In Philip K. Dick's 'The Man in the High Castle', what is the title of the novel written by Hawthorne Abendsen?

The story behind the answer

In Philip K. Dick's “The Man in the High Castle,” Hawthorne Abendsen writes the novel “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy.”

The fictional book is a work of alternate history within Dick's 1962 novel. It imagines a world in which the Allies defeat the Axis powers in World War II, reversing the political reality experienced by the characters in Dick's story. In their world, Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan have divided control of the former United States.

The title is generally understood to echo the biblical phrase “the grasshopper shall be a burden.” The book is banned in the Nazi-controlled territories but published and sold in the Japanese-ruled Pacific States of America. Its existence makes Abendsen a dangerous and mysterious figure.

The novel-within-the-novel is not the same as Dick's own book, despite their shared alternate-history structure. “The Man in the High Castle” refers to Abendsen's supposed residence and nickname, while “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy” is the title of the text he authored. Juliana Frink travels to meet Abendsen after reading it and becoming convinced that it contains a deeper truth about reality.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Aug. 2026

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