Weirdest / Strangest Book

[RayofSunshine18]

What is the strangest / weirdest (in your opinion) book that you have ever read but HAD to finish?

Mine is Better to Eat you With by Amber Garza

I read a book that was part of a quartet. The book flipped between a dystopian community living in an isolated place in France and a woman trying to escape an abusive relationship with her child set in not very modern times. Would love to read the rest! Any thoughts?

I mean, it’s so so good but so bonkers. I read it on my honeymoon and spent the rest of the holiday making this face 😮 every time I thought about it again.

Haha, not exactly light honeymoon reading, is it?

Definitely not, but my husband recommended it (yes, we clearly are those kind of weirdos). He was thoroughly enjoying my horror as the pages were turning!

The Animals in That Country by Laura Jean McKay. Very weird, not sure if it was good or not, but certainly different and parts stuck in my head for a while after.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. Absolutely unhinged.

The Butcher Boy is one of my faves. Along with The Wasp Factory.

Ghost Music by An Yu, I think it was about orange mushrooms or talking mushrooms and orange clouds.

Naked Lunch
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

Both weird in their own ways

Moxyland, Zoo City, and The Shining Girls - all by Lauren Beukes.

And Maul by Tricia Sullivan.

I did! I look back now and wonder how I managed it (less stressed times maybe), but I think that’s what made the whole experience more impactful.

Id like to add in here The Box Man by Kobo Abe. Long time ago I read it, but it’s beautiful and haunting.

Oh and Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami. It’s just lovely but strange.

The restraint of beasts was a weird one. Didn’t expect the ending

Also I love this thread. Adding lots of books to my list. Thanks!

Pig Island by Mo Haydee

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

The Flesh Eaters by L.A Morse

Children of the Night by Dan Simmons

Good shout. Not at all the type of book I would ever have chosen to read but was recommended to me about 25 years ago and it has become one of my most re-read books - I love it!

Enjoying this thread, plenty of books to investigate, thanks

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - deeply unsettling and hauntingly sad in equal measure.

Oh yes, I loved that one.

I’ve read a lot of Robert Aickman short stories, which are mostly very odd (and brilliant imo!).

Me neither! Just bizarre

Piranesi for me too. Batshit yet compelling

Also Girlfriend in a Coma. Just a bit nutty.

The Trial by Kafka

Robert Aickman’s stories are deeply strange and unsettling. The most terrifying imo is The Cicerones. You may decide never to visit a cathedral again after reading this story. The best thing about him is that he leaves so much unexplained.

I’ve also read Last House and The Bees and both were weird but I enjoyed them