Recently I'm trying to get inspiration back into recording my own material by investigating good books to read and remembered my interest in surrealist art. There's plenty of old visual surrealist art and literature but I'm now looking for more contemporary fiction that has strong surreal and bizarre overtones in its imagery, structure and storytelling to get inspired. Looking for recommendations, I'd love to hear them.
The Course of the Heart by M. John Harrison. If that's to your liking, try also Signs of Life and The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again. He also has a new novel out, published just this month, titled The End of Everything.
Kazuo Ishiguro's The Unconsoled is typically described as a surrealist novel. But it's a very challenging read, at nearly 600 pages with very little happening on the surface of it.
If comics ("graphic novels" if we must) are okay, check out Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes and The Hole by Charles Burns.
Amparo Dávila is well worth investigating. Bizarre stories about mental illness and fractured reality.
Quote from: Balor/SS1535 on June 23, 2026, 04:05:38 AMAmparo Dávila is well worth investigating. Bizarre stories about mental illness and fractured reality.
What would you recommend starting from?
Quote from: Atrophist on June 23, 2026, 12:46:08 AMIf comics ("graphic novels" if we must) are okay, check out Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes and The Hole by Charles Burns.
I suppose you mean Black Hole, not The Hole? Unless those are separate works. Black Hole is indeed great! I've read the author's earlier comic
Hardboiled Defective Stories. It's weird as well and great to look at, but it's surreal in more of a comedic and exaggerated sci-fi vein. No idea about his other works.
For a more horror-tinged surreal experience, I recommend
Spa by
Erik Svetoft. Should fit quite nicely with what you're looking for. It was originally published in Swedish in 2021, but a Finnish translation was published this year, and it's available in a few other languages too so should be easy enough to find. I'm not familiar with his other output.
Black Hole and Spa are both quite long comics as well, not some quick flip-through magazines.
Quote from: DBL on June 23, 2026, 09:10:53 PMQuote from: Atrophist on June 23, 2026, 12:46:08 AMIf comics ("graphic novels" if we must) are okay, check out Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes and The Hole by Charles Burns.
I suppose you mean Black Hole, not The Hole? Unless those are separate works. Black Hole is indeed great! I've read the author's earlier comic Hardboiled Defective Stories. It's weird as well and great to look at, but it's surreal in more of a comedic and exaggerated sci-fi vein. No idea about his other works
...
Black Hole and Spa are both quite long comics as well, not some quick flip-through magazines.
Of course. Thanks for pointing it out! Yes I meant
Black Hole ofc.
Quote from: Vrenndel on June 23, 2026, 12:04:36 PMQuote from: Balor/SS1535 on June 23, 2026, 04:05:38 AMAmparo Dávila is well worth investigating. Bizarre stories about mental illness and fractured reality.
What would you recommend starting from?
Assuming you cannot read the original in Spanish, there is currently only one translation in English available (though a second book of short stories is forthcoming later this year): https://www.ndbooks.com/author/amparo-davila/
Apologies, I only saw the replies now as I've been busy with working on new music and my mail order. Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'll check on them.
Quote from: Balor/SS1535 on June 24, 2026, 12:20:45 AMQuote from: Vrenndel on June 23, 2026, 12:04:36 PMQuote from: Balor/SS1535 on June 23, 2026, 04:05:38 AMAmparo Dávila is well worth investigating. Bizarre stories about mental illness and fractured reality.
What would you recommend starting from?
Assuming you cannot read the original in Spanish, there is currently only one translation in English available (though a second book of short stories is forthcoming later this year): https://www.ndbooks.com/author/amparo-davila/
Cheers, thanks !
Quote from: Atrophist on June 23, 2026, 12:46:08 AMThe Course of the Heart by M. John Harrison. If that's to your liking, try also Signs of Life and The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again. He also has a new novel out, published just this month, titled The End of Everything.
Started
The End of Everything last nite. It's the Sci-Fi(ish), weird for its own sake Harrison again. More recommended to those who liked
Light,
Nova Swing and
Empty Space.
The man's obsession with aliens creating weird, not quite successful clones of humans is back in full forces, I see.