I would be interested in books with deeper sociological meaning. Hopefully you understand what I'm saying. Hopefully you can name few. It would be good if it would be in 1990- but I don't mind if it is in older times. I can't really tell a book example. That's one reason why I'm looking for one. I can name a movie example: Menace II society.
Try The Ragged Trousered Philanphropists by Robert Tressel. I would say your example is more 'social commentary' or perhaps even 'social realism' than of any sociological merit.
The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists is pretty good though, i remember out of the blue a decorator that i was working with (whom at that point hadn't spoken to anyone for 3 to 4 weeks) suddenly suggested the book then went back to his silent work.
How about a character who cannot be remembered by anyone, and no evidence of her existence can be produced, so she is effectively a stranger to everyone she talks to? You mention sociological meaning. So picture a bunch of dots on a sheet of paper. (Which is called a "graph".) They represent people. Picture arrows between them: an arrow from dot A to dot B means person A knows person B. A celebrity has a few arrows pointing away from her and many arrows pointing toward her. A "normal" person has a few arrows pointing toward her and a few pointing away from her. This character has many arrows pointing away from her and none pointing toward her: an inverse celebrity. She tries, succeeding in some ways and failing in others, to live a satisfying life under this condition. And her efforts are very revealing about how people interact with each other, how they establish relationships, and how they need each other physically, emotionally, and socially.
I just this summer watched an Australian series called "No where boys" or something like that. It was YA but had a very interesting idea relating to what you were talking 'bout @daemon
The most famous example I can think of is Orwell's Animal Farm. Is that the sort of thing you're looking for? If so, I have several other recommendations.
@thirdwind I have probably heard about that book. Didn't know it was by Orwell. You learn something everyday... I will definitely read it. I have hard time expressing myself here. I mean books that tell stories about our world like it is. I would call it harsh realism. Like story of a guy attempting to fulfill his dreams but society makes it hard. That's just and example. I hope you catch what I'm going after.
I feel like I have to first object to pre-1990 as "older times." ;-) If, by "deeper sociological meaning" you mean a real reflection of what's going on in society at a particular time, I'd recommend Tom Wolfe. A Man in Full is a pretty good snapshot of the 1990s, and The Bonfire of the Vanities is quintessential 1980s America.
Isn't it that time before you is always old times @chicagoliz Finally somebody totally turned my thought in to words: "you mean a real reflection of what's going on in society at a particular time" Good suggestions so far thank you all
Does her own mother remember her? 'Cause she would'a been passed around A LOT as a babe if her own mother came home and saw a strange baby in her house. Then foster families would be the same. I don't think she'd be very well adjusted ...
The condition begins when she is an adult. Before that point, she lived a normal life and had a good relationship with her parents. After that point, everyone including her mother forgets that she ever existed and no one can form new long-term memories of her.
Well there's the obligatory Animal Farm, and Catch-22 I'd recommend Dostoevsky though, Notes from the Underground and The House of the Dead, the latter of which detailed his life in a Siberian Prison and his interactions with the prisoners who resided there.
