Novels told in an interesting way

[petronella23]

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!

Riddley Walker is told in a dense dialect but it's fantastic. The reason for the dialect is also part of the plot so I won't mention it.

Some great recommendations here!

Surface Detail by Ian M Banks is told from numerous points of view, not all of them human. I loved it.

Cuddy by Benjamin Myers

The Hours follows three women of different generations that are all influenced in some way by the book Mrs Dalloway.
It sounds a bit pretentious but the way their lives are woven together is so clever. It's one of my all time favourite books.

What a great thread. A second vote for The Collector Collector by Tibor Fischer.

And my favourite book ever is Woman's World by Graham Rawle.

S. By J J Abrams
You need a physical copy of this one. It's a story being read by 2 different people so 3 stories happening simultaneously with physical additions in the book as you go.
I always say it's a grown up the jolly postman book 😃

S by J J Abrahams. It's made up of 3 interconnected stories. The book itself called Ship of Theseus by VM Straka which is designed to look like an old classic with lot's of footnotes from his editor which form part of the second story, which is the mystery of what happened to VM Straka. The entire book is covered in annotations from two students which form a third story as they also try to find out more about the author and fall for each other. It has various items inside the book, like postcards, to help it feel more immersive. There are a few different ways to read it as well! A definite mind boggler but worth the effort!

Snap!

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.

Flowers for Algernon. First person narration by a man whose IQ is significantly altered by experimental medical trial. So the writing alters as he does.

Great book and story - it was even made into a Simpson's episode

The Time Traveller's Wife has two narrators from different times in history, who alternate chapters, and meet in the middle.

Oh I’m also currently reading None of This is True by Lisa Jewell. It’s quite dark in places but again, an interesting structure, flitting between time periods and narrative style. Some of it is written as a TV documentary whereas the other parts are from a character perspective narrator.

So many of my favourites on here! 💖

I'd also add Little Scratch by Rebecca Watson. It's got an unusual syntax where the letters on the page mirror the writer's stream of consciousness. A bit like House of Leaves, but less SFF/horror, more rooted in the real world - I found it really relatable, as the story of a young woman navigating work, boyfriend, etc

Anyone who likes this kind of book should check out past shortlists of the Goldsmiths prize. It rewards experimental fiction and there are some real gems on there.

John Fowles- The French Lieutenant's woman. Written with narrative intrusion. A brilliant read

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karynatilaka which won the 2022 Booker Prize is written in the second person, present tense (“you do this, you do that”) which is quite an interesting effect. It’s also a great story.

I also recently read Tiger Moon by Penelope Lively which will have a few paragraphs describing a small incident from one person’s perspective then jump to the other person’s point of view. (It’s difficult to explain - it’s not just different narrators, it’s more immediate than that.)

Several of the ones I thought of have already been suggested. The others I could add

• Frankenstein - 3 narrators
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt changes your viewpoint very cleverly
• We Need to Talk About Kevin is an epistolary novel too (and brilliant)

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.
No chapters but small little episodes of the characters lives. It was originally published daily in a newspaper - essentially it was a soap opera.

Julian Barnes, 'A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters'

An instance of the fingerpost by iain pears

If you fancy reading (or revisiting) a classic, then Wuthering Heights is always more complicated than I remember it, with time changes and diary and letter entries.

The Golden Gate by Vikram Seth is a novel entirely in verse.

The English Patient is brilliant and has a really interesting, elliptical structure (it amazes me that they managed to make such a lucid film out of it).

If you want something light but fun, then Longbourn is the story of Pride and Prejudice written from the perspective of the servants - so it's the servants' story but you can 'see' the P&P story going on in the background.

Aniara by Harry Martinson, there are some English editions but I don’t think any are currently in print.

I’ve just read The Box Man by Kobo Abe and it is confusing to know who is talking!!

https://gsproject.edublogs.org/gs-texts/texts-used-in-2017/aniara-by-harry-martinson-3/

Nutshell by Ian McKewan is narrated by an unborn foetus.

Ulverton by Adam Thorpe - the story of a village through the ages. I put off reading it for ages because I was afraid it would be a bit dry but in the end it was fascinating and moving.

And already mentioned but I second:

Piranesi by Susannah Clarke, starts slowly but then becomes absolutely gripping and unputdownable

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer is a lot of fun