I am an avid satire fan who has read numerous satirical works and written two satirical books (Necropolis & Sepultura). A third is on the way (Tomorrow’s World).
This week’s post is devoted to six satirical novels from the previous six decades (1950s – 2000s). One satire for each decade. Click on the links to read my reviews.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)
There is much to ponder in this satirical book whose motif is a warning about the threat posed by state censorship. Bradbury’s seminal work predicts our increasing obsession with mass media.
My Review: Books are banned in this dystopian world, where firemen are employed to burn them. Guy Montag is a fireman, who lives an unfulfilling existence with Mildred, his sedentary, parlour-consuming wife: parlours being an…(more)
Subjects Satirised: Censorship
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
Based on Heller’s own experiences as a bombardier in WWII, this best-selling, satirical, anti-war novel, took its American author eight years to write.
My Review: Set on the Mediterranean island of Pianosa during WWII, Catch-22 is about the exploits of the fictitious 256th Squadron. We follow protagonist Yossarian and his comrades’ farcical attempts…(more)
Subject Satirised: War
High-Rise by J. G. Ballard (1975)
Set in an apartment tower block in London, High-Rise is a dystopian tale about the intense animosity that develops between the building’s various floors. Its motif is the fragmentation of the social order.
My Review: Set in an apartment tower block in London, High-Rise is a dystopian tale about the intense animosity that develops between the building’s various floors. The story centres around three main characters – Robert Laing, an instructor at a medical school …(more)
Subjects Satirised: Contemporary living arrangements & society at large
An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd (1982)
An Ice-Cream War’s motif is the absurdness of war. This unpredictable serio-comedy’s blend of tragedy and black humour appealed to this reader.
My Review: After much tension and speculation, World War I begins. The main campaign is contended on the Western Front, but there is also a less well-known offensive in colonial East Africa, where the British and their native conscripts are pitted against the …(more)
Subjects Satirised: War & English Upper Class
Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk (1999)
The book’s premise, the superficial vanity of the beauty industry, is used both to explore the unattractive side of human nature and, in customary Palahniuk fashion, to satirise society.
My Review: Shannon McFarland is a catwalk model, who is the centre of attention wherever she goes. That is until she ‘accidentally’ blasts her jaw shot off with a gun whilst driving down the highway. Shannon is left…(more)
Subjects Satirised: Human nature & the beauty industry
I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe (2004)
I Am Charlotte Simmons is a humorous satire about campus life. Themes include materialism, social class, race and America’s obsession with college sport.
My Review: Appalachian wunderkind Charlotte Simmons has been awarded a scholarship to Dupont, an elite fictional university, steeped in tradition. Living amongst the cream of America’s youth is…(more)
Subjects Satirised: Campus life & numerous others
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That clenched fist looks ominous.
