Literature is arguably the deepest exploration of what it means to be human, and one of the most fascinating avenues to explore human nature is when survival kicks in. What does it mean to survive? In some ways, characters in every beloved book across genres are surviving a loss, loss of love, living a lie, or just trying to get by.
But a real survival book encompasses a dangerous element of adventure when characters are forced to make last-resort decisions and push themselves to the next level of their instincts. Check out these 10 books where survival is a key element across tragedy, war, surviving their own chaotic mind, and even characters who dare to test their instincts willingly.
10. Life Of Pi by Yann Martel
Life of Pi is perhaps one of the more light-hearted books about survival, while the character faces danger, adventure, and fear, ultimately the tone of the book is about exploring one’s own boundaries and mind. This is one of the most thought-provoking books in modern literature.
If you haven’t had the chance to read this classic book, the protagonist is faced with questioning his own faith – mostly he cannot choose just one and is fascinated by theology across the board. During a long voyage across the sea, a storm leads to him waking up alone in a rescue boat in the middle of the ocean – with a tiger.
9. The Martian by Andy Weir
When you hear the word survival, space travel might not be the first thing that comes to mind. Without a doubt, The Martian has been one of the most commercially successful survival books in the last few decades and is at the top of the list for best science fiction (plus an enticing audiobook).
In this sci-fi novel, an astronaut is stranded on Mars during a space mission. He must face all odds to make his journey home, there is nowhere to test your limits of survival but a planet with no oxygen nor water.
8. Into The Wild by John Krakauer
While most of the survival subgenre reflects characters who are put in life-or-death situations by chance and misfortunes, Into The Wild is exactly the opposite.
John Krakauer writes of a young man named Christopher McCandless who left his affluent life and family, to live in the wilderness in Alaska. Krakauer interviewed those close to him to write this non-fiction book and also intends to put reason into why Christopher made the decisions he did, which led to his death in the wild after 113 days.
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7. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Road by Cormac McCarthy takes survival mode into the post-apocalyptic realm of fiction. In this heartwrenching book about tragedy, McCarthy writes about love and how it motivates us to keep pushing through the most difficult circumstances.
In the novel, a man and his young son who was born during the apocalypse are traveling on the road, hoping to find community and hope on the endless trail of nothingness and tragedy.
6. Lord Of The Flies by William Golding
Lord Of The Flies is a classic survival book that has inspired so many of its kind ever since. When a group of British boys are stranded on an island, they attempt to rule their own community. In this strife, they face survival for the first time, which also includes questioning the place of morals.
Back at home they knew how to behave, but left without consequence and tasked with surviving in isolation, morality and groupthink come into play without outside influence – and as you might expect leading to absolute chaos.
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5. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Continuing with the theme of isolation and survival from disaster, Hatchet follows the story of a 13-year-old boy who must fend for himself in the Canadian wilderness.
Brian was in a plane that crashed and is the lone survivor of the accident, he must follow his survival instincts. His only companion is a single hatchet, the only tool available to him as he begins the impossible task of waiting to be rescued. This survival novel is up there with classics for all ages.
4. Half Of A Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
While accidents cause survival dialogue, the most prevalent survival around the world is those surviving war. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie takes you back to Nigeria in the 1960s when civil war broke out and families were pulled apart as the country separated.
Through fictional characters, she paints a picture of what it was like to survive during a civil war which began as folks attempted to continue life under varied conditions and eventually led to fleeing from town to town until the white flag was waived. The incredible character development through various people in the book presents a realistic and complete perspective of life during a civil war and what it means to survive it.
3. Room by Emma Donoghue
Room was adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 2015, giving the spotlight to this book about survival (Which we’ve recently covered in our podcast episode). Our narrator is a young boy of seven years old whose entire universe in a small room where he lives with his mom. Every night he is locked into a closet while his mom has private time with a man who visits them.
In reality, his mother is being held captive, and she knows that at some point their life cannot continue to be contained to these walls. This remarkable story about survival and love is what motivates the characters to find freedom.
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2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
A list of books about survival would not be complete without the MIllennial classic, The Hunger Games Trilogy. Under a government that was formerly North America, is now a dictatorship divided into districts. Each year, one young person is selected as tribute from each district to represent their community in The Hunger Games – or a fight to the death through an epic adventure.
Only one will survive the treachery and overcome their survival instinct for triumph, and the protagonist Katniss leads you through her journey in facing herself.
1. Alive: The Story Of The Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read
In 1972, flight 571 came crashing down over the Andes Mountains. This true event is every traveler’s worst fear when adventure becomes survival.
Aboard the flight was a Rugby team and their family, who were forced to hike one of the largest mountain ranges in the world, and through snow to fight for their lives. Of the passengers, 16 survived the 2.5-month-long battle – a waiting game to be rescued. This historic survival story was recently adapted into a Netflix film.
