In my article last week, I talked about different ways to read more this season. One of my tips, which I believe is one of the most important ones, is about finding books you like. Since October (aka Halloween month) is coming up, I thought it would be a perfect time to let you all know some of my favorite surreal fiction books.
Surreal fiction is by far my favorite genre. I love how it mixes elements of obscurity with otherwise realistic stories and situations. I find that the style of the genre challenges how I see the world, and blurs the lines between action and abstraction. I am usually scared of everything, so I am not a big fan of (most) thrillers. Surreal fiction, however, is just strange and subtle enough to give me some chills without making me scared of the dark. So, without further ado, here are my list of surreal fiction books you should read this fall.
1. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
So I know most people categorize this book as a modern classic, but I would argue that the very fact that the main story of the book is rooted in surrealism grants it status as surrealistic fiction as well. The Picture of Dorian Gray is about a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. The book is a beautiful story of corruption and morals, and it is going to scare you and scar you this season. A great classic and a great surrealistic story.
2. Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
Boy, Snow, Bird is much more conventional in one sense, but is still vivid, strange, and beautiful. The story is about the three women Boy, Snow, and Bird, and their relationship with each other. I think this novel has surreal elements, which doesn’t necessarily make the book surrealistic itself, but is enough to give the reader a sense of awe and bewilderment. It is a wonderful and weird story about family, love, race, and life.
3. The Vegetarian by Han Kang
This book quickly became one of my absolute favorites after reading it last winter. The Vegetarian is about a young South Korean woman, Yeong-hye, who becomes a vegetarian after having horrendous nightmares about meat. Yeong-hye quickly starts losing her grasp on reality, and we observe her mind and body deteriorating through the perspective of her husband, her brother-in-law, and her sister. The book is strange, tragic, mildly disturbing, and absolutely worth reading.
4. Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker
I am very hesitant to categorize this as surreal fiction. My sole argument is that the feeling I got from reading it was rather surreal. Possessing the Secret of Joy is about Tashi, a tribal African woman who lives most of her adult life in North America. She decides to go back to her village to submit herself to genital mutilation, or female circumcision, which traumatizes her for life. Tashi spends the rest of her life battling madness and seeking help through psychotherapy and other means. The story and Tashi’s thoughts and perspectives are naturally tainted by this, which makes the novel more unpredictable, stranger, and overall brilliant. I think it is a hard book to categorize, but I fully believe it deserves a place on this list.
5. Dance, Dance, Dance by Haruki Murakami
Or any book by Haruki Murakami really. Although I personally believe that Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is his best work, everything by Haruki Murakami is delightfully peculiar. Dance, Dance, Dance is about an unnamed narrator who decides to visit a hotel where he once stayed with a woman he loved. In the hotel, he becomes friends with a 13-year old left by her parents, the hotel receptionist, and the Sheep Man, a strange individual out of a magical story or nightmare, who lives on a hidden floor of the hotel. The story is absurd, unique, and full of a wide range of emotions. It is more surreal than the other books on this list, but the feelings you are left with are very real.
So that is my five surreal book recommendations for this fall. I hope you decide to try something new by picking up one of them, and that you fall in love with this unusual space between reality and absurdity.
