When you talk about societal change, revolutions are some of the most important events to have made significant strides forward. From changing the status quo to achieving justice, these pivotal moments are immortalized in history, even inspiring many literary works in subsequent years.
Books about revolutions work two-fold: as inspirations for change and as warnings for what may come.
Fiction Books About Revolutions
Fictional works have a way of showing the hows and whys that drive people into rebellion. You become intimate with the characters working towards a better future and witness the impact of their actions.
1. Les Miserables By Victor Hugo
Les Miserables is Hugo’s canvas from which he paints the injustice of France’s societal and judicial systems. Severe economic inequality is a constant backdrop of the story, culminating in the Paris Uprising of 1832.
Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread and is condemned as a criminal forever. Fantine is a prostitute and is treated as a plaything. Both must struggle against prejudice and scorn as they seek a better quality of life.
2. Animal Farm By George Orwell
George Orwell’s novel is a not-so-subtle satire about the Russian revolution, albeit with farm animals to stand in for historical figures. Old Major is Karl Marx, Napoleon is Stalin, Snowball is Trotsky, and so on.
The animals forcibly take over a poorly run farm from its owner, Mr. Jones (meant to represent Tsar Nicholas II). And while they start out with good intentions, things quickly go south as power corrupts them and their mission.
3. The Sympathizer By Viet Thanh Nguyen
Saigon falls and a man arranges for himself and a select few to be taken to America. There, they are disillusioned by an alien culture as well as their rapid decline in status and power.
The man’s role as a double agent and immigrant is explored, giving face to the two sides of a bloody revolution. His sympathies are tested as he struggles to bring Vietnam’s conflict to a close.
4. The Death of Artemio Cruz By Carlos Fuentes
Artemio Cruz is on his deathbed. As he waits for the end, he reminisces about his time as a young rebel and slowly becoming part of the institution he so desperately wanted to overthrow.
Class domination, systematic corruption, and failure to address the people’s needs are examined in this novel, set against the background of the Mexican Revolution.
5. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress By Dai Sijie
China is in the midst of its infamous Cultural Revolution. Two boys are exiled to a mountain village for “re-education” through labor. There, they befriend a seamstress and discover a forbidden trove of Western literature.
All three youngsters are subjected to the strict rules meant to subjugate their desires and beliefs, the stories they read bring them the things they have lost and are yet to claim.
6. The Kingdom of This World By Alejo Carpentier
A few years after its freedom from the French, Haiti is now under Henri Christophe—once a slave, now the first black king in the Western hemisphere. Through him, Haitians experience more brutality as their savior quickly turns into a tyrant.
The slave Ti Noel witnesses this cyclical nature of violence. He trudges through the land, searching for true freedom amidst the confusion, conflict, and superstition that has haunted Haiti for years.
Nonfiction Books About Revolutions
History is full of people, big or small, who have made efforts to create change and a better future. Without their actions, the world you experience today might be different. Here are a few books detailing significant events that have altered the course of humanity.
1. The Innovators By Walter Isaacson
The computer is a tool that has transformed humanity’s entire way of life. It started a movement that ushered us into the Digital Age of today.
Each chapter discusses the key innovators of the digital world, along with their pivotal contributions to computer technology and its various applications. Included are Charles Babbage, the father of the computer; Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer; and Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.
2. 1776 By David McCullough
America, then a collection of colonies, is at war for its independence. At its head is George Washington, who becomes the rallying point of Americans in the ranks and boys just barely turned into soldiers.
Against them are King George III, his commander William Howe, and their redcoats. McCullough follows the war from battle to battle, revealing the crucial moments that enabled the birth of a new nation.
3. Blood in the Water By Heather Ann Thompson
On September 9, 1971, more than a thousand prisoners took Attica Correctional Facility hostage, demanding better rights and living conditions. In response, heavily armed troops were sent to retake the prison, resulting in at least 43 deaths, most of them inmates.
Attica remains one of the most infamous prison riots in the United States. Its tragedy is considered a turning point for prison rights, finally forcing the state to make positive changes in the prison system.
Here, Thompson reexamines the Attica riot and its legacy through decades of research involving those that took part in it, whether guards, prisoners, hostages, family, or investigators.
4. Tiananmen Exiles By Rowena Xiaoqing He
In 1989, Chinese citizens took to the streets in protest of government corruption and authoritarian rule. It culminated with the People’s Liberation Army firing at unarmed protesters, with death estimates varying from several hundred to thousands.
The leaders who survived the massacre found themselves branded as criminals and forced to flee to North America. Among those who witnessed the event is Rowena Xiaoqing He, who later joins these exiles in keeping the truth and the memory of the movement alive for years to come.
5. Long Walk to Freedom By Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela served 27 years in prison for daring to fight against racism in South Africa. The right called him a communist terrorist, while the left denounced him as too eager in seeking peace with apartheid supporters.
Revered as an icon of social justice, human rights, and racial equality, Mandela’s most inspiring feat is bringing together an entire country with a long history of segregation. Here is his journey from childhood to prisoner to activist, and finally to being the Father of his Nation.
6. Carry Me Home By Diane McWhorter
In the early 60s, Birmingham was one of the most racially divided cities in the United States. Black citizens were subjected to harsh legal and economic disadvantages and any resistance was met with violence.
That didn’t stop children and students from doing peaceful demonstrations though, facing down fire hoses, attack dogs, and the Ku Klux Klan in the process. McWhorter weaves together news and police reports, archival documents, and interviews from both black activists and Klansmen to deliver an accurate retelling of America’s turning point in the civil rights struggle.
Learning From the Past
No matter their scale, every successful revolution that has happened has undeniably resulted in change. It is these changes and the events which necessitated them that serve as lessons for humanity.
These are stories of people fighting against oppression in many different forms. Sometimes it’s as benign as boredom and the desire to push against limits, other times it’s far more sinister such as removing deep-seated corruption and abuse,
Whether fiction or nonfiction, such stories are opportunities to learn about moral limits, societal standards, and taboos. We rely on each other to keep ourselves in check and what’s a better guide than compounded knowledge about what has already happened?
What’s your go-to book about revolution? Share it in the comments below!
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Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
