Book Review: Man in the High Castle

Hey all! I'm back with another book review, one that I've been wanting to read for a long time now. I first heard about Man in the High Castle through my husband. I am a big history buff and I'm really into studying WWII from every angle (I know, I'm weird) and when he first told me about this book, I thought it'd be right up my alley. It took a while for me to pick up, as there's so many books to read, but my husband finally got it for me this past Christmas. Here is my full review on Philip K. Dick's novel, The Man in the High Castle.

Philip K. Dick was born on December 16, 1928 and passed away on March 2, 1982. He was an American science fiction writer who created 44 novels and about 121 short stories that appeared in various science fiction magazines. His stories explored different philosophical and social questions, such as nature of reality, perception, human nature, and identity. 

So, I'm just going to come right out and say it. I waited so long to read this book only to be a little disappointed. Firstly, it's a hard read. Our characters talk in a straight-to-the-point manner. For example, instead of saying "Let's go to the mall over there" the characters would probably say "Let's go mall there". While I believe this was 100% a creative choice, and I can see how it fit in with the story, it was just part of the ice cream Sunday. On top of the lack of sentence forming, there seemed to be quite a few things going on with not a lot of explanation, at least it never seemed like it for me. 

I will admit, I was pretty confused on everything going on throughout the whole story. I felt like I understood the antique shop keeper story line, until I didn't. I didn't understand the whole Julianna Fink story line, until I did. And I don't think I ever understood what was going on with Mr. Tagomi. 

For me, the book picked up in some spots, but lacked in other parts and it made for a confusing story for the readers.

Overall, I liked the concept, but I felt that the execution could have been way better. Maybe it's the time period from which this book was created or maybe it's me, but either way this is a book I'll keep on my shelves because my husband bought it for me, and in case anyone else wants to read and can decipher the plot. Either way, I'll keep it on my shelf, but I probably won't read it again. Thank you for reading my review and until next time, Happy Reading!

Side Note: There is an Amazon Prime show that is based off The Man in the High Castle. I've read good reviews on it and may watch it soon.