Non-romantic (and zero sex) but deeply nuanced, postmodern, rich… not fantasy/sci-fi or typical. Something like Perec, DFW, even Salinger-esque, maybe surreal (à la Bréton)…? Or something new you’d recommend for someone who likes this stuff.

Whimsy is okay… like Alice in Wonderland but fantasy like LOTR or Harry Potter or anything with "creatures" is also not the thing (as such).

I dunno. I've read so much but pretty much hate most mainstream stuff. So: no romance, no historical fiction (unless very nuanced), no fantasy, no sci-fi, etc…

Help?