I’m getting deeper into reading and I’ve realized I really connect with books that explore existence, absurdity, loneliness, meaninglessness, and surreal or dreamlike experiences.
Some authors I vibe with: Kafka, Camus, Dostoevsky, Sartre, Murakami.
I love anything that’s philosophical, existential, or surreal — not just heavy, but also emotionally powerful or mind-bending.
I’m still a beginner reader, so I want books that are deep but not too slow or impossible to get into.
What books would you recommend for someone who wants to explore existentialism, absurdism, and surreal literature?
Thank you!
by PositiveWishbone6623
7 Comments
It’s very short, but I’d give Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s The Life of a Stupid Man a try! 🙂
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.
Journey to the End of the Night by Céline
Lanark and/or 1982, Janine by Alasdair Gray
Anything by Philip K Dick!
But also you might try Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco, Jorge Luis Borges, or indeed Derrida, who I think can be pretty readable! Though I’d say if you’re happily reading Dostoevsky and Sartre you can’t be *that* beginner a reader. Don’t undersell yourself!
Borges should be right up your ally – both for the dreamlike qualities (for the most part; it’s either really, really fantastical, gritty depictions of Argentinian knife fighting, or occasionally both), and for the fact that at least the translations I’ve read have been vaguely Hemingway-esq in his efficiency of language.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Master and Margerita. Not sure how PC it is to recommend russian literature these days, but this is a classic from many decades ago, and may be valid for your prompt.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho