Hello readers!
We are living in crazy times, but I hope I can provide some distractions in the form of books! With the seemingly endless time we have, I’ve compiled a list of dystopian books that will hopefully distract from our own dystopia we’re currently living in. (Note: I steered clear of books with illnesses for obvious reasons).
1984 by George Orwell:
If you haven’t read this since high school, now is the perfect time to pick it up again! George Orwell’s classic surveillance dystopia will make you glad Big Brother can’t really watch anyone while we’re stuck at home. Winston Smith works in the Ministry of Truth rewriting history to fit the government’s always changing versions. He buys a diary one day where he writes about his hate for the government and Big Brother which sends him on a mission to expose some sort of truth about the society he lives in. 1984 is full of craziness to hopefully make you forget about the real-life craziness we’re facing right now.
Under the Dome by Stephen King:
This book will make you glad we’re not actually trapped. Stephen King writes his own dystopian in the form of a small town trapped under a dome that no one can leave. Of course, it’s Stephen King, so this book could keep you entertained through the entire quarantine with its multitude of characters and their intense fight for power in dystopian times. Follow up your reading by bingeing the TV adaptation which is streaming on CBS All Access and Amazon Prime Video.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood:
I’m sure everyone’s binged the Hulu original, but now is the perfect time to visit Margaret Atwood’s original novel. The protagonist, Offred, is forced to conceive children for the society’s elite. She eventually learns of an underground rebel group that tries to help women escape, but of course nothing is that easy. Let the horror and disbelief of this apocalyptic society make you forget about the apocalyptic view of empty New York streets.
Stay safe,
David Beauie
This is a shared blog post for Beaufort Books and Spencer Hill Press.