Recommend me some political fiction...

af_thefragile

Hey, I'm looking for some good political fiction to read.
Something like Orwell and Huxley, if you get what I mean. Something that deals with the politics of a state or a political theory or a political struggle.
I don't really mind as long as its a good read.

Sorry for being a little vague. Thanks.

Denerick

Reading list!

Aldous Huxley, 'Point Counter Point'

This is a great big rambling novel of ideas, dissecting the interwar (1930s) bourgeouis and dealing with the social irrelevancies, the political posturing of left and right, and British high society in general at the time. Could be just up your street. I'm a big fan of Huxley, so if you enjoy this definately check out 'Eyeless in Gaza', 'Crome Yellow' and 'Brave New World'

Tom Wolfe, 'Bonfire of the Vanities'

A notoriously fluid novel that explains, justifies, condemns, and re-affirms the American Dream in all of its contradictory and amusing complexity.

Sinclair Lewis, 'Babbit'

Follows the political conversion of a small town American conservative to Liberalism (c. 1920s) and then back to conservatism again. Grabs midwestern America by the balls. Lewis starts off with scatching criticism but then you can almost feel the gradual warming of his heart as the plot deepens - he convinces himself out of most of his cynicism the more he places himself in Babbit's shoes. If you like this try his other novel, 'Main Street'.

John Steinbeck, 'Of Mice and Men'

A lot of people read this for their leaving cert and there is a very good reason why. Steinbeck makes complex arguments with simple words, which at times is a quite profound literary style. If you're looking for pretension free high literature, this is it!

af_thefragile

Seems like a nice list.
Currently reading Brave New World. Its almost horrifying how you can relate some of the things in that book so accurately to today's society. Once I finish that, I'll look into the books you recommended there. They sound interesting.

Eliot Rosewater

There seems to be a wealth of literature dealing with totalitarianism/communism in Eastern Europe. Two books I'd recommend are Darkness at Noon, by Arthur Koestler, which chronicles the arrest, false conviction and execution of a disgraced communist party member, and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which describes one day in a Soviet Gulag (Labour camp). Both books draw from personal experience. I preferred the latter, though it's hard to judge them because they deal with the Soviet system in fundamentally different ways.

Denerick mentioned Of Mice and Men; another good Steinbeck book is The Grapes of Wrath. It's pretty long and a tough read, but very rewarding. It deals primarily with the failure of the free market during the Dust Bowl era.

The two Ernest Hemingway books A Farewell To Arms and For Whom the Bells Tolls have a political bent to them. A Farewell To Arms, set in Italy during World War One and drawing on Hemingway's personal experiences as an ambulance driver in the war, is an excellent book in my opinion. For Whom the Bell Tolls is less rewarding, I think.


I know you mentioned Orwell already, but I find that people have usually only read Animal Farm and/or 1984. His essays are absolutely fantastic, though they're mostly non-fiction. There's merit to the argument that he is a better essayist than a novelist.

This is the collection I have. The principal political essays I recall are My Country Left or Right, The Lion And the Unicorn, Looking Back on the Spanish War (my favourite) and Notes on Nationalism; but most of the (41) essays are in some way political. (The ones that aren't political are usually good too.) Homage To Catalonia, his auto-biographcial account of the Spanish Civil War, is also very interesting, though I can't vouch for its historical accuracy.

pitkan

How about `The Fianna Fail Manifesto`?

Kinski

Gulliver's Travels, if you haven't already read it.

Plato's Republic is suprisingly entertaining at times (for a 400-page conversation between some Greek blokes.)

I've had Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men on my 'to read' list for ages - it's a novel about the rise of Southern US politician; supposed to be very good.

Permabear

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Amerika

The Overton Window, a thriller from Glenn Beck. It's getting some really good reviews.

Denerick

Amerika wrote: »

The Overton Window, a thriller from Glenn Beck. It's getting some really good reviews.

Yes, I noticed some of those reviews.

The Sun gave it 10/10, National Enquirer called it 'The greatest novel since 'DA VINCI CODE' and Damien, son of Satan, labelled it 'Inspiring'.

Amerika

Denerick wrote: »

Yes, I noticed some of those reviews.

The Sun gave it 10/10, National Enquirer called it 'The greatest novel since 'DA VINCI CODE' and Damien, son of Satan, labelled it 'Inspiring'.

LOL… and Barack Obama called it a "quasi chronicle of his administration."

Malari

I enjoyed these, although the former can be a bit meandering:

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressel - an almost autobiographical novel written by a painter who suffered extreme poverty raising his daughter (who eventually made sure this novel was published) while trying to convince his fellow workers of the exploitation of capitalists.

