I guess dickensian would be the world I'm looking for. something like A Fine Balance by Rohinton Ministry. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe etc. I'm very much looking for something that gives equal attention to the misery as well as small moments of joy or triumph that make up a life. Stories where you do the right thing and things still go wrong, and vice versa.
I wish I had more books as examples, I have more movies than books to explain it. humans marching on and making good with what you got in a dirty system that eats everything it touches, bit I'm not necessarily looking for a pessimistic or dystopic story if that makes sense?
by SCastleRelics
2 Comments
The Road by Cormac McCarthy hits this vibe perfectly – it’s bleak as hell but those tiny moments between the father and son will wreck you in the best way. Also maybe check out Steinbeck’s East of Eden, it’s got that whole “people are messy but trying their best” thing down to an art form
Try the Broken Kingdom book series. The setting is post-apocalyptic far future with high tech remnants and the society devolving into the medieval.