Gimmicks

Description
Books which challenge formal conventions of the reading experience (i.e., the layout of the book, reading order, the relationship between main text and secondary matter such as notes, titles, etc.). For this list I'm not interested in postmodern and metafictional experiments with style/genre or narrative point of view.
1
Ella Minnow Pea
de Mark Dunn
3,935 membres
259 critiques
3.9
6 Members
guyalice, sturlington, souloftherose, spiphany, cej1027, ahef1963
Explications
sturlington: Gradual erasure of letters of the alphabet from the narrative.
spiphany: Story is told using ever fewer letters of the alphabet.
2
Sabine et griffon
de Nick Bantock
2,879 membres
68 critiques
4.2
4 Members
charl08, guyalice, sturlington, ahef1963
3
Survivant
de Chuck Palahniuk
8,704 membres
96 critiques
3.9
3 Members
sturlington, spiphany, ahef1963
Explications
spiphany: Pages and chapters are numbered backwards
4
Crossings
de Alex Landragin
529 membres
19 critiques
3.8
3 Members
guyalice, spiphany, ManWithAnAgenda
Explications
spiphany: Can be read straight through or in an order chosen by the reader according to instructions at the beginning of the book.
5
House of Leaves
de Mark Z. Danielewski
15,631 membres
374 critiques
4.1
3 Members
Moomin_Mama, guyalice, ManWithAnAgenda,ahef1963
6
Magpie Murders
de Anthony Horowitz
3,819 membres
233 critiques
3.9
3 Members
KimarieBee, sturlington, ahef1963,spiphany
Explications
sturlington: The narrator reads another book, which is contained inside the first book, but the last chapters are missing.
7
S.
de Doug Dorst
3,278 membres
87 critiques
3.8
2 Members
guyalice, spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Published as a vintage-looking library book with marginal notations and loose documents (letters, postcards, notes, etc.) tucked between the pages
8
O Révolutions
de Mark Z. Danielewski
2,082 membres
34 critiques
3.1
2 Members
guyalice, spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Two stories printed 180° from each other, requiring the reader to rotate the book while reading
9
How to Be Both
de Ali Smith
1,570 membres
51 critiques
3.8
2 Members
charl08, spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Consists of two stories; half the printings of the book start with one story, half with the other
10
Happenstance: Two Novels in One About a Marriage in Transition
de Carol Shields
582 membres
13 critiques
½ 3.7
2 Members
charl08, spiphany
Explications
spiphany: The "front" and "back" of the book are each the starting place for two stories that meet in the middle.
11
The Thorn and the Blossom
de Theodora Goss
333 membres
54 critiques
½ 3.6
2 Members
guyalice, spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Bound like an accordian with two parallel stories, one on each side of the page.
12
Ibid: A Novel
de Mark Dunn
308 membres
12 critiques
½ 3.4
2 Members
guyalice, spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Consists only of footnotes
13
Telephone
de Percival Everett
213 membres
23 critiques
3.9
2 Members
sturlington, spiphany
14
Dictionary of the Khazars: A Lexicon Novel in 100,000 Words {unspecified Editions}
de Milorad Pavić
80 membres
4.2
2 Members
guyalice, spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Two separate version of the book were written ("female" perspective and "male" perspective); the printed editions are the same except for a key chapter.
15
Marelle
de Julio Cortázar
5,107 membres
100 critiques
4.2
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Suggested reading order requires the reader to skip forwards and backwards through the book rather than reading the chapters in order.
16
La Disparition
de Georges Perec
1,550 membres
43 critiques
½ 3.7
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Written without the use of the letter "e"
17
Building Stories
de Chris Ware
944 membres
40 critiques
½ 4.4
Member
spiphany
18
Bartleby & cie
de Enrique Vila-Matas
888 membres
32 critiques
3.9
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Consists entirely of footnotes
19
Ill Will
de Dan Chaon
710 membres
136 critiques
½ 3.4
Member
sturlington
20
Qualityland
de Marc-Uwe Kling
637 membres
22 critiques
3.9
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Published in two editions ("dark" and "light") which have the same main text but contain different extra material (advertisements, recommendations, etc) between the chapters.
21
Eunoia
de Christian Bök
576 membres
19 critiques
4
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Each chapter uses only a single vowel.
22
Tree of codes
de Jonathan Safran Foer
458 membres
17 critiques
3.8
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Consists of die-cut pages of Bruno Schulz's "Street of Crocodiles"; the story is formed using the non-cut-out words and letters.
23
Le mode interrogatif : Roman ?
de Padgett Powell
409 membres
15 critiques
½ 3.3
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Every sentence is a question.
