Jump to content

Menu

Dystopian novel study


Recommended Posts

We have been listening to an audiobook called "Little Brother", it is a very good book about a modern day dystopian society (one we are very close to living in imo).  The teens are loving it (well truth be told all 4 kids are).  Anyway, it made me think this would be the perfect time to do a dystopian literature study.  They are in 11th grade, we can begin after the holiday.  There are lots of great books out there for this genre.  If you had to pick only 5-6 to study with your teens what would they be? We will for sure be doing 1984 and animal farm, but need ideas beyond those.  I am thinking we will do an indepth study of 5-6 titles but I will have a book basket of other titles available for them to read on their own if they choose.  I think that while this will be mainly for my older kids my ds12 may join in, though not get as much out of it as they will.  So if you did this study with your teens or if you have a favorite dystopian novel please list it here :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My DS did Dystopian novels in the fall. He read

1984

Farenheit 451

Brave New World

Canticle of Leibowitz (good, but dense and a difficult read)

A Clockwork Orange (would not cover this with other people's children because of content)

The Handmaid's Tale (one of the few Dystopian books that have a female perspective; I included it precisely for this reason)

 

And then there are of course numerous young adult dystopian books that are very popular and can serve as background (not great literature, but good themes and stories): Maze Runner trilogy, City of Ember, The Giver , Hunger Games, Divergent

 

Edited by regentrude
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My DS did Dystopian novels in the fall. He read

1984

Farenheit 451

Brave New World

Canticle of Leibowitz (good, but dense and a difficult read)

A Clockwork Orange (would not cover this with other people's children because of content)

The Handmaid's Tale (one of the few Dystopian books that have a female perspective; I included it precisely for this reason)

 

And then there are of course numerous young adult dystopian books that are very popular and can serve as background (not great literature, but good themes and stories): Maze Runner trilogy, City of Ember, The Giver , Hunger Games, Divergent

Great list.  Can't believe I forgot about handmaid's tale, I even already have it on my shelf.

 

Funny I never thought of those young adult books as dystopian novels, but they are.  My daughter has read nearly all of the ones you listed and loves them.  I have the Giver also on my bookshelf already so I will add that to my list.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are probably aware that Little Brother has a sequel called Homeland, right?

 

Another book I really enjoyed that I don't see mentioned much was The Circle by Dave Eggers. It is like Little Brother in that it is a really, really imaginable scenario growing right out of present world conditions - no major cataclysm required.  Makes you think hard about how the current system is organized.

 

I also highly recommend We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, a Russian, written in 1921. 

 

Brave New World is great up until the end, which I have no idea how to process. 

 

I second the suggestion of The Handmaid's Tale.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are probably aware that Little Brother has a sequel called Homeland, right?

 

Another book I really enjoyed that I don't see mentioned much was The Circle by Dave Eggers. It is like Little Brother in that it is a really, really imaginable scenario growing right out of present world conditions - no major cataclysm required.  Makes you think hard about how the current system is organized.

 

I also highly recommend We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, a Russian, written in 1921. 

 

Brave New World is great up until the end, which I have no idea how to process. 

 

I second the suggestion of The Handmaid's Tale.

I did not know there was a sequel.  TIme to check if my library has it.  It was just a random grab off the shelf because we needed a new audio book for the car and turned out to be a good one.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did not know there was a sequel.  TIme to check if my library has it.  It was just a random grab off the shelf because we needed a new audio book for the car and turned out to be a good one.

 

Oh yeah, it's a great book.  Definitely check out the sequel, and read 1984.  It's Cory Doctorow's homage to 1984.  And if you guys like it, you will like the Dave Eggers book too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want some darker, grittier dystopias for your high schoolers, you could also check out Paolo Bacigalupi.  These are definitely YA, not MG like the Nancy Farmer books, the Giver, etc.  Just as an example, my 13 year old has read Lois Lowry and Nancy Farmer, but not Bacigalupi yet.  I guess if kids can handle the Hunger Games trilogy, they will probably be ok with these.  The YA series is Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities.  He also has a book called The Windup Girl, also dystopian, a little more adult.  His most recent dystopia, The Water Knife, was too brutal for me to finish, so definitely read these with care. But they are very powerful.

 

I've also really enjoyed two short story anthologies you guys might like:

 

Loosed Upon the World: The Saga Anthology of Climate Fiction, and Brave New Worlds.  They are both edited by John Joseph Adams, and have some really amazing short stories in the dystopian genre, mostly recent stuff.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With 11th grade?

 

Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, another dystopia from a (black) woman's perspective.

 

This Perfect Day, which is a decent cover of the "hiddendystopia"

 

1984

 

Fahrenheit 451

 

Brave New World (Unless you're very uncomfortable discussing sex)

 

Handmaid's Tale (Very much ditto!)

 

Harrison Bergeron (short story)

 

The Machine Stops (an early example!)

 

A Clockwork Orange

 

So that's a few more examples than you asked for, but two of them you might skip.