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - similar themes but based in the US, not the UK. Focuses on a hopelessly poor immigrant family struggling to survive in a corrupt Chicago society.

fontanalis

Amerika wrote: »

The Overton Window, a thriller from Glenn Beck. It's getting some really good reviews.

I'm sure it makes James Patterson look like Joseph Conrad.

Giselle

Denerick wrote: »

Yes, I noticed some of those reviews.

The Sun gave it 10/10, National Enquirer called it 'The greatest novel since 'DA VINCI CODE' and Damien, son of Satan, labelled it 'Inspiring'.

Not really a recommendation tbh.:)

Denerick

Giselle wrote: »

Not really a recommendation tbh.:)

The National Enquirer begs to differ. Alongside its exclusive story into how Britney Spears once made love to a toenail was its review of Becks new novel.

Eliot Rosewater

The question we should all be asking is: why was Denrick even reading the National Enquirer?

sponsoredwalk

af_thefragile wrote: »

Something that deals with the politics of a state or a political theory or a political struggle.

Plato - The Apology of Socrates, nothing need be said about it except that you have to read it :cool:

Well, one thing - Ask yourself midway through should you be interpreting the book in your own way or in Plato's way or who's way?

Exhilarating Stuff

cobsie

Darkness at Noon - Arthur Koestler

A former Party member is arrested in a purge (in an unnamed, but obviously Soviet-style state). He is an intellectual and former party leading light, but he knows what's about to happen. It's set over just one weekend, entirely in prison, with brilliant set-pieces between the protagonist and his interrogator, who is trying to decide whether he will be subject to a show trial or taken out at dawn the next day and shot. The protagonist is also trying to decide which is the better or worse option of the two. It's very taut, claustophobic work that does actually seem as if it all takes place underground. Written in 1939.

Also second (or third, or fourth!) All the King's Men recommendation

Denerick

donegalfella wrote: »

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I started reading this yesterday. Seems interesting so far, 50 pages in.

The Mad Hatter

Amerika wrote: »

The Overton Window, a thriller from Glenn Beck. It's getting some really good reviews.

To be honest I'm impressed he can spell his own name.

Kaizer Sosa

I'd recommend 'Angler' which details the undoubtedly sinister brilliance of Dick Cheney during his reign as Vice President under the Bush administration. The man is like Darth Vader. He was arguably the most powerful VP in US history and completely self engineered. Non-fiction but a fascinating read.

InvisibleBadger

I'd agree with the poster who recommended A day in the life of Ivan Denisovich.
It's short and very readable.

Dades

What about Robert Heinlein's "Starhsip Troopers"?

Aaarrrgh - zombie thread!

Sprocket77

How about some of Robert Harris's stuff. His last couple of novels have been largely politcal novels, just set in ancient Rome. Imperium and Lustrum are both good reads.

gaf1983

Was just about to recommend Robert Harris myself. I love the way the corruption he describes in Ancient Rome wouldn't seem out of place in the Galway Races tent.

Dominick Dunne's "A Season in Purgatory" is a very good read, about a "fictional" US dynasty family whose resemblance to the Kennedy clan is of course entirely coincidental.

Any of Len Deighton's spy novels are great reads if you like your Cold War politics.

Ole Rodrigo

The Devils of Loudon, Aldous Huxley - A historical account of Witchcraft, French and Roman Catholic politics in the 17th century.

fontanalis

I think it might technically count; James Ellroys American Tabloid deals with the Bay of Pigs and other similar shenanigans and the lead up to the Kennedy assassination. Great fictionalised account of the period.

mrsdewinter

Sprocket77 wrote: »

How about some of Robert Harris's stuff. His last couple of novels have been largely politcal novels, just set in ancient Rome. Imperium and Lustrum are both good reads.

He's a terrible writer but Lustrum is pretty entertaining. Esp if you read it as a contemporary novel with historical fiction window dressing.

metrovelvet

Heart of Darkness and The Secret Agent - Joseph Conrad

I love the Phillipa Gregory novels, not sure if they count as historical or political fiction.

Invisible Man -Ralph Ellison

There were so many teenage type of colonial political fiction I had to read in high school and I can't remember the names of any of them! They were really good too.

r3nu4l

Sprocket77 wrote: »

How about some of Robert Harris's stuff. His last couple of novels have been largely politcal novels, just set in ancient Rome. Imperium and Lustrum are both good reads.

I was going to recommend these myself. Both are very good reads and if you've ever visited any ancient Roman sites (Bath, Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum etc) you'll be able to relate to quite a lot within the books.