Political Novels

There’s nothing quite as interesting to watch as politics.  The lying, the backstabbing, the self-congratulatory back-patting.  But politics can be even more interesting to read about.  Not necessarily in tedious policy reports, but in fiction.  There have been many great political novels throughout time: listed below are just a few of the most famous.

1984 by George Orwell (published not in 1984, but 1949)

1984, or Nineteen Eighty-Four, is a clichéd choice, to be sure.  But Orwell’s classic dystopian novel about an oligarchical government is only clichéd because it has had such a profound effect, to the extent that its ideas now seem overused.  Many of the concepts explored in 1984, and their associated phrases – such as Big Brother, doublethink, and newspeak – have entered the common vernacular, and become firmly entrenched in society’s consciousness.  And, you know, inspired an ever-controversial reality television series.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

A soft science-fiction novel, Brave New World is set in the distant future, and explores a world where people are created and controlled by science.  Reproductive technologies have advanced so that particular classes of people can be bred in test tubes, and once born individuals’ emotions are controlled with the drug ‘soma.’  Recordings indoctrinate people while they sleep.  Essentially, people are created as ‘parts’ so that society can run with the efficiency and predictability of an assembly line.  Huxley explores the notions of what makes humans, human; and free will.

The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin

The Dispossessed is another soft science-fiction novel and, much like 1984 and Brave New World, it explores the effects of government control upon society as a whole, and individuals.  Unlike these previous two novels, however, The Dispossessed doesn’t posit the government or the state as ultimately evil.  The original title of the novel was The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia, which gives an indication of the shades of grey present in this work.  The novel explores the conflict between two separate planets: one, a capitalist and patriarchal society – the other, an anarchist society that claims to be ruled by the proletariat, but has become increasingly authoritarian.  This is a careful, none-judgmental exploration of two conflicting ideologies.

All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren (1946)

Robert Penn Warren won the Pulitzer Prize for All The King’s Men in 1947, and the 1949 version of the film won an Academy Award for best picture – and it’s easy to see why.  The novel shows the rapid political rising of Willie Stark, as told by Jack Burden, a political reporter who has decided to work for Stark.  Stark’s character is commonly regarded to be based on the former governor of Louisiana, Huey P. Long.  The novel chronicles Burden’s life along with Stark’s political ascent, and follows his preoccupation with the governor’s larger-than-life character and his struggle to find meaning behind politics.  All The King’s Men is as much a book about philosophy as it is about politics, and shows one man’s struggle to understand the world around him.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (1957)

Atlas Shrugged is Rand’s fourth, last and longest novel, and explores a dystopian United States.  The novel follows a number of leading artists who fight against being exploited by the increasingly authoritarian government, as it asserts control over all industries.  The point of the novel, essentially, is that if one removes the profit motive from society, then individuals in society will have no reason to strive, succeed or create.  It is commonly perceived to be a convincing argument against communist governments.  Interestingly, since the global financial crisis, sales of Atlas Shrugged have surged.  Perhaps society needed a little bit of reassurance about capitalism, in the face of its real flaws?

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)

Set during the later stages of World War II, the satirical Catch-22 follows a number of characters and their experiences of the war.  The main protagonist is Yossarian, a bombardier for the U.S. Army Air Forces, who doesn’t want to fly.  At all.  The novel is, as well as a critique of the senselessness of war, a condemnation of the bureaucracy and illogical reasoning that make wars possible.  In the novel, a catch-22 is a ‘no win scenario’: much like war itself is.  A savagely satirical, but ultimately uplifting novel, Catch-22 is darkly – and painfully – amusing.  The sequel Closing Time, published in 1994, is a much darker look at the post-war lives of soldiers.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

Written in the early years of the Cold War, Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel that explores what Bradbury saw as the flaws in American society: an unwillingness to engage in critical thinking, and engage instead in hedonistic behavior.  Guy Montag, the main character, is a “fireman” – employed by the state to burn books for the “good of humanity.”  The novel seems predominantly to be a criticism of censorship by the state, but Bradbury has said that his primary interest in the book was to look at the effects of television and other mass medias on literature.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)

To Kill A Mockingbird was a success upon publication, and won Harper Lee the Pulitzer Prize – though it is her only published novel.  Following the story of a young girl, Scout, loosely based on Harper Lee herself, the novel explores the destruction of innocence.  The narrator’s father, Atticus Finch, is appointed to defend a black man who was accused of raping a white woman.  The novel explores racial injustice, the tension between laws and justice, class and gender, and life in the American South.

Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)

Yes, another George Orwell novel.  But there’s a reason his name is synonymous with political discontent and criticism.  Animal Farm explores the methods and machinations of totalitarian government, in much the same way that 1984 explored the processes of propaganda and control.  An allegorical novel, Animal Farm closely reflects the events leading up to and during the Stalin era, and provided Orwell an opportunity to more generally explore attitudes towards Soviet Russia.  A biting satire, Animal Farm reminds readers that all animals are created equal.  But some are created more equal than others.

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