Orwell Prize 2019: Political Fiction

Anna Burns’s Booker Prize–winning novel is a daring, experimental portrayal of life under sectarian tension in Northern Ireland. Told through a nameless narrator and characterised by looping, immersive prose, Milkman captures the suffocating atmosphere of surveillance, rumour, and male violence. Burns examines how political conflict infiltrates domestic life, shaping identity and behaviour in subtle yet devastating ways. The novel’s humour, strangeness, and intricacy make it singular, while its political insight cuts deeply. It is challenging, rewarding, and profoundly original — a masterpiece of contemporary fiction.

Glen James Brown’s Ironopolis is a gritty, interconnected portrait of a declining northern English estate. Through multiple narrators, Brown explores the scars left by deindustrialisation, austerity, and generational trauma. His writing is vivid and empathetic, revealing the humour, violence, and mythologies that hold communities together even as they unravel. The novel’s structure cleverly mirrors the layers of memory and history embedded in place. Brown’s political insights emerge organically through character and setting, creating a deeply human depiction of a community shaped by forces far beyond its control.

David Chariandy’s Brother is a beautifully restrained novel set in the Scarborough suburbs, following two siblings navigating grief, racism, and economic precarity. Through quiet yet potent prose, Chariandy explores how violence — structural and interpersonal — shapes the lives of young Black men. The narrative is tender, elegiac, and sharply observant, capturing both the fragility and resilience of community. Chariandy focuses on the universal themes of brotherhood, loss, and memory while grounding the story in Canada’s racial and socio-economic landscape. The novel is compact yet emotionally expansive, leaving a lasting impact through its quiet power.

Tayari Jones’s An American Marriage is a powerful examination of love strained by systemic injustice. When Roy is wrongfully imprisoned, his marriage to Celestial begins to fracture under the weight of distance, hope, and shifting identity. Jones writes with emotional precision, revealing how mass incarceration reverberates far beyond prison walls. The novel explores loyalty, ambition, and the painful choices people make when their futures are disrupted by forces beyond their control. It is both intimate and political, offering a deeply human story rooted in the structural realities of contemporary America. Jones balances compassion with complexity, making this a resonant and unforgettable novel.

Guy Gunaratne’s electrifying debut follows five voices over 48 hours in a London estate after a soldier’s murder ignites racial and political tensions. The novel pulses with urgency, capturing the rhythms of urban youth, immigrant identity, and community fracture. Gunaratne’s polyphonic style is raw and authentic, blending street-level observation with lyrical intensity. He explores radicalisation, nationalism, and generational disillusionment without resorting to simplification. The result is a gripping portrait of contemporary Britain at a breaking point — full of energy, empathy, and complexity.

Set in an East African refugee camp, Sulaiman Addonia’s novel explores identity, desire, and resistance through the intertwined lives of Saba and her mute brother Hagos. Addonia’s prose is lush and intimate, refusing stereotypical portrayals of displacement. Instead, he foregrounds the emotional and political complexities of life in liminal spaces. The novel challenges conventional narratives about refugees, revealing how silence, language, and power shape belonging. Addonia’s storytelling is sensual, unpredictable, and deeply humane, offering a rich counter-narrative to reductive depictions of migration.

Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina is a groundbreaking graphic novel that examines conspiracy culture, media manipulation, and the emotional impact of tragedy. After a young woman disappears, her story becomes fodder for misinformation and online hysteria. Drnaso’s minimalist art heightens the sense of alienation and numbness, mirroring the psychological effects of digital paranoia. The narrative is bleak yet compelling, capturing how modern media transforms personal grief into public spectacle. It is a quietly devastating critique of post-truth politics and the fragility of human connection.

Novuyo Rosa Tshuma’s House of Stone is a bold, satirical, and emotionally charged novel about Zimbabwe’s turbulent political history. Told through the eyes of Zamani — a charismatic yet deeply unreliable narrator — the story blends personal obsession with national trauma. Tshuma excavates layers of colonial violence, liberation struggle, and contemporary disillusionment, weaving them into a narrative that is both intimate and sweeping. Her prose is vivid and fearless, unafraid to reveal the darkness and absurdity embedded in political upheaval. The novel’s complex characters and shifting timelines create a riveting portrait of a nation haunted by unresolved histories.

Leni Zumas’s Red Clocks is a feminist dystopia set in an America where abortion and IVF have been outlawed, and personhood is granted at conception. The novel follows several women whose lives become increasingly constrained by these laws. Zumas’s prose is sharp, poetic, and deeply empathetic, weaving together stories that reveal the intimate consequences of political extremism. The book is both speculative and deeply grounded in contemporary debates about bodily autonomy. It offers a chilling, resonant portrait of how reproductive control becomes a form of state power.

Sam Byers’s Perfidious Albion is a sharp, satirical, dystopian take on post-Brexit Britain. Set in a small town manipulated by tech companies, populist movements, and digital misinformation, the book skewers political hypocrisy and online culture. Byers’s writing is biting yet sophisticated, blending humour with genuine political critique. The novel illustrates how fear and manipulation can erode democratic norms and warp community life. Its speculative elements heighten the absurdity of contemporary politics while maintaining a frightening believability. Smart, unsettling, and incisive.

Jacqueline Crooks’s The Ice Migration is a vivid, intergenerational novel tracing a Caribbean family’s journey across continents and political upheavals. Crooks blends folklore, memory, and migration history to create a narrative that is both mythical and grounded in lived experience. Her characters navigate displacement, belonging, and the lingering effects of colonialism. The book’s poetic language and layered structure highlight the resilience of cultural identity amid global forces. It is imaginative, emotionally rich, and politically resonant, offering a fresh perspective on diaspora storytelling.

Diana Evans’s Ordinary People is a beautifully observed novel exploring marriage, identity, and the politics of modern Black British life. Set in south London during the Obama era, the story follows two couples grappling with shifting desires, parenthood, and a sense of cultural dislocation. Evans blends domestic intimacy with broader social questions, revealing how race, class, and history shape even the most private relationships. Her prose is lyrical and textured, attentive to the beauty and melancholy of everyday life. The book is subtle yet deeply political, offering insight into what it means to seek belonging in an ever-changing city.