You should read: Open Door by Iosi Havilio
A kafkaesque novel in which everything is just slightly off that asks “Is this mental illness or is this just what living under capitalism is like?” A story about alienation and loneliness that operates under choppy dream logic and takes place in the hazy Argentinian countryside.
(I don't have a full review of this book yet so this is like a sneaky preview!).
You should read: Wet Moon by Sophie Campbell
This is a cult classic series of graphic novels about goth girls, cats, supernatural mysteries and a creepy college town where people keep getting attacked. I’m using the word “novels” here generously - Wet Moon doesn’t have a strict structure and a lot of plot points never get resolved but that’s part of its charm and its weirdness. You don’t read Wet Moon for the plot, you read it for the characters and the vibes - and the vibes are immaculate.
You can find my full review here.
You should read: Tentacle by Rita Indiana
Genuinely a skillfully constructed weird book with layers of overlapping plots, intricate symbolism, climate dystopia and a history and future littered with evil, selfish bisexuals. A subversive take on the “Oceanic Weird” genre about how evil colonialism is and how cool it would be to have magical gender transition.
(I don't have a full review of this book yet so this is like a sneaky preview!).
You should read: Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
Ah, Paradise Rot. A classic weird book and a personal favourite of mine. It’s got a foggy town, a creepy house, a haunted lover, the horrors of being in your early 20s and the seductiveness of just giving in to your depression and letting yourself rot.
You can find my full review here.
You should read: Seven Steps to Heaven by Fred Khumalo
This is a secret weird book that starts out normal and makes you feel like you’re reading an interesting study of race and class in the pre- and post-Apartheid South Africa, but then it suddenly descends into madness and reveals it’s actually been about rivalrous homoerotic friendship and obsessive artistic ambition all along and leaves you on a note of “wait, what?”. Its portrayal of women is kinda dodgy but all in all this book has seared itself into my brain in a way that only a deeply weird book can do.
You can find my full review here.
