YA Apocalyptic and Dystopian Fiction discussion
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What does it take for a Dystopia to stand out?
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For me, it is the characters I can relate to, the action that relentlessly pushes the story forward, a unique protagonist and a formidable antagonist. Most of all, any dystopia needs to have that spark of hope, that belief that no matter the situation, no matter the circumstances, no matter the propaganda and the ever-present "they" factor - the human spirit shall prevail. The lack of optimism was one of my main issues with novels like 1984 where hope was crushed and devoured. That is where it was wrong for I deeply believe that for every Goliath there is a David and for every Achilles there is a heel and for every oppressive regime there is a payback time. Where is the Third Reich now? Where is the Soviet Union? Where is the all-powerful military junta of Argentina?
I have high standards for all books that I read. From that point each genre (sub-genre) must meet additional standards which are specific for that genre.You asked directly "What does it take for a Dystopia to stand out?" so I am going to talk only about the dystopian sub-genre and not the young adult or science fiction/political fiction too much.
The purpose of a dystopian novel is to quietly (or rather indirectly) point out the woes of modern society by telling of another "fake" society.
Like Sir Thomas Moore did in his work titled Utopia.
If you Know (believe) the spin around Sir Moore and his work it goes like this:
Back when Moore wrote his work Utopia, a citizen could be murdered if he (she) spoke out against the monarchy, and so he wrote a story about a "perfect society" passing it off as an travel experience. The flaws found in the society that Moore lived in were painted as being handled in a different (more humane and balanced) manor. Through this approach the author was able to indirectly state his views on society and how they could be changed, without being beheaded.
Keeping with the spirit of Utopian (a perfect society) today's Dystopian start right off by painting an imperfect society.
Often that imperfection was accidental, yet sometimes it was by design. I have also read books where the imperfection happened through no fault of mankind but by unforeseen circumstances (apocalyptic, end of time that kind of thing).
I look to see how the author defines the imperfection and its cause. For me, it is critical that the author keep the spirit of Sir Moore by making his/her comparison to today's society Indirect, but present.
Keeping in mind the purpose is not to hammer down on the authors political and personal views as that would be found in Political theme books. The author has to present it in such a manor that the reader can choose to accept this view point or not Without that acceptance being critical to the rest of the story.
Example: I did not like the idea of prisoners being treated as slaves to keep down on the prison population, which is found in Sir Moore Utopia but it is not over hammered (meaning the key solution to the book).
Lately I have been reading a fair amount of environmental themed stories where the root cause of societies woes is mankinds abuse of nature. This does not fit into the true dystopian genre (my view only) as it does not deal with the core concepts of how the average citizen relates to its government. How that government relates (treats) to the common citizen or for that matter all citizens.
Many of today's dystopians have the co-genre of romance mixed in them to spike it up a notch and keep the girls (and guys) interested.
Personally, I feel that it is fine to have other genres mixed in with the main dystopian plot Provided that the dystopian plot is followed completely through and does not become a forgotten theme of the book.
In conclusion, for me to enjoy any dystopian book it needs to
1. paint for us a society with all its woes
2. At bare min. draw a correlation between that society and that of the authors current society.
3. Avoid 'over emphases' on the authors views as the only views and hopefully point out other options for that societies woes. (Yes this one is the make or break for me.)
4 Avoid burying the dystopian plot under other genre plots (romance, political and so on). I got the book to read about the dystopian world so do not get side tracked and forget that world that you promised.
5 In keeping with Sir Moore situation: Keep your fictional world separate from today's world. Keep today's political news-lines out of the story. This is a fictional tale do not blur the lines too much or you lose the satirical effects, and it takes out all the "fun". Dsytopians are not (in my view) supposed to be too serious, that is what the political genre is for.
That's my two cents anyway.
Tammy K. wrote: "I have high standards for all books that I read. From that point each genre (sub-genre) must meet additional standards which are specific for that genre.You asked directly "What does it take for a..."
That's not 2 cents, that's more like a dollar. Great insight!
Vardan wrote: "That's not 2 cents, that's more like a dollar. Great insight! ":D Thanks.
The dystopian genre is one of my most favorite genres. I am sorry if I went on a bit longer then needed there but I am known for my rambling IRL.
1)Cataclysmic event decimates population
2)Oppressive/controlling government established in its wake
3)Citizen-led rebellion is formed
4)Oppressive/controlling government is overthrown
Hunger Games, Matched, Divergent, etc. were all variations on the same theme, but all unique (I really enjoyed HG and Divergent, lukewarm on Matched. Many other stories seem to be hybrids looking at the same ideas (arranged marriages, job placements, etc)....
What does it take for a dystopic novel to stand out for you?