Swastika Night

It is said that Swastika Night is 1984 older, long-forgotten sibling, a companion piece of sorts. I can see that. I can even see some degree of inspiration for the latter—though I can't help but think George Orwell's is the better novel. Burdekin's prose, though not bad by any means, is notably not as good as Orwell's. It reads well, but tends to be overly didactic at times, and though we have some really great scenes—the very first chapter, for example, is really, really powerful, and certainly one of the highlights—, I believe SN's importance is purely historical.

However, that is not to say this isn't an interesting book. SN was written in 1937, before the war even started, showing an incredible power of thought. What Burdekin did was write a dystopian novel about the aftermath of a war that was yet to happen, picturing a future 700 years ahead, in which the Axis won and dominated Europe. The society we find in this book is sickening, and the treatment of women leaves more than enough room for discussion. Even the main characters are deeply flawed, being males in a extremely misogynistic society, and their redeeming qualities are all in spite of. The one serious problem I found was Burdekin's treatment of homosexuality. The indulgence in acts of homosexuality in SN's society is seen as preferable to those with women, but it seems that it happens only because ladies aren't exactly seen as human beings. I couldn't shake off the feeling that Burdekin added homosexuality to the mix as a form of reproach, as part of her argument that women are intrinsic to a proper functioning of our society—without them, we'd have homosexuality! the horror! I obviously agree with her for the most part, but I can't with homophobia. 1937 or not, I just can't.