Caustica Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 (edited) What, in your opinion, are the best dystopian novels? Of course, everyone (as in, dystopian lovers ) worships 1984 and Brave New World - but what else?I personally find Player Piano (Kurt Vonnegut) and Darkness at Noon (Arthur Koestler) to be as good as, if not better than, the famous two Edited March 20, 2010 by Caustica Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chance Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 I love The Handmaid's Tale, it's a beautiful book. Although I must say I'm in the Brave New World loving category too Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eydie Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Can I just say I really don't like 'We' by Zamyatin. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caustica Posted March 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 I love The Handmaid's Tale, it's a beautiful book. Although I must say I'm in the Brave New World loving category too Ahh, I've heard quite a bit about that book! Must read it when I get the chance Oh btw, if you loved Brave New World, you should read Island too (it's by the same author). It's a utopian novel, but it's ideas are very interesting.Can I just say I really don't like 'We' by Zamyatin. why not? I thought it was quite an intriguing novel. Maybe the 'feel' of it differs from translation to translation? Which translation did you read, if you remember? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 I don't like Anthem by Ayn Rand, either. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daedalus Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 1984 is probably the quintessential dystopian novel, and I liked Brave New World a lot. As for Ayn Rand's books, well, imho she's the writer you either love, or really, really hate. I can sympathize with her because she grew up in a form of dystopia herself, and my own homeland was firmly under the socialist boot-heel for decades. But I found Anthem labored, over-dramatized, and self-indulgent.. and I think the canon of dystopian novels is basically saturated. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caustica Posted April 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 1984 is probably the quintessential dystopian novel, and I liked Brave New World a lot. As for Ayn Rand's books, well, imho she's the writer you either love, or really, really hate. I can sympathize with her because she grew up in a form of dystopia herself, and my own homeland was firmly under the socialist boot-heel for decades, but her egoistical preaching kills me. I found Anthem labored, over-dramatized, self-indulgent.. and I think the canon of dystopian novels is basically saturated. The subject had much more meaning directly after WWII and during the communist regime, but these days (I think) most people are too sequestered from true human suffering. Maybe the desensitizing effect of CNN comes into play too..What do you mean by "the canon of dystopian novels is basically saturated"? I don't quite understand the saturated bit.Maybe dystopian novels don't present meaning so well to many any more, but for me, I find them personally intriguing - and yes, entertaining too. I've just finished reading The Iron Heel, which definitely supported socialism; so I think I will read Anthem now, and see what the other side has to offer Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daedalus Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 What do you mean by "the canon of dystopian novels is basically saturated"? I don't quite understand the saturated bit.I guess by saturated I meant that every time I read a dystopian novel it feels like I'm crossing familiar ground. That is, I don't think it would be possible to write a dystopian novel today that would be truly great, remembered for centuries to come, simply because I feel that the breadth of originality has been stretched to its limits.As I wrote the above though I remembered some Scott Westerfeld's books (Uglies, Pretties, etc). I read them sometime two years ago and I liked them a lot, there were some really great and amazingly creative ideas. And that helped me realize that creativity, almost by definition, is unpredictable. Saying that there is no room for creativity, I guess, is sort of like saying there's no chance of technological progress in a hundred years or so. Just because you can't anticipate it doesn't mean it doesn't exist!:-)Hope that helped, a little. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted April 13, 2010 Report Share Posted April 13, 2010 Oryx and Crake is my favourite. Margaret Attwood really knew what she was doing with her dystopias Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caustica Posted April 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 I guess by saturated I meant that every time I read a dystopian novel it feels like I'm crossing familiar ground.Hmm... I get what you mean. There a couple of novels with 1984-esque themes - but that is 'cause that was what was popular around that time. Hopefully we'll get some new ideas with this new computer world It would actually be interesting to read (or to write! oh, the dreaming) a dystopia of the internet generation...As I wrote the above though I remembered some Scott Westerfeld's books (Uglies, Pretties, etc).Ooh, I read those quite a few years ago (and then Extras when that came out - but it sucked). I bought them all They were goood! I finished the first three in one day, haha - spent the whole day reading. Didn't quite classify them as dystopia then, because I didn't know the term yet; but now, yes, I suppose they're modern dystopias. Oryx and Crake is my favourite. Margaret Attwood really knew what she was doing with her dystopias I want to read that The name put me off a little because I sometimes get annoyed with funny names. But hmm, I've been hearing quite a lot of praise for it lately. