A Dozen Favorite Works of Distinctly Political Fiction
(Of course many books possess a political valence—all of them, some would argue, whether by intention or not—but here I’m concentrating on novels that (1) foreground their own political sensibility and (2) seek to activate the political sensibilities of their readers. This is a list of my ten favorite examples of the genre, arranged alphabetically by author.)
She Weeps Each Time You’re Born by Quan Barry
What a Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe (also published as The Winshaw Legacy)
The Jokers by Albert Cossery
Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord by Louis de Bernières
Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson
The Joke by Milan Kundera
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet
Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century by Patrik Ouředník
Shame by Salman Rushdie
When the English Fall by David Williams
Eureka Street by Robert McLiam Wilson
— November 22, 2020