 

For "just having around", I suggest you make sure NOT to miss the following:

 

House of the Scorpion (and sequel)

 

Battle Royale

 

Watchmen

 

Lathe of Heaven

 

Feed

 

When the Sleeper Wakes (another early one)

 

We

 

It Can't Happen Here

 

Fatherland

 

Oryx and Crake (series)

 

On a Clear Day   

 

Pretties (and sequels)

 

Unwind

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, looking at my goodreads shelf, a couple more standouts:

 

Station Eleven

World War Z

The Man in the High Castle

Science in the Capitol series, Kim Stanley Robinson - Forty Signs of Rain, Fifty Degrees Below, Sixty Days and Counting

 

I totally agree with the Octavia Butler suggestions above- The Parable of the Sower et al. 

 

I like this genre a lot . . .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dunno, I think Gathering Blue - the whole Giver quartet -  is more midlde grade. If we're listing middle grade books, then I'd include a whole bunch of other books I excluded from my list!

List the middle grade ones too please, they may be better for ds12 than the ones I am going to use with my teens

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Middle grade books? Sure thing!

 

Outside (if you can find it - very gentle, really a bit on the young side)

 

The Girl Who Owned a City (written to introduce kiddies to Ayn Rand. Didn't work on me.)

 

Galax-Arena (semi-dystopian)

 

Invitation to the Game, now published as simply The Game (actually, this is in between MG and YA)

 

The City of Ember series

 

The Giver quartet

 

Among the Hidden series

 

This Time of Darkness (if you can find it - if you can't, try to buy it used. H. M. Hoover is an unsung hero of kidlit)

 

Orvis (ditto. Less dystopian, though)

 

The Last Book in the Universe (DO NOT MISS THIS)

 

The Scavengers

 

 The Hermit Thrush Sings

 

Thought of a couple more YA dystopias:

 

House of Stairs (this is super short, and might be worth moving to the required reading)

 

I am the Cheese (not sure this IS a dystopia)

 

Truancy

 

Virtual War

 

The Diary of Pelly D. (It's all a big Holocaust allegory, but man it works well.)

 

And, if we're including zombie apocalypse novels, The Girl With All the Gifts.

Edited by Tanaqui
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My teen also really liked the Dies the Fire series (a novel of The Change). I thought the first couple were good for something different.

 

It's more post- apocalyptic than dystopian, like One Second After & the other newer post- apoc lit genre (EMPs, nuke, zombies, plague, etc style). There's a ton of that stuff out now too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know if it fits your definition of dystopian (which I often think of as an engineered or controlled society that has gone wrong - or has deprived individuals of freedom by design), but novels like Snow Crash or Diamond Age do explore the idea of technological society that has either largely fallen into chaos (Snow Crash) or has been reordered on extreme lines (Diamond Age).  

 

Diamond Age has some sex, so you might want to preread.  I can't remember if Snow Crash does.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Station Eleven

World War Z

The Man in the High Castle

Science in the Capitol series, Kim Stanley Robinson - Forty Signs of Rain, Fifty Degrees Below, Sixty Days and Counting

 

Yes, I agree. I enjoyed all of these more than I expected. My younger one really likes dystopian books, and these are all on her list.

 

They changed some things around, but DH and I are currently watching "Man in the High Castle" on Amazon. Very well done.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The current one we have discussed how close to reality it is.  The kids are not as far along in it as I am.  I finished the whole thing including the afterwards which will pose some great discussion topics.  We will discuss the books that I decide we are going to focus on but not the ones I am putting aside as extras unless they ask me to.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thought of one or two more YA dystopias as well that you should have because they're a little more diverse than my previous list:

 

Ship Breaker

 

Orleans

 

Tankborn (not as dystopian as some others)

 

Above World (middle grade!)

 

The Boy at the End of the World (middle grade!)

 

Partials

 

Galahad

 

Legend

 

Killer of Enemies

 

Diverse Energies (short stories)

 

Proxy

 

Who Fears Death? (Great book, starts with a graphic description of the protagonist's conception via rape, so use your best judgment)

 

And, again, if we're doing zombie books, you should add I Am Legend. That's not YA.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Station Eleven

 

Definitely Philip K Dick. It seems like half the Hollywood Sci Fi movies are based on something of his.

 

Maybe More's Utopia, which sort of starts the genre.

 

Not to put too fine a point on things, but I would classify Station Eleven (and several others mentioned on this thread) as post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to put too fine a point on things, but I would classify Station Eleven (and several others mentioned on this thread) as post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian.

Hmm, I think you are correct, and while I know the difference I enjoy them both and often lump them together in my mind. Sorry for any confusion!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to put too fine a point on things, but I would classify Station Eleven (and several others mentioned on this thread) as post-apocalyptic, but not dystopian.

 

I would generally agree, although I think they can easily go together.

 

I remember some discussion of 1984 vs Brave New World.  1984 was a society where freedoms were taken away.  Brave New World was one where individualism was cheerfully given up.

 

Similarly there is a line in Fahrenheit 451 about books being destroyed as dangerous, after people had already ceased to read and value them

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would generally agree, although I think they can easily go together.

 

 

 

I totally agree that often they go together, but not in a book like Station Eleven, which is set in a world where humanity is almost completely destroyed by a pandemic.  The few remaining humans struggle to survive and define what it is to be human again.  In this world, there isn't enough of a society to control much of anyone, and thus I would not classify it as dystopian.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...