Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

Original poster

Novels told in an interesting way

130 replies

petronella23 · 08/11/2023 16:57

Can't quite think how to phrase what I mean, but has anyone got any recommendations for books told in an interesting way/that push the format outside the standard way?

I'm thinking for example of The Appeal by Janice Hallet which is a sort of solve-along murder mystery told by setting out all the documents in the case.

So I'm thinking epistolary novels or books that only use dialogue....things like that.

Interested to read something really clever that really works, and doesn't just feel like a gimmick!

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Villyxmas · 07/09/2024 17:07

Just to say there's now an updated version of this thread for 2024. Great recently released recommendations on it so far!

www.mumsnet.com/talk/what_were_reading/5136306-books-told-in-interesting-ways-2024-edition?reply=138081564

YellowphantGrey · 06/09/2024 17:40

Not read the full thread but Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter is a similar style to Janice Hallett

Flossiecotton · 06/09/2024 08:30

Thank you for these

TimeIhadaNameChange · 30/12/2023 23:53

Have just finished The Enigma of Room 622 by Joel Dicker I'd like to add it here. It's not as far out as some of these but his use of the timeline is interesting. The story is told in a logical manner, so events in the past are related where they are relevant to the present-day action. But it's all clearly marked and not confusing.

Which is a good job as the plot itself, while not confusing, has a number of moments which keep the reader on their toes.

burnoutbabe · 22/11/2023 20:48

I got the Gillian Mcallister from the library -wrong time wrong place.

Finished it over 2 nights, was very good. So thanks got the recommendation!

(Murder mystery going back in time every time the main lead wakes up)

Pan2 · 15/11/2023 14:34

VeryQuaintIrene · 08/11/2023 17:48

Kate Atkinson - Life after Life.

Yes, fascinating episodic and not chronological at all.

Needhelp101 · 15/11/2023 14:23

Also Agatha Christie's Five Little Pigs is an excellent read, a crime examined from five different viewpoints (like Rashamon).

Ooh, and similarly, An Instance of the Fingerpost is a murder mystery set in post- Cromwell England, four people's interpretation of a crime.

Needhelp101 · 15/11/2023 14:20

CrossPurposes · 08/11/2023 18:06

Sarah Waters' The Night Watch is constructed backwards.

Was going to suggest this one! I love it.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is epistolary.

ManAboutTown · 15/11/2023 07:54

cheapskatemum · 14/11/2023 13:33

Thank you, you reminded me of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. A senior devil writes letters to a junior devil, advising him on how to totally mess with people's heads! Chilling.

Show quote history

I've read quite a bit of CS Lewis stuff but not that one. You've forced me to go searching for it😀

cheapskatemum · 14/11/2023 13:33

ManAboutTown · 09/11/2023 22:51

Books written from the perspective of deeply unpleasant characters - American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis is well known but a couple of John Banivlle's ones are as well - The Book of Evidence is one

The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell is probably the best one I've read though - a memoir of a former Nazi mass murderer - won two very prestigious French literary awards (was written in French by an American and first published there)

Thank you, you reminded me of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. A senior devil writes letters to a junior devil, advising him on how to totally mess with people's heads! Chilling.

Quickredfox · 14/11/2023 12:20

84 Charing Cross Road isn’t a novel and wasn’t written to form a book. It’s collected correspondence. (It’s a great read, but it’s definitely non-fiction.)

DrinkingMyWaterMindingMyBiz · 14/11/2023 12:13

@ChessieFL wow, what a strange coincidence 😄

ChessieFL · 14/11/2023 12:12

No, they’re two completely different books with similar titles!

DrinkingMyWaterMindingMyBiz · 14/11/2023 12:09

Lemonyyy · 14/11/2023 12:05

The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle has a very intricately woven storyline which takes a while to get into but I loved it.

Is this linked to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo?

Lemonyyy · 14/11/2023 12:05

The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle has a very intricately woven storyline which takes a while to get into but I loved it.

mambojambodothetango · 13/11/2023 17:30

Milkman by Anna Burns has a very unusual narrative style. It took a while to get into but once you see where it's going it makes sense. I loved it.

CocoPlum · 13/11/2023 17:04

Several books I love are already mentioned here, so here's one that's not my favourite, but unusal - Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski (and subsequent books), which are written as the transcripts of true crime podcasts.

Kiitos · 13/11/2023 16:55

My immediate thought was Lincoln in the Bardo, which I loved

so also, Lanny by Max Porter which I felt was written in a similar way and was also great

TimeIhadaNameChange · 13/11/2023 16:50

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. A YA novel in which a schoolgirl investigates a murder which happened in her town a few years before. Her notes and transcripts of interviews are included among the story.

Suchapain · 12/11/2023 15:15

Lizsmum · 09/11/2023 14:51

Trust by Hernan Diaz

The same events written by four different people and in different formats - novel, biography etc. Long but worth persevering

This is a Kindle Daily Deal today for 99p. I've just bought it so will give it a go.

MrsW9 · 12/11/2023 00:35

And also 'If on a winter's night a traveller' by Italo Calvino. A very strange experience to read, as the narrative is in the second person; in it 'you' are trying to track down a book called 'If on a winter's night a traveller'. Playful and clever.

MrsW9 · 12/11/2023 00:30

Also came here to suggest The Woman in White!

DrinkingMyWaterMindingMyBiz · 11/11/2023 20:36

@sipsqueak this makes me so happy! Please let me know how you get on.

sipsqueak · 11/11/2023 20:34

DrinkingMyWaterMindingMyBiz · 10/11/2023 07:27

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo had an interesting structure. I know not everyone liked the way it was written (and admittedly it took me a while to get used to) but once I was in I was hooked.

A Brief History of Seven Killings was another absolutely amazing book with an interesting structure. The narrative was so complex (and oftentimes confusing) that it took me about 3 attempts to get past the first quarter of the book, but boy am I glad I did. I cannot recommend it enough.

If you’re going to read A Brief History of Seven Killings (which is anything but brief), I would also recommend having a physical copy. There are so many characters and interlinking stories and timelines that you’ll want to be able to flick back and forth from the character list with ease.

Edited

A Brief History of Seven Killings was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this thread but alas I also struggled to get into it and never got past the first couple of characters. But you've inspired me to pick it up again!

sipsqueak · 11/11/2023 20:32

Supersimkin2 · 10/11/2023 22:24

Klara and the Sun is narrated by Klara,the robot.

She’s great.

Ooh I loved this!