16 Weird, Bizarre, and Absurd Books that Shouldn’t Work (But Do)
Weird books with bizarre plots and fictional worlds that defy logic–but somehow make perfect sense.
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If you’re a practical person, like me, you would never believe that animals talk, that people are body-hopping or time traveling, or that spouses are transforming into sharks or emerging from attics.
But in the selections on this reading list of absurd books, those are exactly the types of things we’re asked to believe.
And what may be even more absurd than the premises? WE DO.
Somehow, the masterful authors of these books manage to craft fictional worlds filled with magic, weirdness, and impossible oddities and make them feel possible.
So much so that you may find yourself silently berating the non-believing side characters for their disbelief. How can you NOT get that your daughter is acting weird because she’s time traveling and body hopping! DUH.
While the absurdity is often the draw of these books, it’s not usually the point. The magic or weirdness is a way of getting the reader to think: What if this were possible? What choices would I make? And once I figure that out, should I make any different choices in my own (decidedly less weird) life now?

Shark Heart
Author: Emily Habeck
Publish Date: 2023
Genres: Literary Fiction, Fantasy
Soon after Lewis and Wren are married, they get the devastating news: Lewis is slowly transforming into a great white shark. This is the absurd premise of a surprisingly lovely book about marriage, memories, grief, and finding meaning when life throws curveballs. We first see Lewis’s transition from human to shark, and among this, slowly gather bits of each of their pasts and how they came together. Wren’s story comes into sharper focus as the story shifts to her mother, pregnant with Wren as a teen by an abusive boyfriend.
This book sounds like an experiment that couldn’t possibly work, but it does–and I marvel at the creativity that brought the author to it. It’s shockingly easy to suspend disbelief here; the transition to other creatures is a fact of this world, and the important thing is pondering the repercussions, the love in the face of loss, and the moving on. You’ll think about this one long after you’ve finished reading it.
The Likeness
Author: Tana French
Publish Date: 2009
Genres: Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers
The Likeness–the second book in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series–is less thriller and more an exploration of the psychology of commitment, identity, and friendship. The premise of a murdered girl who looks exactly like Detective Cassie Maddox and calls herself by an old alias of Cassie’s is implausible but intriguing. (The absurdity here is the idea that she could really fool all of the girl’s friends.)
As Cassie goes undercover as the dead girl to find answers, the questions keep coming: Who is this girl? What motivated her? Who wanted her dead and why? Will Cassie be found out, and what will be the consequences? This one reminds me a bit of The Secret History (but it’s a little less twisted).

Nothing to See Here
Author: Kevin Wilson
Publish Date: 2019
Genres: Literary Fiction, Fantasy
Lillian feels like her life is going nowhere, so when Madison, her rich former school roommate, asks Lillian to take charge of her stepkids, she decides to give it a shot. There’s one catch: the 10-year-old twins catch fire when they get emotional.
Lillian is just looking for a change, but she’s surprised by the connection she feels with Bessie and Roland. The over-the-top premise cloaks an amusing and heartwarming story–excellent on audio.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
Author: Karen Joy Fowler
Publish Date: 2014
Genres: Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Rosemary is 22 and hasn’t seen her brother or sister in years. Her sister was removed from the home before Rosemary was 6, and now she’s determined to learn more about the reasons. It’s been long enough since this book came out that you may already know the “secret” of this family, but if you don’t, I won’t reveal it here. Go in blind and don’t read more reviews, if you don’t know.
If you have already read more, rest assured: what seems like it could be a gimmick is actually a smartly rendered novel about family, memory, and science.
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The Husbands
Author: Holly Gramazio
Narrator: Miranda Raison
Publish Date: 2024
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Lauren is a single woman living in London, so she’s shocked to return home one night to find a husband there. He knows her, has a history with her, and her apartment reflects this. When he climbs up into the attic for something, another husband emerges. And so the cycle continues, with husbands disappearing into the attic and new ones appearing. Some are great, some are awful, and she discovers new versions of herself with each new relationship. Soon she has to decide whether she wants to continue the infinite “life try-ons” or settle into one.
This was a unique take on the idea of peeking into different life paths. It was a fun and absurd journey through the various husbands climbing down from the attic.
Unlikely Animals
Author: Annie Hartnett
Source: Ballantine Books via Netgalley
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
I have to say, Unlikely Animals is one of my favorite weird reads ever. To start: this book is collectively narrated by the…residents?…of a local cemetery. Really, they’re all a bunch of gossips, deeply interested in the lives of the people who live in their New Hampshire town.
Their focus in this story is the Starling family. Emma has returned to town from California because her father, Clive, is dying of a brain disease. Clive is having hallucinations–of animals and of ghosts who keep him company–and obsessing about finding Emma’s former best friend, Crystal, who has disappeared.
On top of all this, Emma also has a touch of magic about her–the ability to heal small things, which seems to have disappeared. So between the magic, the ghosts, the visions, and the gossips in the cemetery, there’s a lot of levity here, mixed in with the very real crises of drugs, disease, and the disappearance of a young woman. Despite these dark themes, it’s not a spoiler to say that this had one of the most delightful endings in recent memory.
My Sister the Serial Killer
Author: Oyinkan Braithwaite
Narrator: Adepero Oduye
Publish Date: 2018
Genres: Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers
Korede would do anything for her sister, Ayoola–and she does, when Ayoola starts killing her boyfriends. As Korede realizes that her sister is veering into serial killer territory, Ayoola sets her sights on the doctor Korede is in love with herself. Korede struggles with how to protect both the man and the sister she loves–but she may have to choose.
Filled with dark humor and a little absurdity, this book is hard to classify but is a good choice if you’re looking for a quirky mystery or thriller audiobook.

Lily and the Octopus
Author: Steven Rowley
Publish Date: 2017
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy
This imaginative dog book brings in elements of magical realism to underscore Ted’s devotion to his beloved dog, Lily, who is fighting a losing battle with the “octopus” invading her brain. His quest to save her is touching and heroic, and dog lovers will feel his fear and loneliness at the prospect of losing his beloved companion.
A beautiful book underscoring the love, loneliness, grief, and beautiful companionship and memories we build with our pets during their short lives.

Boy Swallows Universe
Author: Trent Dalton
Publish Date: 2019
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy
Twelve-year-old Eli Bell loves his messed-up family, but things go south when the violence of his parents’ drug business comes to their home. His stepfather disappears and his mother ends up in jail. Eli endeavors to save his mother, to find out what happened to his stepfather, to become a crime journalist, and to become a good man–all while taking down the drug kingpin in his seedy Australian suburb.
Gritty and brutal, with magical elements that only add to the epic feel, this utterly absorbing novel is one of my favorites of 2019 and of the decade.

Oona Out of Order
Author: Margarita Montimore
Publish Date: 2020
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy
It’s New Year’s Eve, 1982, and at midnight, Oona will turn 19 years old. But after midnight, she wakes up 32 years in the future, in a 51-year-old body. She soon learns that this is now her life, leaping back and forth in time at the turn of each year. She never knows where in her timeline she’ll land or what her previous year’s choices will have wrought.
A fun premise with a small cast and uncomplicated time travel element make this an easy audiobook listen.

The House in the Cerulean Sea
Author: TJ Klune
Publish Date: 2021
Genres: Fiction, Middle Grade, Fantasy
Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, and Extremely Upper Management has just tasked him with visiting an orphanage on a remote island–filled with children who have terrifying abilities. Charged with determining whether the children are being properly cared for, Linus is scared. But he has a job to do, and he will do it well–even in the face of the Antichrist.
This magical book took me a while to get into–it is pretty over-the-top and out of my wheelhouse–but eventually the charm took hold. It has a wonderful message of acceptance and creating family, and it was also quite funny. Pick it up when you’re in the mood for something really different that’s sure to make you smile.
Set in Tokyo, Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84 is one of the strangest and most compelling books I’ve ever read. Between the two moons that suddenly appear in the sky, the small people that creep into rooms at night, and the tangled web of connections leading to–among other things–a cult and a philanthropic dowager–it doesn’t seem like this story should work. But somehow it does.
At the heart of it are Aomame and Tengo, who are brought together through a series of strange circumstances that lead them to believe they are living in a parallel existence. Very long, strange, and difficult to summarize, this book is a commitment. But you’ll keep turning the pages just to find out what outlandish thing happens next.
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In this YA novel, “A” wakes up in the body of someone else each day. They never know where or who they will be from one day to the next, and they just try to get through the days, causing no harm to their host.
This means no relationships, no real identity that anyone else knows. But everything changes when they fall in love with Rhiannon. The two grapple with the difficulties of a relationship under such bizarre circumstances. A unique, magical premise that touches on issues of gender and identity.

Other Birds
Author: Sara Addison Allen
Publish Date: 2022
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism
After graduating high school, Zoey has returned to Mallow Island in South Carolina to claim the apartment her mother left her. The Dellawisp has a small cast of quirky residents: two estranged middle-aged sisters, a quiet chef, a struggling artistic young woman, and the reliable caretaker. But ghosts also linger here, and they have opinions about how these residents are living.
As Zoey settles in, small mysteries emerge that bring these misfit “other birds” together. A lovely book about community and found family, with the lightly magical backdrop that Sarah Addison Allen is known for–a heartwarming and cozy read.

People Collide
Author: Isle McElroy
Narrators: Daniel Henning & Aida Reluzco
Publish Date: 2023
Genres: Literary Fiction, Fantasy
This experimental book about marriage, identity, and culture follows Eli after he wakes up in the body of his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth has disappeared, and Eli embarks on a search for her across Europe and the U.S., while experiencing life in the body of a woman (and she in the body of a man).
This is a fascinating exploration of the body-swapping trope. Not only do they each experience the life, privileges, and challenges of each other’s gender, but they also realize that the swap enables them to shift their entire identities and expectations for their own lives. Past hangups can be left behind; it’s the ultimate new beginning, and they each deal with it in their own ways. And of course, they must decide if they can move forward in their relationship, with each of them in the body of the other.

Cloud Cuckoo Land
Author: Anthony Doerr
Publish Date: 2021
Genres: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction
Whew. How to describe this ambitious, doorstopper, genre-bender of a book? Here goes:
Cloud Cuckoo Land combines historical fiction, science fiction, and contemporary eco-fiction with a through-line of Greek mythology for an epic mash-up dedicated to librarians and book lovers.
Can you imagine? I couldn’t, but Anthony Doerr did–and surprisingly successfully. Rest assured that the disparate storylines do eventually come together. Doerr will benefit from the trust of readers who loved All the Light We Cannot See–I am one of them, and I considered giving up on Cloud Cuckoo Land early on, but for this trust. This will not be a book pressed into everyone’s hands, like ATLWCS was, but for a dedicated reader ready for a wild ride, Doerr makes it work.