Dystopian Books Again Seize Power

Dystopian Books Again Seize Power



A sign of troubled times? Number of dystopian-themed books at its highest since the 1960s.



% Categorized as Dystopian out of all Books



1.5

1.125

0.75

0.375

0



1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010



Goodreads members are categorizing more and more books as "dystopian"



The Hunger Games

published in 2008



World War II



The Cold War



9/11



A Guide to Dystopian Literature



The dystopian novel is as popular as it's been in 50 years. what's changed?



The latest crop of books to tackle the subject add a dash of romance to their troubled worlds. Here's a guide to the history of this fascinating genre.



1930s-1960s: Fear of the State



Inspirations: World War II, communism, fascism



Dystopic Traits: Controlling governments, loss of freedom



Gender Split: Men tend to rate these books higher than women



A Handy Key

Lack of freedom/choice

Biological/reproductive Issues

Oppressive government

Which gender likes it more

Post-apocalypse

Romance



Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

1932



1984

George Orwell

1949



Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

1950



A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess

1962



A Second Wave: Anxiety About the Body

Inspirations: Environmental crises, the Cold War, Identity politics



Dystopic Traits: Still a distrust of the state, increased anxiety about the human body



Gender Split: Women and men both rate these books highly



The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

1985



V for Vendetta

Alan Moore & David Lloyd

1988



The Children of Men

P.D. James

1992



Never Let Me Go

Kazuo Ishiguro

2005



The Young Adult Explosion: Romance!



Inspirations: The vapidity of pop culture, 9/11, the War on Terror



Dystopic Traits: Romance, tough heroines, anti-conformist, written for a teen audience



Gender Split: Women rate these books more highly than men



Uglies

Scott Westerfeld

2005



Matched

Ally Condie

2010



Delirium

Lauren Oliver

2011



Divergent

Veronica Roth

2011



The Hunger Games:

The Most-Popular Dystopian Novel Ever?



The standard-bearer for this latest crop of dystopian fiction incorporates many common dystopian themes, such as a strong heroine and a post-apocalyptic setting. Will it eventually overtake George Orwell's 1984 as the most popular dystopian novel on Goodreads?



Popular Dystopian Novels



Ratings on Goodreads



600000

450000

300000

150000

0



Books



341,873 BRAVE NEW WORLD



548,376 1984



330,276 FAHRENHEIT 451



93,392 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE



139,974 THE HANDMAID'S TALE



511,923 THE HUNGER GAMES



52,319 DIVERGENT



What Will Be the Next POPULAR TREND in Dystopian Literature?



Robotics?

Climate Change?

Insect Overlords? goodreads Dystopian Books Again Seize Power A sign of troubled times? Number of dystopian- themed books at its highest since the 1960s. 1.5 Goodreads members are categorizing more and more books as "dystopian" 1.125 The Hunger Games THE HUNGER published in 2008 GAMES 0.75 SUZANNE COLLINS 0.375 1920 1930 940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 20 þ 2010 Publication Year World War II The Cold War 9/11 A Guide to Dystopian Literature The dystopian novel is as popular as it's been in 50 years. What's changed? A Handy Key Lack of freedom/choice The latest crop of books to tackle the subject Biological/ reproductive Issues add a dash of romance to their troubled worlds. Here's a guide to the history of this fascinating genre. Oppressive government Which gender likes it more 1930s-1960s: Fear of the State Post-apocalypse Inspirations: World War II, communism, fascism Dystopic Traits: Controlling governments, loss of freedoms Romance Gender Split: Men tend to rate these books higher than women Stonet Classic aldous huxley Brave New World 1984 Aldous Huxley George Orwell| BRAV E 1932 1949 GEORGE ORVWELL 1984 NEW WORL D Fahrenheit 451 A Clockwork Orange ANTHONY BURGESS Ray Bradbury Anthony Burgess RAY BRADBURY 1950 1962 CLOCKWORK ORANGE FAHRENHEIT 451 THE 5OTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION A Second Wave: Anxiety About the Body Inspirations: Environmental crises, the Cold War, identity politics Dystopic Traits: Still a distrust of the state, increased anxiety about the human body Gender Split: Women and men both rate these books highly ERTICO NoW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE! FOR VEN The Handmaid's Tale V for Vendetta Margaret Atwood MOORE AVID LLOYD Alan Moore & David Lloyd 1985 1988 MARGARET ATWOOD THE HANDMAIDS TALE MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST The Children of Men Never Let Me Go PD James NEVER LET P.D. James Kazuo Ishiguro 1992 ME GO 2005 A NOVEL KAZUO ISHIGURO THE CHILDREN OF MEN A PASE-T AN ETAER,A TOU BE FORCE OF NOTTED TENSION AND The Young Adult Explosion: Romance! Inspirations: The vapidity of pop culture, 9/11, the War on Terror Dystopic Traits: Romance, tough heroines, anti-conformist, written for a teen audience Gender Split: Women rate these books more highly than men Matched Uglies NEW TORK TIMES BESTSELLER Scott Westerfeld Ally Condie 2005 2010 UGLIES SCOTT WESTERFELD MATCHED ALLY CONDIE In a world of extreme beauty. anyone normal is ugly. Delirium Divergent ONE CHOICE CAN TRANSFORM YOU Lauren Oliver Bastseling Auhor of Veronica Roth BEFORE I FALL EN OLVER 2011 2011 DELIRHUM DIVERGENT NEW FORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR VERONICA ROTH The Hunger Games: The Most-Popular Dystopian Novel Ever? THE HUNGER GAMES The standard-bearer for this latest crop of dystopian fiction incorporates many common dystopian themes, such as a strong heroine and a post-apocalyptic setting. Will it eventually overtake George Orwell's 1984 as the most popular dystopian novel on Goodreads? SUZANNE COLLINS Popular Dystopian Novels THE HUNGER GAMES GEORGE ORWE 84 600000 548,376 SUZANNE COLLINS 511,923 BRAVE RAY BRADBURY 450000 WORLD FAHRENHEIT 451 341,873 330,276 300000 ANTHONY BURGESS MARGARET ATWOOD CLOCKWORK THE HANDMAIDS ORANGE 139,974 150000 93,392 DIVERGENT VEHONICA ROTH 52,319 Books Robotics? ? What Will Be the Next POPULAR TREND Climate Change? in Dystopian Literature Insect Overlords? goodreads % Categorized as Dystopian out of all Books Ratings on Goodreads