I would also recommend 'The Shining' by Stephen King. While it's a well - known horror novel, it has strong elements of surreal horror. The haunted Overlook Hotel is filled with strange visions, from the elevator full of blood to the ghosts in the corridors. Jack Torrance's descent into madness as he is influenced by the hotel's malevolent forces is a harrowing journey.
One of the well - known surreal horror novels is 'House of Leaves' by Mark Z. Danielewski. It plays with the format of the book, with text going in different directions, creating a sense of disorientation that is both surreal and terrifying. Another is 'The King in Yellow' by Robert W. Chambers, which has an otherworldly and dream - like quality to its horror elements. And 'Coraline' by Neil Gaiman also has a touch of surreal horror as Coraline discovers a strange, parallel world that is both fascinating and full of danger.
Sure. 'Coraline' by Neil Gaiman can be considered a surreal horror story. The young girl, Coraline, discovers a parallel world through a small door in her new house. In this other world, things seem almost the same as her real world, but there are disturbing differences. The 'other mother' has buttons for eyes and tries to keep Coraline there forever. It's a creepy and surreal exploration of a child's fears.
Another great one is 'The King in Yellow' by Robert W. Chambers. It contains a series of stories that are connected by the presence of a play, also called 'The King in Yellow'. Reading the play within the stories is said to drive people insane, and the overall atmosphere of the book is one of creeping dread and otherworldly horror.
For beginners, 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' is a great start. It's easy to read and the surreal elements are presented in a rather fun and accessible way.
Jorge Luis Borges' 'Ficciones' is another must - read. Borges creates stories that are full of labyrinthine concepts and strange, self - referential plots. His use of infinite recursion and the blurring of boundaries between reality and fiction are hallmarks of surreal writing. For instance, in some stories, characters find themselves in a world that defies the laws of logic as we know them.
For beginners, 'The Arrival' by Shaun Tan is a great choice. It's a wordless graphic novel that tells a beautiful and surreal story of immigration. The art is so detailed and expressive that it can easily draw in new readers to the world of surreal graphic novels.
Another great option is 'Memento Mori' by Jonathan Nolan. It's a noir - ish story that has a very surreal way of presenting time. The main character has a condition that makes him unable to form new memories. The way the story unfolds, with him trying to solve a mystery while constantly forgetting things, is both engaging and surreal in nature.
One of the well - known surreal crime novels is 'The Big Sleep' by Raymond Chandler. It has a complex web of mystery and a unique noir style that often veers into the surreal with its convoluted plots and shadowy characters. Another is 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' by Patrick Süskind. The description of the protagonist's extreme sense of smell and the strange murders in the story create a very surreal atmosphere within the crime narrative.
One of the surreal romance novels is 'The Night Circus' by Erin Morgenstern. It has a dream - like setting where a magical circus appears only at night. The relationship between the two main characters, Celia and Marco, is full of mystery and an otherworldly charm.
One surreal mystery novel is 'The Raw Shark Texts' by Steven Hall. It's a mind - bender with a very unique concept of a'shark' that exists in the world of ideas and memories. Also, 'City of Saints and Madmen' by Jeff VanderMeer is set in a strange, surreal city filled with mysteries and odd characters. 'Hard - Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World' by Murakami is another good pick. It has two parallel storylines, one in a very strange, surreal 'Hard - Boiled Wonderland' and the other in a more desolate world, and the mystery lies in how they are related.