After reading some Joseph Campbell and his ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces,’ I’m searching for a story that challenges the idea that “there are no new stories.”
Not really looking for the most ‘experimental,’ or the most ‘postmodern,’ or some weird, surreal book that doesn’t make any sense.
More looking for a book whose plot felt like something you’ve never read before, fresh and exciting and unique. Something that didn’t feel too recognizable or fall into familiar tropes.
Something that made you think, “maybe there are new stories after all.”
Thanks!
by rdr16
9 Comments
You might find this easier with non-western authors, since the Monomyth is rooted in classical mythology.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murada
It’s a really fun read too, and definitely doesn’t follow the traditional Monomyth arc.
North Woods by Daniel Mason has a very unique narrative; it tells the story of many different people over generations through the lens of an old New England farmhouse.
The Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett.
The Hogfather, a Santa Claus/Father Christmas analog, goes missing and another pseudo-religious icon has to fill in for him… in this case Death (note the capital D). So now someone has to fill in for *Death* and help save Hogswatch (Christmas). I highly recommend it.
“The Progress of Julius” by Daphne Du Maurier was a really odd, interesting character study novel. It’s one of her earlier works, and you can kind of see seeds of “Rebecca” in it, but it goes in directions most novelists wouldn’t. She’s really good at drawing the reader in, and then shocking or unsettling them. “Jamaica Inn” was kind of like this too, although it does follow some standard gothic novel tropes (to me it’s something like what the Brontes were trying to achieve in their short lives).
Slautherhouse Five Kurt Vonnegut
Story of Your Life Chiang
Three Body Problem
The genre you are looking for is cult classics.
You’ve probably seen these recommended here before, but…
Piranesi. It’s a beautiful, surreal mystery and nothing else is like it.
This is How You Lose the Time War. It’s Sci-Fi, it’s a love story, it’s a series of letters.
Dungeon Crawler Carl. It’s LitRPG (ignore that). It has a bad cover (ignore that). Its the most entertaining series of audiobooks I’ve ever read.
Currently reading „The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida“ and if you can deal with the style (2nd person), I‘d say that fits in there ☺️
The Library at Mount Char has plenty of weirdness, but the plot itself is pretty original too
“Fictions” by Jorge Luis Borges, a shorty story collection, truly opened my eye to the possibilities of story. If you’re to read only one, try the first story, “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”, and tell me you’re not impressed.