What is Your Favorite Genre? Part 2

I also like Dystopian literature.  I have read Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Animal Farm, and Brave New World.  They are considered classics, but are also very good books.  None of them are very long either but are chocked full of detail that brings their vision of the future to life.   

I do like the more modern Dystopian books as well.  I love the Hunger Games Trilogy.  They are geared towards a younger audience, but the story is still compelling.  You can’t help but feel for Katniss as she tries to save her family from the cruelty of the hunger games.

Divergent wasn’t a bad book.  I thought the writing style could have been more mature, but the story kept me interested.  Unfortunately, the second book dragged for me and I lost interest in Veronica Roth’s world.  I’ll probably read the third book when it’s released, and I hope it picks up the pace.  I apologize to any Divergent fans out there, but the second book ruined the series for me.

Why dystopian literature?  There is something about the genre that appeals to people.  Most dystopian books are set in the future in a horrific and violent world where people are told they live in paradise, but in reality their lives are a nightmare.  In Fahrenheit 451 the people believe they live in a great society: a world without books.  Books, and ideas, are banned and burned.  Any caught with a book is arrested and killed.  The main character burns books and is quite good at it.  But, he starts to question his world and the rule committing the gravest of crimes: he hides and reads books.  I find it interesting that in this world people have their minds turned to mush by watching hours and hours of television.  They stay entertained and compliant because of it.  Something to think about in our modern world of HD TVs and our constant need for entertainment. 

Dystopian literature taps into the fear the we all have that our lives might be controlled by some government force, or secret group of people, and we don’t even know it.  One thing dystopian books do is they make us ask questions and question our current way of life.   That is why they are so popular.  Besides being entertaining, they point out certain problems within our society and make us think.  Besides, who doesn’t like the idea of the lone hero that stands against the established order and questions what has always been?

Thoughts about dystopian literature? Comment below.