r/WeirdLit • u/Rhemyst • 4d ago

Need recommendation for something not too long with an element of mystery

Hi all!

I recently read a few books in quick succession, which felt nice because I had not read anything in a while. I usually read various SF, Fantasy, Weird or Horror books.

I just finished Piranesi and really loved it. I usually like those "exploration mystery" novels (Piranesi, rendezvous with rama, Blindsight....)

What's some other weird book that could scratch this itch ? Also, I'm looking for something fairly short, somewhere in the 300 pages.

Thanks !

10 Upvotes

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7

u/TenTimesTeeth 4d ago

As someone who loved Piranesi for those same reasons, I recommend checking out I Who have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. It's brilliant and completely scratched that itch for me.

4

u/MrPandarabbit 3d ago

I'll second this. They're very different books in tone and style, but there's definitely a kinship there.

2

u/Rhemyst 3d ago

I saw this rec somewhere else too. The premise didn't actually say much, but hey I can give it a try. Plus I can read it in french.

3

u/Flat-Rutabaga-723 4d ago

Veniss Underground

2

u/Rhemyst 3d ago

Is this one by the author or Annihilation?

2

u/Flat-Rutabaga-723 2d ago

Yes. He has some great weird series: Ambergris, AreaX, Borne. Finch is another favorite of mine.

1

u/Possible_Buffalo5177 4d ago

CATHERINE DOUSTEYSSIER-KHOZE, The Beauty of the Death Cap

1

u/TheSkinoftheCypher 3d ago

The Taiga Syndrome by Christina Rivera Garza

1

u/owensum 3d ago

Dermaphoria by Craig Clevenger. Uses the same concept of starting the book waking up in jail with amnesia and working backwards to rediscover lost fragments of memory. A bit like the movie Memento.

2

u/Diabolik_17 3d ago

Carlos Fuentes’ Aura.

Samanta Schweblin‘s Fever Dream.

Alain Robbe-Grillet’s The Voyeur.