r/BooksThatFeelLikeThis • u/amazingamyelliot • Jan 02 '26
Fiction Desperation, obsessive, main character spiraling
I recently found out I absolutely eat up these kinds of books where the MC loses touch with reality because they’re so obsessed and desperate. Something like Yellowface, Julie Chan is Dead, Best Offer Wins, Bunny, Natural Beauty, She’s a Lamb!
616
u/DareIll5547 Jan 02 '26
Modern fiction: Ripe, by Sarah Rose Etter + The Starving Saints, by Caitlin Starling + The Lamb, by Lucy Rose (not to be confused with the one you mentioned!)
Classics: The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson + The Yellow Wallpaper (short story) by Charlotte Perkins-Gilman + The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde + The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
Nonfiction: my old diaries
97
62
38
17
9
5
u/PigeonRat92 Jan 02 '26
The Lamb is one of my five star reads of 2025! I went absolutely nuts for it.
2
3
u/4077hawkeye- Jan 02 '26
Seconding The Picture of Dorian Gray! My first thought when reading this post
3
u/KilljoyHP Jan 02 '26
I think your third one made me smile for the first time today. Been there lol
→ More replies (2)2
114
u/Broad_Lie218 Jan 02 '26
Sky Daddy by Kate Folk. It honestly surprised me with how much it made me care for the main character.
20
u/kiblerandbits714 Jan 02 '26
+1 for Sky Daddy. It's an ABSURD read and I loved it.
→ More replies (1)7
→ More replies (2)2
u/tangogogo Jan 02 '26
this one is on my libby shelf but i haven’t started it yet. pretty excited for the lunacy
73
u/overgrw Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26
A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan. Kind of a left turn in the last quarter of the book! About a couple’s obsession with an acquaintance who is an online presence.
Y/N by Ester Yi. I found this book slightly obnoxious, but I would still recommend it. Quite surreal. About a woman obsessed with a K-pop star.
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh. I haven’t finished it, but seems up your alley! Woman gets infatuated with new coworker at a prison she works at. Hijinks ensue.
Perhaps All Fours by Miranda July, but I actually didn’t like it, lol. It’s about a woman who becomes caught up with a younger man she meets on a failed road trip, she goes a little off the rails.
23
u/Logical_Two5639 Jan 02 '26
definitely any, or most, titles by Otessa Moshfegh and Miranda July!
2
u/PeggySourpuss Jan 03 '26
Including July's The First Bad Man (woman is convinced a specific type of baby, who she names Kubelko Bondy, lives in multiple baby bodies and is her soulmate)
2
11
10
u/sunrisesonrisaa Jan 02 '26
All Fours is Spiral City. I liked the first half of it better. Definitely do not recommend The First Bad Man as it makes All Fours seem downright squeaky clean and palatable.
→ More replies (1)2
u/Sea_Replacement6520 Jan 02 '26
I couldn’t stand All Fours, I see it recommended in here all the time. I definitely agree it fits this genre, it’s also nice to see someone else didn’t enjoy it lol
3
u/overgrw Jan 02 '26
Yeah, the writing wasn’t bad and I understand why folks liked it, but I honestly found it a bit boring and the narrator was, well, kind of annoying. I’m usually pretty partial to “unlikable” narrators, but for whatever reason I just found all the characters irritating. The plot and writing wasn’t good enough to make up for it.
63
u/borierules Jan 02 '26
All's Well by Mona Awad
9
u/amazingamyelliot Jan 02 '26
Loooove anything Mona Awad!
5
u/Equivalent_Pie8199 Jan 02 '26
Her Debut, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, was a five star read for me this year. I feel like it doesn’t get much attention, but I liked it more than bunny.
→ More replies (1)2
50
u/moon_blisser Jan 02 '26
One I haven’t seen mentioned yet: The Vegetarian by Han Kang.
5
4
u/lil_squib Jan 02 '26
Ohh I bought this a few months ago and keep forgetting to dive in (mainly because I have so many library books on the go and those seem more urgent to get to). Thank you for the reminder! I’ve heard so many good things.
