Looking for a good satire/social commentary novel

[Vykan12]

I'm looking for a book that satorizes western consumerist culture, that really rips into the selfish, ignorant, vapid, banal, insulated, apathetic lifestyles of affluent nations. Basically, a book that tackles the issue of people being reduced to commodities, of unsustainable hedonistic pursuits, that kind of thing.

 

The closest thing I can find is American Psycho (haven't read yet), but I'm hoping to find something more contemporary, written from 2000 onwards, ideally includes stuff like social media in its far-sweeping critique.

 

Just to be clear I'm not looking for a book about politics (eg/ Noam Chomsky's work), but rather a work of fiction (eg/ 1984 and its totalitarian themes).

[Hanananah]

I can't think of anything modern off the top of my head but if you have the time I'd highly recommend The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Ocsar Wilde. Both provide excellent social commentaries on pretty much everything you tagged for this topic

[ian]

Blind Faith by Ben Elton has a plot that involves social media. It's not his best book, but it certainly ticks most of the boxes you want

[poppy]

I loved Blott On the Landscape by Tom Sharpe. I think it would be considered satire, but it is very funny, may not quite fit the bill.

[Rosen]

I haven't read 'Blind Faith' but you can't beat a bit of Ben Elton for satire.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Rosen Trevithick

[frankie]

There's another novel by Ben Elton that comes to mind, but unfortunately I can't remember whether I'm thinking about Popcorn or Dead Famous...

 

How about Augusten Burroughs's Sellevision?

[Kylie]

I'd recommend Joseph Heller's Catch-22.

[Kafka]

Catch-22, most definitely.

 

You might like A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius? It doesn't exactly rip into society, but it paints a pretty accurate picture, though that's not really the point of the book. It's fantastic regardless.