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In his new sci-fi horror novel, “Absolution,” Jeff VanderMeer returns to the world of 2014’s award-winning “Annihilation,” which launched his Southern Reach Trilogy. Below, the best-selling ‘weird fiction’ author recommends six psychological expeditions into the unknown.
‘Money’ by Martin Amis (1984)
Sometimes explorations of the unknown cross not into a strange land but into the peculiarities of the human mind. Amis’ trenchant, darkly funny portrayal of John Self, holed up in a New York City hotel as he attempts to direct his first movie, has an outrageous, kinetic quality that becomes at times phantasmagorical. Buy it here.
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‘Our Wives Under the Sea’ by Julia Armfield (2022)
This powerful novel charts the aftermath of an expedition steeped in the unknown while also mapping the depths of a relationship. After deep-sea researcher Leah returns from an expedition, she experiences odd symptoms, and her wife must grapple with changes in the marriage and with Leah’s enigmatic employer, the Centre. Buy it here.
‘The House on the Borderland’ by William Hope Hodgson (1908)
Hodgson’s masterpiece is the ultimate cosmic mystery. Filtered through a surprisingly sympathetic anonymous narrator, the eldritch exploration of a derelict house, unmoored from time and space, becomes a meditation on the unknowability of the universe. Buy it here.
‘The Likeness’ by Tana French (2008)
The old country house at the center of this disquieting novel stands at the edge of a different borderland, as French explores themes of identity and doppelgängers. When detective Cassie Maddox impersonates a dead woman to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance, she becomes a kind of ghost, haunting the dead woman’s friends. Buy it here.
‘A Perfect Spy’ by John le Carré (1986)
“The past is another country” may be a cliché, but not in the hands of my favorite espionage novelist. His masterpiece charts the entanglements, both professional and personal, that bring about the downfall of operative Magnus Pym. A stunning tale of betrayals, redemption, and, ultimately, a compassionate portrayal of a compromised life. Buy it here.
‘The Palm-Wine Drinkard’ by Amos Tutuola (1952)
This surreal journey through a drunken night of uncanny encounters is a classic of Nigerian literature, fearlessly stacking absurdity atop absurdity. How much of the story is hallucination and how much is real matters less than experiencing a journey both joyous and enigmatic. Buy it here.
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