6 weird novellas you definitely haven’t read yet

Lou, an archivist, accepts a position to archive the estate of Colonel Cary on an island outside of the city. Once there she encounters a bear. She gets to know the animal better as the seasons change and keeps up her work. Eventually, she forms a, let’s say intimate, bond with the bear.

Silvie, a teenager, and her parents are camped out in a rural area of Northumberland. They intend to live like Iron Age Britons did in the past, foraging, donning tunics, and following rituals as part of an archaeological experiment. But as Silvie’s father delves more deeply into Iron Age culture, old rituals and violent behaviours start to show up again.

Doctor Fridolin experiences a psychological transformation after learning that his wife has sexual fantasies of being with another man. What follows this revelation is a 2-day exploration, culminating in a masquerade ball that poses a danger to Fridolin. The book was the basis for Stanley Kubrick’s film, Eyes Wide Shut.

Out of print for years, They is described as a “lost dystopian masterpiece” by the The Paris Review. It presents a dystopian version of Sussex where art has come under attack and artists live as cultural refugees, working hard to preserve their crafts and remember what has been lost.

Dorothy and her husband are unhappily married and their life has settled into routine. Larry, a part-man part-amphibian has recently escaped from the Institute of Oceanographic Research. When he appears in Dorothy’s kitchen they quickly enter into their own domestic, and intimate, relationship.

A wife, husband, and their four children enjoy domestic bliss, until the fifth child comes along. Harriet, the mother, is forced to make some tragic decisions as the wild, violent and uncontrollable child takes over their idyllic home.