This isn’t a normal kind of post, because this isn’t a normal kind of day.

The inauguration of the new U.S. president will affect everyone to some degree in the coming months and years. Understandably, it’s making many of us feel extremely anxious, either because we live in America, because we have family and friends in America, or because we know our history and see right-wing forces on the rise around the world. Seeing those billionaire tech bros scrambling to get on board, positively encouraging the spread of disinformation, isn’t helping either. It all feels quite grim.

So here’s a small contribution: a two-part reading list whose aim is to empower or provide solace — whatever your need. In troubled times, books can be a lifeline.

EMPOWERMENT

There’s a reason why certain novels get banned by repressive regimes. Words and stories are powerful. They give us knowledge, courage and hope. They show us that other futures are possible. They provide us with a moral compass. They illuminate the methods repressive regimes use to control others. They give us concrete strategies for navigating tough times. They are survival manuals. They facilitate resistance.

Many also explore the theme of criminality, because when repressive regimes take power, they tend to redefine notions of crime. Things that are accepted by a true democracy — such as being a member of an opposition party or organization, working as a union official, voicing criticism of the government, identifying as LGBTI, belonging a particular ethnicity or religion, or (for women) simply choosing what clothes to wear — can quickly become criminalized. Once that happens, the state can start punishing citizens in the courts for ‘crimes’ ranging from ‘treason’ to ‘undermining state order’ to being ‘immodestly dressed’. And because the state is weaponizing the law to enforce its own power rather than upholding the law in good faith, the state itself becomes criminal. It commits crimes against the people it is supposed to serve.

Margaret Atwood, The Testaments (Penguin 2019) and The Handmaid’s Tale (Vintage 2017 [1985])

Where else to start than Margaret Atwood’s iconic dystopian novels about the theocratic Republic of Gilead, formerly the United States, which draw on elements from repressive regimes throughout history. These novels show how quickly a democracy can fall and be replaced by a totalitarian regime; how individuals are given terrible choices to co-opt them into policing others on the regime’s behalf; how things as universal as reading or loving can swiftly become criminalized; how acts of resistance are always possible, but require incredible courage and determination; and how even the most repressive of regimes can fall. The TV adaptation with Elisabeth Moss is stunning. Note: The Handmaid’s Tale is one of the most frequently banned books in America.

Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy (Fourth Estate 2009, 2012, 2020)

Hilary Mantel’s extraordinary novels explore the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540), fixer extraordinaire to King Henry VIII. We’re given an intimate view of what it’s like to spend years in the inner circle of a mercurial, murderous, absolute monarch, and the impossibility of remaining untouched by the crimes you commit in his name. A cautionary tale that demonstrates how serving morally bankrupt people tends to come at a high price. They will dump you the minute you outlast your usefulness.

C. J. Sansom’s absorbing ‘Shardlake’ crime series is set in the same historical period, and sees London lawyer Matthew Shardlake cross paths with Cromwell in the first two books, Dissolution and Dark Fire. The Tudor period was a truly terrifying time to live, not least because of the brutality of its criminal justice system.

Sarah Gailey, Upright Women Wanted (tor.com 2020)

From the past to the future: Sarah Gailey’s Upright Women Wanted takes place in an American Southwest that’s a few years into a totalitarian regime. Young Esther stows away in a travelling Librarians’ book wagon to escape marriage to a man once betrothed to Beatriz, her best friend. Beatriz also happens to have been her secret lover and has just been executed for possessing resistance materials. This is a hard-hitting but hopeful tale of courage and resistance, which features some truly impressive and subversive librarians. As we all know, librarians rock.

Paul Lynch, Prophet Song (Oneworld 2023) 

In this speculative novel, which won the 2023 Booker Prize, Ireland has recently been taken over by a totalitarian regime. At the start of the book, Larry Stack, a trade unionist and deputy head teacher, is disappeared by the secret police while attending a protest rally: his professional activities and actions are now deemed criminal by the state. His wife Eilish is left to hold the family together in increasingly fraught circumstances. The lesson here is how quickly things can unravel and how costly hesitation can be. Eilish is in shock and torn by conflicting needs — to help her husband, to care for her kids and elderly dad — but staying on rather than getting some of the family out while she has the chance may prove a mistake. Always be prepared; always have a plan.

KAOS, Netflix 2024

A wild reimagining of Greek mythology, whose stellar cast includes Jeff Goldblum, KAOS has a lot to teach us about how repressive regimes tick. The gods rule the world with an iron hand from Mount Olympus, not just because they’re powerful, but because they’ve duped humans into believing that obedience will secure them a glorious afterlife. But what if that deal is an elaborate swindle? A ragtag band of individuals, including recently deceased Riddy (Eurydice), are about to find out. Once again, resistance is shown to require huge amounts of courage and sacrifice. On the flip side: no power is monolithic, any regime can be toppled, every charlatan is unmasked in the end.

SOLACE

British commentator Ian Dunt has some wise words about retaining our sanity over the next four years:

You can adopt a system of largely ignoring the chaff and focusing on the pertinent actions. You can make sure that you have time away from the news, so it does not consume you. You can focus your efforts on what you can change, rather than what you cannot.

I think this is really good advice. Don’t ‘live inside the news’, as Oliver Burkeman puts it, do set aside time to enjoy reading or knitting or hiking or playing the banjo or whatever your thing is, and do take regular small actions that make a concrete difference. These might include writing to your MP or a newspaper, making a donation to a progressive cause, or getting involved in your local community. Above all, don’t get sucked into social media spats designed to rob you of your time and energy and peace. Focus on self-care and positive action instead.

I’m doing a lot of what I call ‘respite reading’, because sometimes you really do need to give your head a break. This tends to involve crime novels that contain plenty of wisdom and humour and heart, and I’m incredibly grateful that they exist.

• Elly Griffiths — ‘Ruth Galloway’ series (16 books) and ‘Harbinder Kaur’ series (4 books). Brilliant characterisation, absorbing investigations and loads of heart.
• Jørn Lier Horst — ‘William Wisting’ series (13 books). Top-notch Swedish police procedurals. I’ve really enjoyed the four cold cases.
• Ann Cleeves — ‘Vera Stanhope’ series (11 books). A Northumberland police detective who solves murder cases in her own unique way.
• Donna Leon — ‘Commissario Brunetti’ series (34 books). Escape to Venice and lose yourself in these elegantly plotted police procedurals. Lovely food, too.
• Richard Osman — ‘Thursday Murder Club’ series (currently 4 books). Intrepid pensioners Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim set up an unusual kind of club.  Witty, warm and compassionate, but with bite.

What do you read to get away from it all?