Philip K. Dick "The Man in the High Castle"

The book club I belong to chose this book, otherwise I would have probably never picked it up. I had read Ubik by PDK, and I was not a fan of his writing. After reading The Man in the High Castle, I am firmly of the mind that he is not my author.

The Man in the High Castle is based on the premise that the Nazis have won WWII. The United States is divided into the Japanese territory (West of the Rockies) and the German territory - to the East. There is an area in between that is neutral. Most of the events in the book take place on the West coast.

Even though the premise is interesting, the alternate reality painted by PDK was not convincing. It is supposedly 1962, less than 20 years since the war was won, yet the American population is completely assimilated into the Japanese culture. There is not even a trace of resistance to the Nazi/Japanese occupation, and the overall complacency of the characters given continued atrocities committed by the Nazis around the world is utterly revolting. I also found the ending strange and wholly unsatisfying. No matter how many  positive reviews I read, I remain unconvinced. This book was disappointing and I do not think I will be reading any more PDK's books. 2 out of 5 stars.