8 Utopian Fiction Novels to Get You Through These Dystopian Times
Dystopian fiction is still very popular, with many such stories in existence.The Handmaid’s Tale, Man in the high castleand siloto name a few – have been adapted in recent years for film and television. Each depicts an oppressive, authoritarian, and manipulative society and displays the worst examples of human civilization.
The genre’s opposite twin, utopian fantasy, has largely fallen out of favor, but the best examples are no less creative, rewarding, and insightful. A utopia is an imagined country or world in which humans live in peace, equality, and without conflict. At their core, utopian novels have a dual purpose: to entertain with a good story, and to criticize our current views and values by contradicting the fictional story.
If you want to get away from corrupt politicians and a dark future, consider diving into one of the following books.
- City of Ladies book (1404) // Christine Pizan
- Utopia (1516) // Thomas More
- Erion (1872) // Samuel Butler
- Herland (1915) // Charlotte Perkins Gilman
- Lost horizon (1933) // James Hilton
- Iceland (1942) // Austin Tappan Wright
- The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia (1974) // Ursula K. Le Guin
- Very like lightning (2016) // Ada Palmer
City of Ladies book (1404) // Christine Pizan
Christine de Pizan was born in the Republic of Venice in 1364. She worked as a court clerk, an author who wrote works on commission for aristocratic patrons. Among her clients were royalty and… City of Ladies book She wrote while she was working for John the BraveDuke of Burgundy.
in The novelDe Pizan imagines a metaphorical city of women. These women are fictionalized versions of real inspirational figures drawn from history and serve as the foundation of the city. Through their presence, de Pizan builds a thesis that calls for women’s education and their status as equals with men. City of Ladies book It is often considered the first feminist novel and remains an exceptional achievement.
Utopia (1516) // Thomas More
This is the book that gave the genre its name – Thomas More coined the word Utopia; that it Derived from Greek The items meaning “no” and “place”, translate to “no place”.
More served as Lord High Chancellor of England during his reign King Henry VIII. He was a lawyer, philosopher, and theologian who opposed the king’s separation from the Catholic Church, a position for which he was eventually executed.
More features as a character in Utopia. He meets a traveler named Raphael Hythloday, who recounts his visit to a land where slavery is condemned, democracy rules, and the pursuit of wealth is viewed as folly. There is no private property there UtopiaEvery citizen participates in community work with a fair share. This is a very radical act and it still stands It is discussed to this day.
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Erion (1872) // Samuel Butler
Samuel Butler’s satirical masterpiece uses the fictional and idyllic country of Erewon as a mirror to highlight human injustice. Victorian community. The novel follows the story of an unnamed protagonist who leaves England in hopes of finding his fortune and stumbles upon the titular land; His adventures there raise questions about the nature and purpose of morality and civilization.
Butler’s response to the Industrial Revolution is a remarkably prescient feature of the book. In three chapters it constitutes “Book of machines“, and the author warns of potential dangers Artificially intelligent And self-copying machines. George Orwell I like Eryon, to praise Her imagination and courage.
Herland (1915) // Charlotte Perkins Gilman
plot Herland The film charts the adventures of three men – Vandyke Jennings, Terry Nicholson, and Jeff Margrave – who set out in search of a land rumored to be populated entirely by women. Charlotte Perkins Gilman skillfully uses these three contrasting characters to illustrate men’s shared views of women, as shaped by society.
When the trio eventually discovered Herland, they were initially captured by its inhabitants but were gradually allowed more freedom to explore. They realize that it is a land free of violence and war, a peaceful and equal place, where notions of romance or sex are unheard of. Needless to say, the three men struggle to adapt and find themselves questioning many long-held beliefs.
Gilman’s work went largely unnoticed upon its publication. It was not until reprints began to appear in the 1960s and 1970s that her writing received the attention it did. Really deserves it.
Lost horizon (1933) // James Hilton
If you’ve ever wondered where the name Shangri-La comes from, this is the place. In James Hilton’s novel, Hugh Conway, the British consul resident in India, his deputy Charles Mallinson, the American Henry Barnard, and the English missionary Roberta Brinklow, find themselves stranded in the mountains of Tibet after a plane crash. Their dying pilot advises them to head to the nearby Shangri-La Buddhist monastery. There, they discover a peaceful, isolated paradise that wants for nothing. The book’s plot centers around the four intruders’ reactions to their new environment and its contradictions with Western society. Adapted by director Frank Capra Lost horizon He was For movies In 1933.
Iceland (1942) // Austin Tappan Wright
austin tappan wright book, Published posthumouslyand its fictional setting of Islandia—a place of inclusion and equality, where a love of nature is paramount—is remarkably detailed. The novel was an emotional work, developed over a long period during which the author worked out the history of the utopia he imagined, including its history, geology, language, and culture. These full papers were never published; What became the novel was greatly modified. However, the fruits of Wright’s labor shine when he tells the story of American John Lange, one of a very limited number of visitors allowed into the fantasy land.
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia (1974) // Ursula K. Le Guin
This novel by the famous author Ursula K. Le Guin is among the… A bunch of works For achieving the feat of winning all of the “big three” science fiction awards: Hugo, Locus, and Nebula. Preparation for each chapter in The deprived It alternates between the planet Oras and its moon Anares. Urras is a highly hierarchical and authoritarian capitalist society. Anarres has no laws and is essentially cooperative in nature. Le Guin does not provide easy answers and highlights the difficulties that arise from the conflict between individualism and collectivism.
Very like lightning (2016) // Ada Palmer
One of the few contemporary exponents of the utopian novel is the American writer Ada Palmer Very like lightning It is the first in a quartet of works known collectively as Uncharted territory. This novel takes place on Earth in the year 2454, a world where technological progress has led to a golden age for humanity. Geographical countries no longer exist. Instead, people have the option of joining one of seven cells, each of which has its own language and government and all of which form part of the Senate of the Global Free Alliance. The book is presented as a history written by the colorful Mycroft Canner, a brilliant criminal, now on parole. It contains within it a story of competing forces and a beguiling mystery.
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