Sometimes you must question the very act of reading itself, pulling the audience out of their comfort zone, making them a part of the action. And, with recent technological shifts, ergodic literature, a genre dedicated to requiring some effort from the readers, has become more popular than ever.
But where to start: at the beginning, or the end?
Sticking to novels (we could easily head into video-games and text-adventures), here are five titles that push the boundaries.
View on Amazon.comWhen is a book not a book? That’s the ultimate puzzle. Mathers, going so far as to conceal his identity under a pseudonym (as the Grand Inquisitor), attempted to answer that very question. Compiling a collection of one hundred pages in no particular order, Mathers asked you to finish the job.
Essentially it’s a mystery novel with its pages rearranged. It’s then up to the reader to solve this, finding out not only who committed the murders, but also the names of the victims. With only one correct sequence, discovering the novel’s true form is the ultimate challenge.
Originally it was released as part of the ‘Torquemada Puzzle Book’ back in 1934, but has since become a prime example of experimental fiction. And, with only three people figuring it out at the time of its release, it’s become one of the most enduring mysteries to date.
View on Amazon.comI get it, it’s kind of an obvious choice. But you can’t have an experimental fiction list without including this cult classic. A horror landmark, it showed a mainstream audience what the novel was capable of, taking the reader on a truly terrifying journey of gothic metafiction.
On the surface, it’s a haunted house story, with a family discovering their home is larger on the inside than out. But, like this impossibly structured home, the book is also one of stories within stories, bending not only the narrative, but the text itself. Often changing the typeface, it moves between the four narrators, offering fresh perspectives.
Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ broke down the terror of space, with Eleanor essentially losing herself within it. Here Danielewski draws that idea out through the novel’s physical makeup, bringing the reader into the unfolding madness. Twisting and turning across the page, the text reflects the seemingly impossible geometry. Neither the Navidson home nor Hill House is entirely sane.
And that’s the hallmark of a quality haunted house story. Second guessing to the end.
The Body: An Essay (2007) – Jenny Boully
View on Amazon.comConfronting academia more directly than our last book, Jennifer Boully’s ‘The Body’ is one long digression of sorts. An essay without the essay, it interrogates the nature of language, compelling the reader to fill in the missing text themselves.
Comprised largely of disembodied footnotes to an absent text, it demands readers imagine their own context. The poetry and essays that are just waiting to be filled leave ample room for self-reflection, and with such an open-ended ‘narrative’ (if you can call it that), the possibilities are endless.
It’s a thoughtful collection brought together with a strong premise, allowing the audience to become part of the writing process. Pushing at the boundaries of what language can communicate, it places the responsibility on the reader to finish the work as they see fit. Life has no easy answers, and this is a testament to that.
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1759 – 1767) – Laurence Sterne
View on Amazon.comOf course, no list of experimental fiction would truly be complete without the great (great) godfather of them all: Tristram Shandy. Famously impossible to adapt (although some like 2006’s ‘A Cock and Bull Story’ give it an entertaining go), it’s a huge sprawling story that seemingly had no end.
Charting the life of one Tristram Shandy in its entirety, the book follows him from birth through to death–or, at least, Sterne intended to. With scores of digressions and metatextual asides, its scattershot narrative moves back and forth in what is essentially a bawdy, irreverent take on the autobiographical novel.
Seen as the precursor to post-modernism (before even the modernists got their chance to have a say), it explores innovations that writers are still grappling with today, reshaping how we think about the novel and inspiring entire literary movements. Also it’s hilarious in its takedown of pomposity (hence the Victorians hating it).
View on Amazon.comThe book that tests you. Similar to ‘House of Leaves,’ the text is intertwined with itself, this time combining narrative with IQ and psychological tests. Exactly who is the reader reading this?
Moving between mathematical formulas, genres, and snippets of the past, the narrative weaves its spell around a young Vietnamese girl and her family, combining mythology with heritage. Narrative strands from earlier equations and tests resurface in later stories, within cells interlinked, within cells…
In short, it deconstructs mythology, revealing how it becomes ingrained in everyday life, acting as if it has always been this way. It deals with complex and difficult themes throughout its journey, delving into quite dark territory as it confronts issues such as abuse. A challenging book overall, but definitely not without its reward.
Have we missed anything out? Are there any novels that left you scratching your head? Let us know below.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A lifelong lover of quality storytelling, Sam grew up in rural England with little else but reading (okay, and some gaming). Starting with Charlotte's Web, he developed a passion for ghost stories and comedy. With his background in narrative and scriptwriting, he writes for Book Notification, providing recommendations both good and not so terrible.