Last month, we mentioned Tynwald Day and, whatever your politics, you could not help but notice that the headlines were grabbed by a group inspired by literature.

Protestors dressed as handmaids made the front pages and, with the new adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale reaching a conclusion on the television, we thought we would take a look at some of the top dystopian novels out there.

The thing that makes a dystopian novel really work, of course, is if the literary landscape painted by the author is believable for the reader.

Really good ones stand the test of time.

We probably do not need to say much more about The Handmaid’s Tale.

Suffice to say, the use of a dubious premise to instigate the gradual erosion of rights until, suddenly, there is subjugation and oppression of a whole section of society, is extremely topical.

George Orwell’s classic, 1984, may not have predicted the year of change, but there is plenty in there that has shown the author’s foresight. It may not help you develop a love of longtails and it is also responsible for the format to an occasionally funny television panel game, but it is definitely worth a read.

Neville Shute’s On the Beach creates a scenario which, fortunately, has not come to pass, but the prospect of a nuclear holocaust was very real when he wrote it in 1957. The thought of society living its life in the full knowledge it will soon end is a troubling one.

A recurring theme through many dystopian novels is that of a power trying to limit knowledge, often by the destruction of books. Fahrenheit 451, by the masterful Ray Bradbury, is one such story.

Bradbury injects such strong descriptive powers into the mundanity of life that his tales cannot help to be powerful and affecting.

His slightly less well-known Something Wicked This Way Comes, by the way, should top the reading list for any League of Gentleman or Inside Number 9 fan.

One of the more recent contributions to the dystopian world is The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. The first in a trilogy, it focuses on a world in which youngsters are forced to fight a battle to the death. It has also spawned a smash hit film.

If you want to find out just how bad the world can get, in the minds of some of the planet’s best authors, ask our staff at the Mobile Family Library or the Family Library to help you pick out the perfect dystopian novel for you!

by The Family Library

Westmoreland Road, Douglas

www.familylibrary.im