/lit/ - Literature

>>14304800
Something happened- joeseph heller
stream of consciousness about how miserable MC life is as he tries nothing to change it. 10/10 better than catch 22

Books that are literally you

This is the bleakest, most anxiety-inducing shit I've ever read.

Anything similar?

>carry a book around campus with me
>spend all my time between classes messing around on my phone

should i just stop pretending i'm going to ever read this?

pic related, it's the book

Recently finished this bad boy. Thought we could talk about it a little bit.

First off, did any of you sympathize with the protagonist? I'll start by saying that I think it is difficult (at least for me) to fail to sympathize with a protagonist in which the narrative is first-person. I've noticed this in other works as well but this became glaringly apparent in Something Happened. For instance, here is a guy that regularly comments on his own depraved behavior. He knows what a huge piece of shit he is. He cheats on his wife and refuses to say 'I Love You' out of spite, even when she asks, he fucks over his 'friends' by getting them fired, he, with deliberate intent, hurts his daughter's self-esteem by telling her she's a slut, and he casually mentions he wishes his retarded son had never been born; he wishes he could be rid of him so that his life could be better. He frequently mentions that he wants to *kill* his retarded son. How could one sympathize with a character so devoid of moral, so heartless and so self-aware of his own failings yet adamant about not changing. Yet, I found myself slipping into moments in which I was rooting for him. I wanted him to get a knew job. I wanted him to defeat his daughter and ruin her self-esteem. I wanted him to send Derek away and find relative solace. It seems ridiculous, yet it happens.

I think this must have to do with the nature of the first-person narrative. Something changes when the character allows access to his thoughts that he bars from his peers and family. The reader feels included, as if he alone gains access to the protagonist's thoughts because he has done something to deserve it (even though this is nonsensical). Thereby, the protagonist's goals become your goals, despite your knowledge that they're ultimately despicable. If his wife is going to find out that he cheated, you don't want that. You want him, to yet again, evade her prodding questions and continue with his behavior. Perhaps you've all already reached the conclusion that the reader's entire moral system is realigned for a brief period in a first-person narrative, but I found it fascinating. It's difficult for me to detach myself from a character and view the scene objectively. I feel as if the protagonist deserves my support. I am, after all, his only listener. (1/2)

this one made my hair stand on end with how much his life at home was similar to mine.

ITT: Overlooked and ignored books by otherwise famous authors.

Pic related.