I'm not sure what i even want but the title has been in my head for some days. I know most literature explores people, their actions and psychology but I was wondering if there's something completely detached from all of this from humans, their evil, their annoying traits, their psychology, conflicts, sex, desires, messiness, pains and failures. Especially the messiness of complicated overwhelming lives. I don't want works that hate these things, rather ones that are neutral, unconcerned and oblivious to them. Maybe stories about very abstract things? Idk, i don't even think something like this exists so give me anything that comes the closest to this description
by throwawaydeletealt
4 Comments
Maybe try some hard sci-fi about cosmic events or mathematical concepts – there’s stuff out there that focuses more in physics and universe mechanics than human drama
Calculus Early Transcendentals by James Stewart
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
Edit: apologies for sarcasm but without human drama there’s not much story to tell.
An Ansel Adams collection or book about national parks?
You might get some mileage from The Culture novels by Iain M Banks.
The novels are all self contained and set in a post scarcity society. Most people’s needs are intrinsically met so needs/wants etc are largely gone. People live simple lives just doing what they want.
The books explore what happens when that society meets one that still has all that messiness.
I think Player of Games is the best example of this, with an ambassador of The Culture meeting a society still focused on war, sex and pain, and being slightly confused by it all.
It may not be exactly what you’re thinking of but it’s the closest I can think of sorry.
Maybe look into Irene Solà’s When I Sing Mountains Dance. It does not omit human drama but because each chapter is told from the perspective of different elements and entities inhabiting the mountain the human drama is more maybe vignetted by the other perspectives (lightning, the mountain itself, animals, plants). It is also not told in a strictly linear sense.
Flatland by Edwin Abbot is told from the point of view of a 2D square and is about dimensionality
Editing to add : On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle. I have only read volume 1 and its from perspective of a woman trapped in essentially a time blip a la groundhog day but there isn’t really much drama. It is more a hypnotic calm read? She is just living the same day over and over so you get little bits of. the day such as weather and sounds.