Are There Any Books You've Read That You Think Strain the Definition Of Being A Novel? (9/27/20)

[Marc]

Have you read any books that you feel strained your definition of what a novel is or does? Which book(s) and in what way(s) did it push the boundaries of what you think of as a novel?

[Robert]

These questions just keep on getting better each week!

The first time I was challenged’ by the concept of a novel was when I read house of leaves. That started a search leading to oulipo , b.s Johnson etc.

I think the concept of a novel should be challenged, eventually they become the norm - look at all the one sentence novels cropping up in recent years.

[Bretnie]

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous comes to mind. Is it a memoir? Is it a novel? Is it poetry? It wasn't the book for me (I think I don't like poetry?), but I did like that it stretched what a book can do.

[LindaJ^]

I no longer question whether a book qualifies as a novel. If the author wants to call it a novel, that's fine with me! A couple of recent books where I've seen discussion on whether the books qualify as a novel are Apeirogon by Colum McCann and Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu.

[Marc]

Not in any sort of radical way, but I did have trouble thinking of Knausgård's My Struggle series as a set of novels. Yes, he changed some names, but it seemed like autobiography to me. I guess this is where the phrase auto-fiction comes in. Calling it a novel seemed more like a legal/personal protective cover for the author!

[Neil]

Markson’s books that are just lists of facts.

Brilliant.

One is even called “This is not a novel”.

[Nadine in California]

The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman blew my mind decades ago, and ever since I've been happy to see the novel stretched in any way shape or form. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it does.

[Jenny]

The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia. It really plays with form and style, including a healthy dose of meta fiction. It’s one of those books that I recommend to everyone but have yet to meet anyone who’s actually read it. It’s a hell of a little book and really made me rethink some of my own writing.

[Hugh]

Hopscotch is pretty revolutionary for a book written in the 1950s

[Jessica]

I recently read The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño and I thought it was a very interesting way of write a novel. I thought the testimonials more than an actual narration was a smart way to write this story. Although like other books mentioned here, it is very much an autobiography of Bolaño and his friends back in the 70s.

[Marc]

Tristram Shandy seems like it was so far ahead of its time utilizing so many different "experimental" techniques that wouldn't really be explored more fully until the 20th century.

The People of Paper sounds wonderful!

[Marc]

Dennis Cooper has a series of "books" that are told entirely through animated GIFs.
http://www.kiddiepunk.com/zacshauntedhouse/
It's "novel" but I don't know if I think of it as a novel...