tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020282.post110030837573151079..comments2023-10-24T04:51:33.141-07:00Comments on Ash Tree: The Plot Against AmericaHenry Baumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09222144871856444411noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020282.post-1116102318925887292005-05-14T13:25:00.000-07:002005-05-14T13:25:00.000-07:00I disliked the novel because the alternate history...I disliked the novel because the alternate history he creates is not believable, especially his treatment of Burton Wheeler. See my post <A HREF="http://anotheruselessfact.blogspot.com/2005/03/today-in-history-dept.html" REL="nofollow">here</A>.Next Seventh Committeemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08952742834716926339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020282.post-1103560492942324592004-12-20T08:34:00.000-08:002004-12-20T08:34:00.000-08:00I haven't read Man in the High Castle for a while,...I haven't read Man in the High Castle for a while, but I remember not liking it as much as his others. For some reason, that's the one that gets all the praise. Probably because it's a novel that "straight" readers can like. I'm a Ubik, Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Valis man myself. <br /><br />There's a review on Amazon for The Plot which says you shouldn't read the novel in relation to the current political climate, and I thought--why the fuck not? Because we have to be above such conspiratorial thinking? It's not that far-fetched. For someone who has a grandfather who was in WWII, this was exactly what made the novel interesting.Henry Baumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09222144871856444411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8020282.post-1103558431140399632004-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:002004-12-20T08:00:00.000-08:00Meandering through your site, I just ran across th...Meandering through your site, I just ran across this entry. I'm about 3/4 through Plot right now, and loving it. I, too, am a sucker for nearly-non fiction. Have you read The Man in the High Castle, by Philip Dick? It takes place in a similar counter-factual world, except the Germans and the Japanese actually defeated the U.S. and have divvied it up. It lacks Roth's ability to invoke perfect believability for a fantastical premise, but adds some interesting thought experiments.<br /><br />The endnotes to Plot are really fascinating, too. The premise is far less fantastical than it seems to someone, like me, born thirty years after the War.<br /><br />Although I have a general weakness for nearly-non fiction, I have a particular weakness for near-non fiction that has to do with WWII coming out differently. I guess it's because to the extent WWII can be described as a single "event," it is the seminal event of the 20th Century and, more so than any other, can be said to have divided modern history in half.Charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12071274270321190889noreply@blogger.com