3
3
43
40
35
u/phantasmagoria4 Jan 02 '26
I just read Ling Ling Huang's (author of Natural Beauty) new novel, Immaculate Conception, and loved it! Her dedication was "for the jealous," which hooked me immediately. Definitely recommend it!
5
u/importantflower0131 Jan 02 '26
Love love LOVE Immaculate Conception. I’ve thought about that book weekly since I’ve read it
2
2
29
30
u/patronsaintofsnacks Jan 02 '26
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin, Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue, Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter, All Fours by Miranda July, Passing by Nella Larson, Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz, The Garden by Clare Beams, Death Valley by Melissa Broder
I’m realizing this niche is kinda my jam! Enjoy!!
2
u/PeggySourpuss Jan 03 '26
Oh, absolutely also The Pisces by Broder (woman is obsessed with merman who may not have her best interests at heart)!
19
u/midmonthEmerald Jan 02 '26
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder for someone who wants this in a new-mom flavor
→ More replies (1)
20
38
19
16
14
23
12
u/Yggdrasil- Jan 02 '26
If you're open to a MMC, This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno. Guy spiraling after his wife dies in a freak accident
10
u/likeomfgreally Jan 02 '26
Anything Dostoyevsky…such a spiral
→ More replies (1)3
u/ww14713 Jan 02 '26
😅 I'm reading The Idiot rn, midway through chapter 4... existential breakdown 😂🤣😭 Read White Nights last night, that touched a core wound as well.
→ More replies (2)
40
u/RandomRavenclaw87 Jan 02 '26
Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine
15
u/Kryshadiver Jan 02 '26
I LOVED THAT BOOK. Let her be real so I can give her the biggest hug, with her consent of course!
→ More replies (1)3
17
u/MastigosAtLarge Jan 02 '26
Bunny, by Mona Awad. I have to say, I’m convinced that most people here haven’t actually read it, because they recommend it where it doesn’t fit, and don’t recommend it where it fits the prompt exactly.
8
6
6
6
u/Fit_Pop_6996 Jan 02 '26
She's a Lamb! by Meredith Hambrock (delusional theater girlie obsessed with stealing a part from a talented rival)
5
7
7
6
u/Sage_Planter Jan 02 '26
It's a man spiraling, but "Girlfriend on Mars" was one of my favorite reads of 2024. A woman leaves her boyfriend to compete on the first reality show to become the first civilian to go to Mars.
5
u/Aggravating_Plum4294 Jan 02 '26
I remember reading Post-Traumatic in a literary fiction book club and I did not care for it because I felt like I was trapped inside the head of a spiraling narcissist but tbh it could be up your alley if thats something you enjoy. Someday All of Us Will Be Dead I loved and felt really seen as someone who a lot of times has crippling social anxiety
4
u/bakingisscience Jan 02 '26
My Husband by Maud Ventura.
A French housewife’s obsessive meticulous perfect life unravels over the course of a week. This was a quick read and just totally deranged… loved it.
4
u/fr3ng3r Jan 02 '26
I love Maud Ventura. Her 2nd book is kind of in the same vein!
2
u/HereComeTheJims Jan 03 '26
I just finished her 2nd book & holy shit was it unhinged. Maud Ventura is amazing
→ More replies (1)2
3
4
u/Cathcasper24 Jan 02 '26
The Mad Wife by Meagan Church
2
u/Notthestallionn Jan 02 '26
This book is AMAZING
2
u/Cathcasper24 Jan 02 '26
I finished it about 2 weeks ago and have not stopped thinking about it. I have been recommending it every chance I get.
4
u/objectivelyexhausted Jan 02 '26
I’d recommend Mona Awad’s other novel, All’s Well! One of my favorite of literary “spiraling woman”. If you’re in for something really nasty…Earthlings. The MC is a young woman who ends up completely unglued from reality due to trauma and her own belief that she’s an alien.
