I learned to read when I was 3. When I was about 5, I found this version of Rumpelstiltskin at the library and was instantly drawn to the weirdness (and beauty) of the illustrations, and then, upon reading it, became obsessed with the dark nature of the story. Folks always considered me a macabre child and I’ve always seen that as a personal strength instead of a character flaw.

I checked this book out as often as I could. And I’ve never admitted this publicly before, but, as a pragmatist, I’ve always been disappointed that the Queen went back on her deal and got her baby back.

Anyone have similar experiences being a kiddo who liked books that made people “worry about you”?

Tired of picking up books where the narrator is some form of the above lol. Looking for more unconventional titles as well, assume I've read most of the popular stuff.

I enjoyed most of these but some were a little overrated (looking at you, Wedding People and Chosen Fam…)

And Tender is the Flesh, and Sky Daddy, and Yesteryear, and Lapvona, and My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and Big Swiss, and Convenience Store Woman (/Hj, these books are popular for a reason!)

So this discussion is me asking: what is an underrated Weird Girl Lit book that you never see discussed?

For me, it would be Mending Bodies (Hon Lai-chu) or Ripe (Sarah Rose Etter)

I was inspired to post this because I had three "A Good Person" posts in a row on my feed ಠಿ⁠_⁠ಠ

I spent the last 15 months rotting away in my room, confined solely to my bed and talked to no one other than my family and strangers online. so yeah I deeply resonated w this book and kind of felt like looking into a mirror? I loved the writing and found it humorous at times. altho I do feel like I shouldn't hv read it while I'm in this state, cuz it just hit way too hard. but yeah I do think it deserves the hype.

I’m just curious because thinking back on my childhood reads… checks out. I read mostly ghost stories with female protagonists (yes, written for kids - seems weird, ghost stories for kids but it was a thing in the nineties!)

Also notable was howls moving castle and that series.

What were some of your loved books as a weird little girl?

I saw this photo posted on a discussion on Fable and felt so seen! 😭😁

I first read it 4 years ago and kinda forced myself to finish it, i didn’t get it at all. But now i realise how accurately it describes a depressed mind, detachment, the selfishness of having an apparent perfect life, good looks and money and choosing to be in a slump, to lie, manipulate and isolate yourself.

I thought it would be funny to use those as a bookmark.

English is not my first language(obviously) so i hope this makes sense.

Hey! I frequently see people recommending and praising Sayaka Murata on here, and then I searched for the mentions of other brilliant Japanese authors on our sub, and there were some gems (kudos to the person recommending The Hole), so I decided to create this thread for the Japanese Weird Girl Lit Fic Recommendations. Drop a photo of the book you want to recommend and tell us why you loved it. If this works, we could do dedicated threads for different countries.

I am gonna submit three books for now:

1. The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada (such a weird and deliciously surreal book with the vibes of a David Lynch movie)
2. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (a brilliant debut from 1987, a cozy and soft book you might want to read when you are going through a tough period of loss and grief. I have recently seen someone posting it on here and mentioning how it features an outdated description of transness and of a trans character and how this was a dealbreaker for them, so just wanted to mention this fact here)
3. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (I just love dystopias written by women. The juxtaposition of the horrific events happening in the book and the quiet and soft writing style is everything to me.)

My TBR that I hope to read soon and post more recs in this thread: Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami, Mina’s Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa, and Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami.

Now, share yours!

I hated every second of reading this book. Idk what I expected. An actual story? A little depth to the characters? Not having to plod through the most overwritten drivel to exist?

I wanted to read the Guest. My library didn't have it, but they had this one of the author's books instead. I should've DNF'ed it, but honestly, I don't know how to quit. I do know how to hate read.

My question is, is the Guest written like this book?? Or is it decent and has events that last more than 3 out of nearly 400 pages? Is this author just not for me??

I know they don’t have much in common, but I love Rachel Harrison, Elena Ferrante and Joyce Carol Oates. Could go back to their novels again and again.

Who are your favourite authors?

What weird girl lit is probably too niche to exist but you'd love to read?

Okay, my motive with this is to get the best weird girl lit recommendations because I'm hoping someone will be able to say 'Well actually have you read this?' in response to even the most outlandish requests!

Just finished this book, and I don't think I will be able to stop thinking about it for a long time.

It was really not what I was expecting, and I am devastated and totally in love with the main character. I have never read a book in which I felt such a strong resonance with a character.

I was honestly looking for a female rage esc book. This is not that. This book that is less than 200 pages captures the essence of what it is to be a woman, removed from society, who we are when we are not preforming.

I am crying. Please someone tell me your thoughts on this book.

Everything about this book was perfect to me. I’ve never come across a story that is so poignant. The depiction of work culture and the wear it has on your soul, especially those of us who aren’t Believers and are just working to keep the lights on. The disappointment in a man giving you what you want but never what you need, eroding your dignity as you sacrifice too much to receive the bare minimum. The constant and never ending dread of feeling like you are an observer to your own life’s trajectory, left feeling helpless after all of your attempts to change course. The awareness that control is a comfortable and necessary illusion. The despair in knowing family doesn’t always mean safety. And finally, the peace, clarity and joy in letting the fuck go.

This was an incredibly dark but also unnervingly relatable read, especially as someone who’s spent the last 10 years in the corporate start up grind, alongside a lifelong struggle with depression and toxic family. It almost felt like Sarah Rose Etter took all of my thoughts, experiences and emotions and turned them into a fiction.

If you’ve read it, I’m curious for your thoughts! If it’s on your list - I encourage you to dive in!

Bunny just didn’t cut it for me. Everything seemed so dramatic in an awkward “get away from me” sense. And it was all so predictable except for the parts that weren’t and those just felt like they came out of no where. I know Fight Club isn’t weird girl lit, but Bunny read as if were trying to be a quirky Fight Club. The whole thing just made me uncomfortable in a non pleasant or interesting way.
I haven’t met anyone else who didn’t like this book. And when I tell people I hated this book, they all get silent

Boring Asian Female and A Good Person are two examples of Unhinged Woman novels that are currently very popular and being marketed as fun: "hilariously unhinged," "laugh-out-loud," impossible to put down (the second a book is marketed this way I already know I'm probably being told to enjoy a woman's mental health meltdown as a form of entertainment).

And while I consider myself fully weirdgirl, this genre has started to bother me. It's hard to critique, though, because anything negative about the plot or the protagonist gets waved off as "well she's a bad person, that's the point.

I hate that both women depend entirely on outside approval. Elizabeth's whole concern is "did Harvard say yes." When Harvard says no, she doesn't have a single moment of "why did I hand my whole identity to an admissions committee," she just skips straight to stalking a woman named Laura Kim. The book opens with real, racialized admissions anxiety, and the idea that success only has one shape (career, money, marriage, 2.5 kids), and then never looks back.

Lillian in A Good Person has 100%, bought into the idea that she'll only be happy if she hooks an average guy named Henry. She's marketed and reviewed as transgressive, but she's not raging against anything. She builds her life around being chosen by a man and gets mad when he doesn't choose her back.

My point is that a woman behaving badly is not automatically subversive just because the main character is a woman. "Character does something transgressive" is not the same as "book examines the system that made her this way." I feel like these books are getting credit for depth, humor, weirdness they do not earn.

Anyway, I fully expect to get downvoted for this, but meh. I just want to complain about a woman stalking someone's Chipotle order for 300 pages and being told this is depth.

This is genuinely one of my favorite books, I was absolutely shocked it was written by a man. It felt like reading my childhood. I was wondering what others thought of it, I’ve heard it has divisive reviews.

Read 13 plus Yellow Wallpaper. Think quite a few of these fall into the weird girl book category. Don’t Look At Me Like That was my fave that I rated 4.25 and I did not like Lost Lamb. I know it’s a fave here, but I hated how she wrote the characters and found the stereotypes problematic before I even knew there was a controversy about it. Really liked most of these other than previously mentioned and really only found one was just ok, Rest and Be Thankful. Did 6 on audiobook (1.25 speed) and rest physical.

I just finished this book and wow what did I just read.

I really enjoyed it though and I’m processing it still. I’ve read a lot of unhinged books so I wasn’t super freaked out by the contents. But damn, it was interesting with the family dynamics and how it affected the main character.

Who else has read this?!

I find myself being frustrated with many of the standard “weird girl lit” recommendations because the main characters aren’t that weird.

It seems like this a failure of imagination. A woman who is kind of different is so bizarre that we think she’s “weird.” IDK.

I just finished Eleanor Oliphant is Fine. She was not “weird.” She was traumatized.

I just started Exciting Times. This MC is not weird. It seems to be another angsty young woman novel.

I read Rosemary's Baby in middle school and was thinking of getting the book again to read since my father also wanted to revisit an Ira Levin book, The Stepford Wives as it is one of his favourite books. My dad was the one to tell me Ira Levin was a man and I was shocked because this whole time I though he was a she. Rosemary's baby and The Stepford wives are like feminist literature and that is probably why I thought so. Not saying men can't write feminist literature but it was a surprise.