Down with Dystopia a guest post by Mickey Reed
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As many of you know, the dystopian genre has really been taking the world by storm as of late. If you don't know, you're about to find out about it, and you must have been living under a rock. Either way, you're about to learn all about this trend in literature. I find it to be a "love it or hate it" kind of thing. You can make a decision one way or another after you've sampled some, if you haven't already.
First of all, if you aren't familiar with what dystopian means, here's the deal: dystopian novels revolve around the idea of a new society that represses its citizens and has power over everything. Usually the world as we currently know it is over for one reason or another – be it war, disease, or something like that. This fresh society has all new rules and is closely controlled in an attempt to make a utopia. These mostly fail because there is always someone (usually the protagonist of the novel) who wants to break free.
Adult dystopian literature has been around for quite a while, starting perhaps most notably with H. G. Wells, Jack London, and E. M. Forster. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World was inspired by H. G. Wells, and on it went. Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, and Atlas Shrugged were written in the 1950s. Even A Clockwork Orange is part of the dystopian genre. Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is still a popular feminist dystopian (or speculative fiction, maybe?).
Then there came The Giver by Lois Lowry, a young adult version of this genre, and the face of popular dystopian
changed. Quite a few authors have noted this one as their favorite novel (to which I say, "Really??" but I digress).
Lately I've noticed a crop of young adult dystopian novels filtering in. Is this good? Yes. Lots of readers are into YA novels at the moment and would be more likely to read this genre (and expand their horizons) in YA format. Is this bad?
Yes. Dystopian novels aren't always pleasant. I'm not saying young kids can't handle it, but even if you've only seen the movie version of A Clockwork Orange or any of these books, you know what I'm getting at. In my opinion, YA dystopians get watered down a bit.
I have only just begun reading The Hunger Games, but I've heard nothing but excellent things. Divergent is another one very much on the rise. Tons of book bloggers on Twitter are raving about this one! These two happen to be favorites of Engarde99 in the dystopian world. She is "LOVING the dystopian in YA fiction.
" Perhaps there was so much hype that Divergent didn't live up to my ideas, and I'm afraid the same might happen with The Hunger Games.
Either way, I'm always willing to give most things in the world of words a shot.
And give dystopian a shot I certainly have. Brave New World (adult) is one of my all-time favorite books, and I finished Wither by Lauren DeStefano (YA and definitely not watered down) recently. I very much enjoyed that one. I've also read The Giver, The Handmaid's Tale, Divergent, and Matched, and I didn't particularly care for any of them. My biggest problem is that these books generally require a whole new set of vocabulary words for their new ideas and rules.
Stories have been and can be told using English words and ideas already known to the majority, and I guess that's what I prefer.
Dystopia seems like it's hit or miss, but isn't that most genres? I guess it just depends on what you like, but you do need to give it a try to find out. I know I said that it is a "love it or hate it" kind of genre, but I'm basically in the middle. I've enjoyed YA and adult dystopian, and author Darynda Jones said on twitter that dystopian novels "will never get old" to her.
So is this a trend or a redesigned staple in the literary world? It's up to you! Let us know what you think.
~~
[image error] Mickey is a natural reddish-headed mid-twenties entertainment-of-all-kinds [image error] lover, girlfriend of boyfriend, mother of reptiles (and a cat), and addict of dessert. Anything chocolate is a welcomed gift in her life. Oh yeah, and she likes to blog.
Stalk her at her…
Blog
Facebook
Twitter: @imabookshark
First of all, if you aren't familiar with what dystopian means, here's the deal: dystopian novels revolve around the idea of a new society that represses its citizens and has power over everything. Usually the world as we currently know it is over for one reason or another – be it war, disease, or something like that. This fresh society has all new rules and is closely controlled in an attempt to make a utopia. These mostly fail because there is always someone (usually the protagonist of the novel) who wants to break free.
Adult dystopian literature has been around for quite a while, starting perhaps most notably with H. G. Wells, Jack London, and E. M. Forster. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World was inspired by H. G. Wells, and on it went. Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, and Atlas Shrugged were written in the 1950s. Even A Clockwork Orange is part of the dystopian genre. Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is still a popular feminist dystopian (or speculative fiction, maybe?).
Then there came The Giver by Lois Lowry, a young adult version of this genre, and the face of popular dystopian
changed. Quite a few authors have noted this one as their favorite novel (to which I say, "Really??" but I digress).
Lately I've noticed a crop of young adult dystopian novels filtering in. Is this good? Yes. Lots of readers are into YA novels at the moment and would be more likely to read this genre (and expand their horizons) in YA format. Is this bad?
Yes. Dystopian novels aren't always pleasant. I'm not saying young kids can't handle it, but even if you've only seen the movie version of A Clockwork Orange or any of these books, you know what I'm getting at. In my opinion, YA dystopians get watered down a bit.
I have only just begun reading The Hunger Games, but I've heard nothing but excellent things. Divergent is another one very much on the rise. Tons of book bloggers on Twitter are raving about this one! These two happen to be favorites of Engarde99 in the dystopian world. She is "LOVING the dystopian in YA fiction.
" Perhaps there was so much hype that Divergent didn't live up to my ideas, and I'm afraid the same might happen with The Hunger Games.Either way, I'm always willing to give most things in the world of words a shot.
And give dystopian a shot I certainly have. Brave New World (adult) is one of my all-time favorite books, and I finished Wither by Lauren DeStefano (YA and definitely not watered down) recently. I very much enjoyed that one. I've also read The Giver, The Handmaid's Tale, Divergent, and Matched, and I didn't particularly care for any of them. My biggest problem is that these books generally require a whole new set of vocabulary words for their new ideas and rules.
Stories have been and can be told using English words and ideas already known to the majority, and I guess that's what I prefer.
Dystopia seems like it's hit or miss, but isn't that most genres? I guess it just depends on what you like, but you do need to give it a try to find out. I know I said that it is a "love it or hate it" kind of genre, but I'm basically in the middle. I've enjoyed YA and adult dystopian, and author Darynda Jones said on twitter that dystopian novels "will never get old" to her.
So is this a trend or a redesigned staple in the literary world? It's up to you! Let us know what you think.
~~
[image error] Mickey is a natural reddish-headed mid-twenties entertainment-of-all-kinds [image error] lover, girlfriend of boyfriend, mother of reptiles (and a cat), and addict of dessert. Anything chocolate is a welcomed gift in her life. Oh yeah, and she likes to blog.
Stalk her at her…
Blog
Twitter: @imabookshark
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