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!

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

She’s great.

Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder is a novel about philosophy and is very meta.

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides has a group of (mostly nameless) narrators.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night Time by Mark Haddon is narrated by a boy with autism.

The last house on Needless street is told from an unusual perspective and like nothing I have read before.

Two if the novels I mentioned could be classed as Young Adult novels. Here’s another one: I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier. The narrator is unreliable and it’s very hard to work out why - until the end. I found it moving, disturbing and very thought-provoking.

Lots of these are brilliant. I love Room because of the narrative perspective. Ridley Walker is amazing. Adding to my reading list all the time here!

Ooh I loved this!

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

Also came here to suggest The Woman in White!

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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

@ChessieFL wow, what a strange coincidence 😄

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.)

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.

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

Was going to suggest this one! I love it.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is epistolary.

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.

Yes, fascinating episodic and not chronological at all.