’t really science fiction. The book is set in an alternative reality with its own alternative history in present day (1962 at the time the book was written) where the Germans and Japanese won World War II. To a small extent, the novel discusses the difference in how Axis won, the horror of Nazi conquest and how the two major Axis powers are in a state of Cold War and have divided up control of the USA. (The west coast of the USA is controlled by the Japanese who are largely tollerant of the people, the east coast of the USA is controlled by the Nazis who are still determined to kill every last Jew and the middle of the USA, the Rocky Mountain states is neutral territory because both superpowers see little value in it).

The bulk of the book is focused upon people living in San Fransisco. There’s a subplot involving counterfeiting American antiques to sell to the Japanese occupation forces (the Japanese love American antiquities) - this ties in well with Dick’s fascination with the question “What is real?”.

Another key part of the book is how many characters use I, Ching as a working Oracle and read a book called “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy” (the title is inspired by Ecclesiastes 12:5: “Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:”.

. The book “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy” is a novel-within-a-novel where the Allies won World War II but not in the same way as our reality.

I found it interesting how Dick lapses between of first and third-person mode a lot. This is particularly notable in characters that are racist.

I really loved this book and almost read it in one weekend. The ending is mind-blowing.