I've started getting some holiday gifts for my family and I'd like to pick my dad up some left-leaning novels.

He reads a lot, and is a left-leaning boomer but also really liked Obama (ewww cringe).

For his birthday I picked him up " Three Penny Novel " by Brecht, but I realised that I don't know of any other socialist fiction authors other than Brecht (everything else he wrote were plays, so not really reading-friendly).

Any of you able to recommend me some socialist-influenced works of fiction/novels that I could pick him up?

Thanks :fidel-salute:

  • Wertheimer [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Somewhere to start looking: Proletarian literature . Edward Dahlberg and Henry Roth are great writers. I don't remember Roth's politics but Call It Sleep is definitely working-class.

    Socialist police procedurals - I mention these a lot on here, so forgive me, anyone who's reread the same post. The Martin Beck series, by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

    Gabriel Garcia Marquez

    There's some doubt about Carlos Fuentes, but the FBI certainly considered him a communist.

    Guido Morselli's The Communist is rather critical of the Italian Communist Party but it's still a thoroughly socialist novel.

    Ousmane Sembene.

    Ngugi wa Thiong'o.

    Kobo Abe. (Left the party after 1956, but there's plenty of socialism in Woman in the Dunes.)

    If your dad likes experimental fiction - Juan Goytisolo. Alasdair Gray, whose novel Poor Things will be a Yorgos Lanthimos film soon. Peter Weiss.

    • sexywheat [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      The Martin Beck series sounds perfect. He loves murder mystery stuff, and not so fond of sci fri. Ordering them now thanks comrade :party-cat:

      • Wertheimer [any]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Awesome! I hope he enjoys. My favorite volumes are the middle ones. The Laughing Policeman, #4, is generally regarded to be the best.

      • Wertheimer [any]
        ·
        2 years ago

        For an example of the politics of the series -

        Murder at the Savoy begins with a wealthy industrialist being shot while he's in the middle of dinner at a fancy hotel. During the course of the investigation, the detectives learn that he was an arms dealer who worked with apartheid South Africa, was a slum lord who evicted everyone he could, etc., etc. It becomes apparent that just about everyone alive would have had a motive to murder this dude and the real mystery becomes not whodunit but whether the detectives will be able to let whoever did it get away scot-free.

        • sexywheat [none/use name]
          ·
          2 years ago

          That's fucking awesome. I might have to borrow them from him when he's done.