The Bleak Books Project

[hrafn]

Updated Feb. 2017: I don't know if I will ever be able to read dystopian or post-apocalyptic fiction again. It is all far too realistic, even more so than when I first got into it.

(Re-dated so I can more easily find the damn thing; started 3 Dec. 2009.)

Broken down by various categories; to be updated as necessary and as I remember.

Comments

[eanja]

Hmm. A thought- don't think I can actually recommend anything of his anymore, but maybe John Christopher's "No Blade of Grass". I read this so long ago that I can't quite remember if there's an attempted hopeful ending, and it's probably typical 1980s post-apocalypse, and pretty mysogynistic, but the whole mass extermination premise probably makes it at least attempted bleak.

Also, another oldy (1957) that I haven't ever read precisely because it sounds so damn depressing is Neville Shute's "On the Beach," one of those literature/SF toss-ups, about Australians in the aftermath of WWIII- the northern hemisphere wipes itself out in a nuclear war and they're left waiting out the last few weeks until wind-carried radiation kills them too.

[hrafn]

I think I might have read the Christopher book. When I was, like, 12. I read the Tripods trilogy, and then went looking for other books by him, and I do recall some sort of "plague kills everyone" story.

I should add both of those to the lists, cause _On the Beach_ is another I feel like I really ought to read, it being one of those classics and etc. I've been sorta avoiding it (I think it's on the shelves at home) because I already know the "everyone dies" ending, and it just sounded so depressing, but, well.

[eanja]

Heh. That's exactly how I read the Christopher book, at pretty much exactly the same age. But I've seen some reviews since that make me think there were levels of misogyny that went right over my head at that age. (Come to think of it, there weren't any girls in the tripod books, were there? Just that one who was was pretty and then disappeared and turned up later dead. Cause even aliens find human women attractive but useless.)

[hrafn]

I don't remember any girls in any of the Tripod books. But I barely remember how many boys were running around as main characters, so *shrug*. And since I know that a lot of Heinlein's GROSSLY OBVIOUS sexism went whooshing over my head, even when I was a teenager, I probably missed a lot more when I was even younger.

I cannot believe I used to remember things like The Number of the Beast and Friday with fondness. (I recently reread TNotB. *shudder* And will not be rereading Friday anytime soon, not since the last time some years ago. More and more of Heinlein's books are winding up on my "Will Never Read AGAIN Except Under Duress" list.) OTOH, if I could survive those, I'm sure today's Twilight-obsessed girls may turn out mostly okay, too ;)

[dooriya]

Hey. I found you through the parrot lovers community, and read a bunch of your journal entries. Would you like to be friends?

As for this entry, it's kind of funny that I am currently teaching Brave New World, am about to teach 1984 and then The Handmaid's Tale to my students. I warned them that this winter will be exceptionally bleak.

[hrafn]

Ah, well, if the public ranting hasn't scared you off (though I seem to have not done much of that lately), sure. Your art journal is certainly intriguing!

What, no Brunner for the kids?

Sorry, I just wish to inflict it on everyone.

[magid]

Possibly bleak enough for you: Woman on the Edge of Time.