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eydie Posted April 14, 2010 Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 Can I just say I really don't like 'We' by Zamyatin. why not? I thought it was quite an intriguing novel. Maybe the 'feel' of it differs from translation to translation? Which translation did you read, if you remember?Um it is translated by Natasha Randall by Vintage Classics. We are learning 1984, We and Brave New World in class for our free-choice topic. I didn't quite enjoy We as much as the others, because it was not a very pleasant read especially towards the end when I couldn't really tell reality from hallucination. First-person narrative using dairy entrances seems to limit it somehow. I guess I don't like the sometimes rather stream of conscious style. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caustica Posted April 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 14, 2010 Um it is translated by Natasha Randall by Vintage Classics. We are learning 1984, We and Brave New World in class for our free-choice topic. I didn't quite enjoy We as much as the others, because it was not a very pleasant read especially towards the end when I couldn't really tell reality from hallucination. First-person narrative using dairy entrances seems to limit it somehow. I guess I don't like the sometimes rather stream of conscious style.Ooh, I read the Natasha Randall translation too. And omg, you are so lucky, having 1984 and Brave New World as class texts! It would be so fun But my school somehow manages to consistently use boring-as-hell texts... such as To Kill A Mockingbird, no offence intended.I agree, it was a confusing book. But I enjoyed the writing style, I suppose? If I read it a second time, maybe I would understand it better. Do you like any other dystopian novels? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonneteer_Trombonist Posted April 17, 2010 Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 (edited) The Chrysalids is good if you're looking for some lighter reading. Edited April 17, 2010 by Sonneteer_Trombonist Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caustica Posted April 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2010 The Chrysalids is good if you're looking for some lighter reading.I bought that book a while ago Going to read it soon! Is The Day of the Triffids (another book by Wyndham) any book, btw? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmen Posted May 9, 2010 Report Share Posted May 9, 2010 My friend read A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, and she said that it was amazing. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
soadquake981 Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 No way. "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin is one of the best books ever. I'm so glad I get to use it for my English A1 HL paper 2 tomorrow! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
meh Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Farenheit 451! We had to read that in grade 9. It didn't really resonate with me much at first, but once I actually pondered the book awhile I began to really appreciate it.After Farenheit 451, having to read The Chrysalids in grade 10 was very dull. I suppose they are quite different but there are also some parallels in their core ideas. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilia Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Am I the only one getting night mares from 1984?ANyway, my favourite is Kallocain, it's amazing and somewhat scary. Don'r know if it exists in English though... Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linja Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Tilia, you're definitely not the only one. Ugh, those rats... A1 HL P2 actually consisted of dystopias for me. I'm doing 1984, We, The Handmaid's Tale, and A Song of Stone. Out of those four, I'd have to say my favourites are the latter two. We, in my opinion, is a great book. It even translates well onto the stage (I saw a play based on it last year). As for 1984... I think it's a good book, I certainly enjoyed reading it, disturbing and depressing though it is, but I'd rather not write a paper on it. Far too much to think about. (Well, doesn't that sound bad?) Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caustica Posted May 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2010 No way. "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin is one of the best books ever. I'm so glad I get to use it for my English A1 HL paper 2 tomorrow!It can get a little confusing I suppose. Maybe a second or third read would clear it all up, I don't know. How was your paper? I'd love to analyse dystopian fiction for something which actually counts!After Farenheit 451, having to read The Chrysalids in grade 10 was very dull. I suppose they are quite different but there are also some parallels in their core ideas.I just finished reading The Chrysalids. I thought it was great up until the Sealand/Zealand (which is it really?!) people. They just solved everything so simply, and left so many questions unanswered. I've only read Fahrenheit 451 once and it was a long time ago so I don't quite remember what was in it, but from what I remember, it was completely different from The Chrysalids... And I liked the latter better (both had not-quite-good endings)Am I the only one getting night mares from 1984?ANyway, my favourite is Kallocain, it's amazing and somewhat scary. Don'r know if it exists in English though...Nightmares? Not for me, no The ending was utterly depressing though I just searched Kallocain up on wiki and found an English translation of it! Shall proceed to read ASAP Far too much to think about. (Well, doesn't that sound bad?)You have a point there. I can't ever seem to concretely talk about 1984 without feeling like I'm missing a whole lot out They're bloody amazing to read, though Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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