But i need a good plot. A page turner. I wanna be emotionally invested, but i don’t want it to revolve around romance. It does not even have to be love. I wanna be invested in the character(s). Mentally unstable protagonists are appreciated. Suggest me a book that is a page turner, but also makes me cry/laugh/grip the book so tight because i am frustrated for the character(s).
(I know my wording sucks, I hope you get the vibe)
Edit: like Flowers for Algernon, as someone suggested
Edit2: while i can go through reading SA, i can never read animal torture. Even knowing that the act happened kinda messes me up, but i can power through. However, I cannot read if it is like longer than one sentence of animal abuse/torture etc.
by aminicuspondicus
12 Comments
Children of time. Leviathan wakes. Enders game. Flowers for Algernon.
A few that give you what could easily be called mentally unstable protagonists, but in each case, it’s a very different type of instability:
*Utopia Avenue* by David Mitchell had me more invested in the main characters than anything I’ve read in years. The way they’re shown to rely on, relate to, support and connect with each other is gorgeous. It’s the story of a (fictional) band in 1960s London. Beautifully written. If you’ve enjoyed any of his others, this basically becomes a must.
*Never Let Me Go* by Kazuo Ishiguro is definitely not a typical romance. There’s a lot going on that I’ll not explain for fear of spoiling it. It shares certain aspects – perhaps in mood – with *Flowers for Algernon*, so if you enjoyed that, it may well be worth a look.
*The Poisonwood Bible* by Barbara Kingsolver works quite wonderfully. You’re initially invested in the situation, but this moves as you see the different characters develop in different directions. You’ll definitely be frustrated with them at times …
A touch reluctant to recommend it, but *A Little Life* by Hanya Yanagihara will deliver what you’re after. The description of the friendship between the main characters is beautiful, but there’s also self-harm, r*pe and other aspects to the book you may not enjoy.
Edit: I’ll also recommend *Spoonbenders* by Daryl Gregory. It looks at a family, each member of which had a different psychic power … Apart from the patriarch. You watch them being exposed as frauds in the past, while being forced to question whether they are or not in the present. A fun little read.
Happy reading!
Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
I’m a bad person to ask, I got emotionally invested in a sentient sour-dough starter.
Girl with the dragon tattoo trilogy
The Overstory or Bewilderment by Richard Powers.
Babel by R.D kuang ticks all your boxes
I get really invested in the characters in Spider Robinson’s Callahan Chronicles. Even the con artist time traveler, but particularly the talking German shepherd.
*The Secret History * by Donna Tartt
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Not a page turner because it’s packed with action, but more you just have to know what is going on with the main character and where the heck the author is going with this. Heartwarming in the end.
I really enjoyed We Begin at the End.
A Little Life. It will ruin you but you’ll certainly be emotionally invested.