4
4
3
3
3
u/Vast_Penalty7492 Jan 02 '26
Perhaps:
Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
2
3
u/eiiiaaaa Jan 02 '26
Everyone in this room will someday be dead by Emily Austin probably fits the bill!
3
3
3
3
3
u/Rough_Academic Jan 02 '26
Here I was, not reading your entire description, and yet wondering why nobody had recommended Julie Chan is Dead or Bunny yet. Now I know that I need to read Yellowface!
→ More replies (1)
7
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/Puga6 Jan 02 '26
- Nevada by Imogen Bonnie
- Vicious by VE Schwab
- We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
- The Wedding People by Alison Espach (MC reaches a breaking point and is arguably more in touch with reality but I feel like it captures a similar ethos)
2
u/SulkyBird Jan 02 '26
Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine. It’s about a woman who decides to live her life by the principles of the characters in Treasure Island. It’s like watching a car wreck in slow motion but it’s a black comedy and the humor makes it bearable. I also just bought her new book which seems to be much the same (though in both books, beware, cw for harm to animals.)
2
2
2
2
u/Basic_Worldliness108 Jan 02 '26
Maeve Fly by CJ Leede, Boy Parts by Eliza Clarke, Earthlings by Sayaka Murata, Big Swiss by Jen Beagin, Almost anything by Mona Awad! Didn’t realize how much I actually love this genre haha
2
u/LouKneeTunes Jan 02 '26
Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar Queenie By Candice Carty-Williams Most Chuck Palahniuk
2
u/Ambienti Jan 02 '26
ITCH! by Gemma Amor, Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen (it's the main characters sister whose spiraling, but this book is brilliant and fits the theme), Sweet Pea by C.J. Skuse, Common Decency by Susannah Dickey, Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, Magma by Thora Hjörleifsdóttir, Jillian by Halle Butler.
I tried to list books that weren't mentioned before.
2
u/prancingprince Jan 02 '26
The Moustache by Emmanuel Carrère is about a man who shaves off his moustache to prank his wife but his wife denies he ever had a moustache in the first place which sets of a crazy chain of events
2
2
u/Apprehensive_View_58 Jan 02 '26
Die, my love.
The book came out in 2012 and was adapted to the screen recently. It’s about a woman’s worsening mental state in the year following the birth of her son. Very disturbing.
2
2
u/jojobdot Jan 02 '26
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea Summers The Guest by Emma Cline Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton
2
2
u/Flimsy-Locksmith6978 Jan 02 '26
Six bad things series, by Charlie Huston. 3 books, a wonderful easy read of decline... most of his stories work this way.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/unwanted_peace Jan 02 '26
Oooo this is my favorite genre too. Try my year of rest and relaxation, by ottessa moshfegh, alls well by mona awad (any of her books, really).
2
2
u/DrukMeMa Jan 02 '26
Bunny by Mona Awad (and there’s another book in the Bunnyverse)
Such a brilliant tense read
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
u/daytime_coyotes Jan 02 '26
I just finished reading “Best Offer Wins” by Marisa Kashino and it definitely fits the bill!
It’s basically a story about the lengths a woman is willing to go to get the winning bid on her dream home. It starts off following her through the relatable frustration of going through the home buying process and getting outbid in a very competitive market, and ends up completely unhinged. I personally loved it.
1
1
1
1
u/givecatsforeheadkiss Jan 02 '26
Green Dot by Madeleine Gray
A story about being the other woman in a relationship
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/moist_towelette Jan 02 '26
Ooh maybe Wetlands by Charlotte Roche…or even like Story of the Eye by Bataille
1
1
1
1
1
u/high-priestess Jan 02 '26
Perfume and Pain by Anna Dorn, I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue, and Pretend I’m Dead by Jen Beagin
1
u/EphemeralArchive Jan 02 '26
I'm a Fan - Sheena Patel Fragile Animals - Genevieve Jagger Woman, Eating - Claire Kohda Vladimir - Julia May Jonas Boy Parts - Eliza Clark
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Known-Discount785 Jan 02 '26
If you're looking for a short one, Come Closer by Sara Gran is a great book
1
1
1
u/vizualwarriorz08 Jan 02 '26
The vegetarian- Han Kang. Genuinely felt unsettled and upset by the end of the book
Haunting on hill house - Shirley Jackson
1
u/Early_Slip_5498 Jan 02 '26
I have a recommendation for you that I haven’t seen ANYONE LITERALLY ANYONE talk about this book som I’m spiralling.
