The times we’re living in will undoubtedly be written about in history books, but there are times we have NOT lived in that we can read about and, as readers, what could possibly be better?
We have got together a list of 7 quirky books that we want you to trust us with and add to your shelf. Some of these happen in fictional worlds, some of these in worlds that might as well be fictional. Read on to get introduced to some works that are sure to be your getaway when the world gets too much.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
In the world of YA fiction, two-line poetry and randomly weird books, A Man Called Ove comes as a delightful change that we all need! This Fredrik Backman masterpiece tells the story of a grumpy old man and his uninvited neighbours who change his life and fill it with an enormous amount of love. Set in Sweden, this novel is one of the most hilarious and heartwarming books you’ll ever read. 10/10 would recommend it!
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, is a masterpiece of absurdist fiction. Practically nothing happens in the play, and the characters don’t develop. Their hope for a meaningful life results in the absurdity the play encompasses, the hope never arriving and the plot not escalating. This work is a definitive must-read for those interested in absurdist theory and fiction.
The Hitchhiker book series by Douglas Adams
The universe is ending! This book series that is adored worldwide was originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and was later adapted into comic novel series. The books are satirical and mock the modern society with humour cynicism. The hero is a hapless, deeply ordinary Englishman who unexpectedly finds himself adrift in a universe characterized by randomness and absurdity. What happens next? Read the books to find out!
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Márquez
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Nobel laureate and has won several awards for his groundbreaking works of magical realism. The novel is set in an imaginary town of Macondo and is multi-generational in its subject matter. Relying on repetition, mysticism and homonyms that characterizes the characters and the plot, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a class apart when it comes to fictional writings.
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
Ella Minnow Pea is an epistolary novel(a novel in letters) set on an imaginary island off the South Carolina coast. The eponymous protagonist, Ella Minnow Pea, is a young 18-year old who fights a council that is trying to ban certain letters of the alphabet. This book is delightfully enchanting in its narrative and transports us to a utopian world that is now being messed with.
The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
Even though this novella by Murakami is for children, we have enjoyed it just as much as adults. The protagonist, a child, is imprisoned by a sheep man in a local library that the former visited only to get something to read. This little book is one of our favourites. Let’s read it and hope that the sheep man doesn’t eat our brains that will be “nice and creamy with knowledge” !
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
First published in 1886, this Gothic novella has been a favourite for over a century now. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is about a London legal practitioner, Gabriel John Utterson, who’s investigating the strange occurrences between his friend, Dr. Jekyll and the evil Hyde. The novella was such a hit that the phrase “Jekyll and Hyde” has come to mean persons with an unpredictably dual nature: outwardly good, but sometimes shockingly evil.
Will these books make it to your bookshelf? Tell us!
Also check Read These Five Books To Explore Different Cultures
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