Please could you recommend me some novels that explore pessimistic or nihilistic themes but which aren’t narrowly male-centric. They don’t have to be written by a woman but it would be great if they incorporated women’s perspectives or concerns. I’d be interested to hear any recommendations that just aren’t so male-centric. I’ve read a couple of modern “classics” of nihilistic or pessimistic fiction recently that I found to be fixated on the egocentric concerns of (generally white) men, eg emasculation, decline of gender roles, (also not so interested in books about the end of western civilisation etc) with only a few female characters, written in a way that was devoid of complexity, and which sometimes veered into misogyny. This is not to say that books about male issues aren’t of value, and I’m not looking to get into a discussion about that, I’d just like some more diverse novels with nihilism/ pessimism amongst the themes. Thanks!
by PrattlingPorpoise