I’m looking for a book set in a strange universe and/or with weird, almost incomprehensible beginnings, but that still delivers a strong, compelling story with a satisfying resolution. Here are some examples:
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
- I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
- The Magicians series by Lev Grossman
- The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan
I’ve discovered many great books through this sub, and I’d love to hear your suggestions!
by tancrediVittore
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The Book of the New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
“The Man Who Spoke Snakish” by Andrus Kivirähk.
It’s this bizarre story of a person who is tasked with maintaining ancient traditions when up against a modern world creeping in. I found myself unable to put it down.
The library at mount char
Rim by Alexander Besher
Doesn’t really get weirder that that.
Skinny Legs and All, by Tom Robbins. The book starts off with a surreal stream of consciousness style that feels like incomprehensible writing, and then transitions to more conventional storytelling. After you’ve read the whole book, you can re-read the beginning and it makes perfect sense. The rest of the book is delightful with all sorts of crazy things going on and characters that have a life of their own but are normally inanimate objects, the Modern trio of Spoon, Can o’ Beans and Dirty Sock, who eventually meet up and travel with the ancient duo of Conch Shell and Painted Stick. They aren’t main characters, but appear a decent amount.
ran out of time, so quickly adding
Jitterbug Perfume, by Tom Robbins
Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
Our Wives under the Sea by Julia Armfield
If you like dystopian novels and quirky humour I recommend Jasper Fforde’s “Early Riser” or “Shades of Grey” (not to be confused with “50 Shades of Grey!!!😂). Both books take place in future versions of the UK: in Shades of Grey social class is determined by the ability to perceive colour, while in Early Riser the Ice Age continued and humans hibernate over winter. Fforde uses clever/witty concepts and wordplay, e.g. this quote from Early Riser: *”One was our own Mother Fallopia, tall, elegant, austere, and with a habit so black she looked like a nun-shaped hole in the air.”*
Check out Leonora Carrington, especially “The stone door” and “The hearing trumpet”
Race of the Anandulin by Vincent Kane and the Saga of the Reality Crucible series
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle