10 Weird Books of 2021 (so far!)

Over the past year, I have focused on different types of reading including: folk horror, nonfiction and crime/thrillers of the Golden Age of British Crime Fiction. But, one thing that I have noticed along my reading is that there are books I would say are very 'weird' as in, I have not read anything quite like them before. The storylines shocked me, the characters enveloped me and there are tons of stuff about these books I would recommend (I'll be tagging my full reviews unless they contain spoilers) and tons of themes and symbols you can really get stuck into.

When I say the word 'weird' though, what I actually mean is something really out there, something really imaginative and well written, something that is not really like the normal books from the same genre. When I say 'weird', I mean something that will grip you from the very start to the very last page and leave you wondering why it happened the way it did.

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

This book was so completely weird as even the cat gets its own narrative. I'm not going to lie, the twist was absolutely huge and you will never guess it in a million years and you cannot find out exactly what happens and why without reading the entirety of the book. Dee is trying to find out what happened to her sister and, suspecting a shady guy named Ted - she starts to make her moves. It all makes sense, until it doesn't.

It's absolutely chilling, as the book progresses, it gets more and more dark until the darkness completely overwhelms the storyline and you are left holding your head and internally screaming at the very thought of what has just happened and what you have just read. You won't believe your eyes because you weren't really paying attention. It is right there and you'll never see it.

Here is my review of the book, if you dare to read it.

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

I remember quite well when I first read this book and I actually had to eat dinner afterwards - I could just about do it. I felt sick to my stomach, I felt like I was going to throw up every bite I would eat - it wasn't pretty. I was queasy because of the way the more monstrous things in the book (and it can get pretty graphic) were normalised.

Trigger Warning: if you are senstive to violence, blood or sexual deviance of any kind, I would advise staying away from this book. But, you're not going to have a breakdown on me - then please, continue to first read my review on the book here.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

If you sometimes think to yourself, 'hey, I want some original Sci-Fi' then this is probably what you are talking about. This book is about a group of teenagers who enter another world and there are many ways they try to meet on the outside. The whole thing seems to be an extended metaphor for the different stages of grief. But instead of being a 'dark' kind of weird, this is more just a 'weird' kind of 'weird'.

The book itself is actually really clever and fulfilling, it is beautifully written and incredibly translated. It has some really clever insights alongside some amazing and gorgeous language. I could read it again actually. Here is my review on the book.

The Forever Home by Sue Watson

An incredible psychodrama of a novel, this book really shocked me. As much as I love the genre of domestic thriller, I really think there is a lot still left to explore with it and one thing that Sue Watson does is explore the very weird and paranoid side of the genre. I stand by my claim that Brian De Palma would be able to make this into a brilliant movie - it really does feel like a proper invasive thriller and, mixes the old with the new in terms of what horror/thriller can be in the modern age.

About a man and a woman who eventually go their separate ways, it is not all said and done as one inflicts psychological pain upon the other and the other retaliates with even more. Things grow and grow until everything gets so damn out of hand, you won't be able to believe your eyes. In this game of cat and mouse, watch as they add new players such as a vulture, and a magpie. Out to capture different things to further their own plans, this is one psychological thriller that I can say is really damn 'weird' in the best of ways.

Check out my review here.

Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi

'Weird' also means 'out there' and I can definitely say that the state of government mandated exile in fascist Italy is something very 'weird' here. They don't kill Italians who are against them but instead, they send them to the state of Eboli. This is somewhere that has disease, war, pain and greed. It is something in Italy but not like Italy.

It is a place of deep desperation and when I read it I cannot help but saying, I was thoroughly disgusted. There is this chapter where a man is practically dying in agony of malaria and it is so graphic and horrid. It is nothing I can explain here, so read my review on the book.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Stories They Wouldn’t Let Me Do

I was absolutely terrified when I first read this. I remember picking it up and thinking 'oh come on, how bad could it be?' and then when I finished it I thought, 'well, that is probably why they didn't allow you to direct those stories, because they're terrifying beyond belief...' One of the stories is recounted by a murderer who kills a woman and tries to get away with it, in an Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart" style, he descends further and further down the psychological rabbit hole. The ending is horrifying and I cannot express enough that you must not read this before eating something. You'll lose that appetite of yours.

Check out my full review here.

Untouched by Human Hands by Robert Sheckley

I have to say that I actually bought this book because it was going cheap and it looked alright. I don't normally read Sci-Fi because I'm not a huge fan but I honestly don't know what the hell I just read with this. The book is just short stories that were, back when it was written, Sci-Fi - but are now more Speculative Fiction. It looks at the modern day through a darker, more horrifying lens and the story 'The Cost of Living' should give you the chills enough when you sit and think about it. It definitely did that to me. Every story in this book is raw with extended metaphor and something dark and twisted lurking beneath the meaning on the surface.

My review contains some spoilers on other stories and so, I will not be sharing it here.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

I'm not going to lie but this book scared the crap out of me. Even though I kind of suspected what the ending would be and was mostly correct, it was the way it was written that terrified me. The book is about a doctor who is trying to get their mute patient to talk using some slightly less ethical methods. There is another doctor who doesn't like this one, there is a supervisor who isn't too sure but when the breakthrough arrives, there is something far, fark darker to deal with than the fact that she doesn't talk. Narrated by the doctor to this 'silent patient' there are several things going wrong all at once and the writer pens them with brilliant precision and tension.

Check out my review for it here.

Little Bones by NV Peacock

When I talk about 'weird' books I also talk about books that can fool me with misdirection. Normally, because I have read so many crime books from all through the years, I can really sense when something is misdirecting me. In this case, it was completely different - I was so far off it was unreal. The entire 'secret' in the story is right there and you won't see it until you've completed the whole book. It will leave you speechless and shivering.

Cherrie notices that a little boy has gone missing in the area and then checks on her own son, Robin, a ton more. A man then 'outs' Cherrie as really being 'Little Bones' - the daughter of a child-murdering serial killer who is in jail. So he couldn't have done it. But when Robin goes missing, something is telling Cherrie to start looking in darker, less conspicuous places. The book gets really dark and if you're not into reading about Child Abuse and Panic Attacks etc. I would recommend treading lightly here. It is one dark hell of a book and the ending is something you will never guess, not in your wildest dreams.

Check out my review for the book here.

The Memory Wood by Sam Lloyd

This book wasn't pretty by the end. Actually, scratch that - I wasn't pretty by the end of this book. This book destroyed me. I was sweating and crying my eyes out by the end. It's absolutely horrific what happens in this novel and honestly, I cannot describe it to you because most of the description I could give about my feelings would ruin the book for you - just know you need to read it.

Elissa has been kidnapped by a 'ghoul' - 12 year old Elijah comes to play with her but won't set her free because he too, is scared. Written in 1st person, Elissa has to figure out a way to get out before the 'ghoul' comes back and before things get even worse. But before they can get worse just for Elissa, they are going to have to get worse for us as well. And my god does shit really hit the fan. I stifled screaming whilst reading this - seriously. Just read my review here.