Five Boundary-Pushing Books

Literature is more than an escape into an alternate universe: it is recorded human thought, fear, and philosophical hypotheses. Although I like every other person on the planet enjoy a good story, sometimes I want to be lost in a work that entertains by pushing the boundaries of literary possibilities. These books make unusual but fascinating reads.

1. Flaubert's Parrot

This book is witty, engaging, and a frolicking academic distraction for the literary critic narrator. You may learn something about Flaubert and postmodern morality, but you will learn more about the limits of literary format and the way in which humans distract themselves from hardship. Julian Barnes uses formatting in such a way that it makes the reader want to rewrite all of her favorite books into this brilliant style.

2. Wolf Hall (and Bringing Up the Bodies)

These books are simply incredible. Told through the eyes of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII has never appeared so human and vulnerable nor historical England so realistic. Hilary Mantel's style is modern, but every reference, joke, and description is so brilliantly in tune with the time period. Read and eagerly wait with me for the third installment. The award-winning BBC miniseries isn't too shabby, either.

3. Gilead

I recently taught Marilynn Robinson's Pulitzer-prize-winning novel to a class of 18-20 year old students, and I was surprised by the reaction. The letter of an old, dying minister resonated the minds of this large group of young people in a way I did not anticipate. Musings of personal faith, origin, and the beauty of every day occurrences fill every page with a slow splendor that gently forces the reader to be honest regarding what happens when life meets death. A side note: this book becomes better with each read.

4. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

This book by Robin Sloan is deceptively easy to read. In the spirit of Harry Potter and the National Treasure franchise comes a novel that discloses the future of literature in delightfully juvenile language. Beneath that glow-in-the-dark color is a novel that forces the reader to wonder what will happen to stories, for either good or bad, in a world that looks to technology for its stability.

5. The Secret History

The Goldfinch took the literary world by storm not too long ago, but, in my humble opinion, The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the author's better success. A book that twists classicism as brutally as this one is a blow that the intelligentsia cannot help but both reel from and be drawn to. There are quite a few dark themes throughout the work, but Tartt narrates the story of a murder in such a way that the reader learns guilt can be a healthy and necessary response to evil if there is ever to be healing.

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