Books on "Negative Utopia"

I have read books about "negative utopias" (1984, The Giver, The Hunger Games) and I loved them all. Something about the whole idea of a negative utopia really draws me in, so I wanted to ask if anyone had any suggestions of books like the ones listed.

Thanks!

 

Brave New World, Farenheit 451. Search 'Dystopian Novel' and you should be able to come up with a good list of titles. I love Dystopian fiction too. Also, not a fictional work, but it's somewhat related thematically, and one of my favourite books, Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault.

 

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

 

You could try Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis...it might be a stretch to call 1980's-LA "utopia", but it has the same kind of theme

 

I haven't read any of his stuff (yet) but the late J.G. Ballard is one of the most highly respected dystopian authors.

Also, P.D. James' Children of Men is an excellent dystopian novel (much better than the film, in my opinion).

 

Dystopian literature is, hands down, my favorite genre of literature. Most these books people have listed here, I've read and enjoyed. Glad to see some others around here do too. haha. And Gigi, if you haven't read Children of Men, go get it RIGHT NOW. It is must have for this small genre.

 

Oryx and Crake. It is quickly becoming considered a landmark dystopian novel.

 

I really dislike that one though actually. Margaret Atwood just doesn't really strike ome for me.

 

If you do plump for the fantastic Ballard be careful as to your entry point. Steer well clear of the Atrocity Exhibition / Crash pairing until you've tackled the more accesible ones like High Rise or Cocaine Nights. None of these are classicly distopian like, say, Children Of Men, rather social commentaries on alternative realities / perceptions of reality, but all can be bracketed as such if your brackets are fluid. ... and nevertheless High Rise was great, and with as many levels as the tower block in which it is set.

If you ultimately go onto Atrocity Exhibition / Crash - tackle AE first. You will almost certainly find it outrageously impenetrable though, but it lays very important groundwork for Crash (particularly if you obtain an annotated copy). But persevere with it.

Strictly, AE is post-modernism in one of its most essential senses, it has no beginning, no end, characters return from the dead without explanation, the timeline isn't sequential, charcters names change, dream and reality are merged to the point of indistinguishability, and the text is punctuated with esoteric and at time unconnected asides. However, without establishing its themes, Crash will mean little as it runs with one of the core ones and presents it in a much more linear, digestible way.

Good luck.

 

Just this one, or Handmaiden's Tale too? That one is widely regarded in this genre.

 

I actually somewhat enjoyed A Handmaiden's Tale. It's one of the few Atwood works that I enjoy. I just felt that Oryx and Crake was almost too dark, to the point that a lot of things just wouldn't make sense. Plus there was just the underlying fact that I really couldn't get into any of the characters other than Oryx. I suppose it's more of a "it's just me" thing, but I liked A Handmaiden's Tale quite a bit better.

 

Thanks guys! You've all been very helpful--I'll be sure to check these books out.

 

Don't get them all at the same time though. Unless your planning ongoing into severe depression that is haha.

 

Anthem by Ayn Rand is probably one of my favorite works of dystopian fiction. It's very quick too, you can finish it in a little more than an hour. The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells is also a really overlooked but fantastic dystopian work (and had a Futurama episode based around it, so you know it's fantastic.)

 

I see someone mentioned Ferienhight 451. My absolute favorite book!