Five top lightly surreal novels

Chandler Morrison is the author of eight books, including Dead Inside, #thighgap, and the recently released American Narcissus. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals. He lives in Los Angeles.

At CrimeReads Morrison tagged five lightly surreal novels.

No matter what forms of surrealism they weave into their narratives, the human element is always at the forefront. Each of them exposes some vital, incontrovertible aspect of existence, and whatever weirdness may be present only serves to accentuate that.

One title on the list:

Beloved by Toni Morrison

I had written Toni Morrison off as overrated for most of my life. Upon mentioning this to my then-girlfriend earlier this year, she insisted I was incorrect and that I should read Beloved. This book, she swore, would force me to reevaluate my erroneous (and problematic) opinion.

One lonely night in the early aftermath of our breakup about a month later, I plucked Beloved from one of my many stacks of unread books. I was immediately transported. The tragic narrative is replete with poltergeists, fatal visions, exorcisms, and supernatural folklore, but it’s all rooted in a gritty naturalism that makes it feel as authentic and immediate as any straitlaced family saga. Consider this former hater now reformed.

Read about another entry on the list.

Beloved also appears on Hester Musson's top five list of Gothic heroines, Mary Kuryla's list of six works about deeply flawed literary mother figures, Daryl Gregory's list of ten Southern gothic novels that changed the game, Anne Enright's list of six amazing books, Candice Carty-Williams's list of six heroic women in literature, Kate Racculia's list of ten gothic fiction titles that meant something to her, Emily Temple's list of the ten books that defined the 1980s, Megan Abbott's list of six of the best books based on true crimes, Melba Pattillo Beals's 6 favorite books list, Sarah Porter's list of five favorite books featuring psychological hauntings, Matthew Fellion and Katherine Inglis' list of ten books that were subject to silencing or censorship, Jeff Somers's list of ten fictional characters based on real people, Christopher Barzak's top five list of books about magical families, Ayelet Gundar-Goshen's ten top list of wartime love stories, Judith Claire Mitchell's list of ten of the best (unconventional) ghosts in literature, Kelly Link's list of four books that changed her, a list of four books that changed Libby Gleeson, The Telegraph's list of the 15 most depressing books, Elif Shafak's top five list of fictional mothers, Charlie Jane Anders's list of ten great books you didn't know were science fiction or fantasy, Peter Dimock's top ten list of books that challenge what we think we know as "history", Stuart Evers's top ten list of homes in literature, David W. Blight's list of five outstanding novels on the Civil War era, John Mullan's list of ten of the best births in literature, Kit Whitfield's top ten list of genre-defying novels, and at the top of one list of contenders for the title of the single best work of American fiction published in the last twenty-five years.

--Marshal Zeringue