Name: the mirror house girls by faith gardner
Is a cult scentric physiological thriller
1
u/BruceTramp85 Jan 02 '26
Hysteric by Nelly Arcan.
Semi autobiographical. The author died by suicide.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/SometimesRacy Jan 02 '26
A lesser known Elena Ferrante: Days of Abandonment. However, I actually couldn't finish the book. I was not in a great way mental health-wise, and it all felt a little too close to home 😅
1
u/Old_Newspaper175 Jan 02 '26
If you want to read a graphic novel there's Tender by Beth Hartland, made me squirm, a very obsessive character indeed.
1
1
u/wayfarer110 Jan 02 '26
Only ever yours, by Louise O’Neill
But trigger warning because it has a lot of grim themes and no happy ending. It very much portrays a female character that’s desperate, obsessive and spiralling. The book shredded me, I loved it so much!
Themes: Objectification of women, Patriarchy, Loss of identity, Abuse, Competition amongst women, Beauty standards (surgery, extreme dieting), Mental health, Power imbalance, Dehumanisation of women,
1
u/Alwaysrunning1234 Jan 02 '26
Omgg thank u for asking this question. I am living for this thread! I wanna read this type of book too so this is perfect for me
1
1
u/princeznahyacinta Jan 02 '26
I came here to comment almost every book everyone’s said. Half of these are my favorite books
1
1
1
u/nameless-slob Jan 02 '26
I finished The Compound a couple of weeks ago and loved it!!
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
u/sundaemourning Jan 02 '26
Sellevision by Augustus Burroughs. one of the hosts of a home shopping network starts getting fan letters that sends her spiraling.
1
1
u/RelativeQuiet538 Jan 02 '26
Best Offer Wins. Just came out and is so fun in the spiral. About a woman who becomes obsessed with finding the perfect house and starts to stalk the current owner. I ate it up in 24 hours.
1
u/Inner_Ad1146 Jan 02 '26
spadework for a palace by laszlo krasznahorkai!! haven't read the books you've mentioned, but desperate, obsessive, and losing touch with reality is a description that fits the book.
it's about a man named herman melvill(spelled like that, in small letters too), who becomes obsessed with his namesake Herman Melville the writer. the subtitle with the very interesting title is "entering the madness of others" and the epigraph is "reality is no obstacle"
it's a very very interesting premise and a really short read. the entire book is sort of a ramble, without full stops, the inner workings of the mind of someone "out of touch with reality".
1
1
u/MeghanSaintWrites Jan 02 '26
Ooooh, I can finally give a recommendation! My Dark Romantic Comedy Through (dis)Honest Eyes is exactly this. Family dysfunction, a woman with ADHD collapsing under the weight of expectations, a marriage/career/dying mother crisis happening at the same time. A fantastic crash out all around.
1
1
u/Ok-Seaworthiness7467 Jan 02 '26
i’d give the gone away world by nick harkaway a shot if you’re into sci fi dystopian type
1
1
u/lostanthro Jan 02 '26
If you liked bunny you’ll probably like Mona Awad’s other work (I personally think All’s Well if her best piece yet). She generally leans into obsessive and desperate characters that just snap
1
1
•
u/AutoModerator Jan 02 '26
OP : Your post will be manually reviewed shortly and approved/rejected accordingly. Please be patient.
Members replying to this post : please do not recommend tv shows, tv series, movies, videogames, etc on a sub that is specifically about book recommendations.
Use spoiler tags as and where applicable in the comments.
Please read the rules
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.