24
Les Malchanceux
de B. S. Johnson
408 membres
9 critiques
4.1
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: The individual sections of the book are sold in a box rather than being bound together in a fixed reading order.
25
Dans un jour ou deux
de Tony Vigorito
401 membres
7 critiques
½ 3.7
Member
sturlington
Explications
sturlington: The book is about the breakdown of language, as experienced by the narrator.
26
Security: A Novel
de Gina Wohlsdorf
346 membres
67 critiques
½ 3.4
Member
sturlington
Explications
sturlington: Told as if from the point of view of multiple security monitors, often with text in corresponding columns.
27
The Mixquiahuala Letters
de Ana Castillo
298 membres
3 critiques
½ 3.3
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Epistolary novel; the reader is presented with three suggested reading orders: the Conformist, the Cynic, and the Quixotic
28
Alphabetical Africa
de Walter Abish
240 membres
6 critiques
½ 3.6
Member
spiphany
29
Last Words from Montmartre
de Miaojin Qiu
221 membres
8 critiques
½ 3.7
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Consists of a set of letters which, the reader is informed, can be read in any order.
30
L'envers du vent ou Le roman de Héro et Léandre
de Milorad Pavić
184 membres
2 critiques
3.9
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: The "front" and "back" of the book are each the starting place for two stories that meet in the middle.
31
Dernier amour à Constantinople
de Milorad Pavić
142 membres
1 critique
½ 3.5
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Chapters can be read in any order. The book is laid out like a Tarot deck.
32
Life's Lottery
de Kim Newman
110 membres
2 critiques
½ 3.6
Member
Moomin_Mama
Explications
Moomin_Mama: A grown up choose-your-own-adventure that can also be read cover to cover.
33
The Canvas
de Benjamin Stein
97 membres
3 critiques
4.1
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: The "front" and "back" of the book are each the starting place for two stories that meet in the middle.
34
A Little White Shadow
de Mary Ruefle
82 membres
2 critiques
½ 3.7
Member
spiphany
35
Composition n° 1
de Marc Saporta
75 membres
5 critiques
3.2
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Sold as loose, unbound pages in a box.
36
Tristano
de Nanni Balestrini
75 membres
3.2
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Mixture of prose and other documents; the paragraphs are randomly shuffled so that each printed edition is different.
37
Love and Other Games of Chance: A Novelty
de Lee Siegel
51 membres
1 critique
3
Member
spiphany
38
A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel (Unknown Edition)
de Tom Phillips
15 membres
1 critique
½ 4.5
Member
spiphany
39
Santa Esperanza
de Aka Morchiladze
10 membres
5
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Sold as a collection of color-coded booklets in a slipcase; the author provides 16 suggested reading orders
40
Alix, Anton und die anderen
de Katharina Hacker
7 membres
1 critique
3
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Each page has two columns, one with the main story and a second in smaller print with thoughts or comments on the characters and sometimes completely unrelated material.
41
Lexikon - Roman
de Andreas Okopenko
7 membres
1
Member
spiphany
42
Im Bauch der Königin
de Karosh Taha
6 membres
1 critique
3
Member
spiphany
43
Ausgelesen
de Duo 96
4 membres
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: Text consists of the last sentences of 375 other novels.
44
Halbinsel Judatin
de Oleg Jurjew
4 membres
Member
spiphany
Explications
spiphany: The "front" and "back" of the book are each the starting place for two stories that meet in the middle.
45
Fußnotengeschichten
de Aleksandăr Špatov
1 utilisateur
Member
spiphany
46
La vallée de l'éternel retour
de Ursula K. Le Guin
2,134 membres
22 critiques
3.9
2 Members
aulsmith, souloftherose,sturlington ,spiphany
Explications
aulsmith: A set of ethnographic notes about a future Pacific Northwest with a novella twined into the notes.
spiphany : experiments with narrative conventions, not the physical characteristics of the book
47
Pacific Edge
de Kim Stanley Robinson
668 membres
15 critiques
3.8
Member
aulsmith,spiphany
Explications
aulsmith: Two main narrators, one the author of a book, the other either a character in that book or the author's grandson.
spiphany : experiments with narrative conventions, not the physical characteristics of the book
48
Multiple Choice
de Alejandro Zambra
386 membres
20 critiques
3.9
49
Me Being Me Is Exactly as Insane as You Being You
de Todd Hasak-Lowy
159 membres
5 critiques
3
50
Destroy All Monsters: The Last Rock Novel
de Jeff Jackson
62 membres
1 critique
½ 3.6
51
The Wandering
de Intan Paramaditha
50 membres
1 critique
½ 3.7
52
The Subsidiary
de Matias Celedon
32 membres
4 critiques
3.2
53
Unique Item
de Milorad Pavić
30 membres
2 critiques
½ 3.6