Ten Favorite Dare Novels
(I’m borrowing my terminology from the Literary Stunt Index by Calvin Kasulke, who organizes the stunts he lists into four quadrants: what he calls Gimmicks, Pranks, Flexes, and Dares. A Dare, if I understand him correctly, is a book that poses a challenge to its readers through its difficulty and, regardless of its prowess, seems designed to confront or antagonize them. I’ve arranged my ten favorite examples of the category alphabetically by author.)
Empty Streets by Michal Ajvaz
Babyfucker by Urs Allemann
House of Holes by Nicholson Baker
The Voice of the Moon by Ermanno Cavazzoni
The Nevèrÿon Tetralogy by Samuel R. Delany
334 by Thomas M. Disch
The Suspended Vocation by Pierre Klossowski
A Void by Georges Perec
The Pale King by David Foster Wallace
Rusty Brown by Chris Ware
— September 16, 2021