Eleven books to read if you’re going through an existential crisis
image and words by daisy henry
From the cynical to the hopeful.
An existential crisis is something of a rite of passage. Though it’ll look a little different for everyone, it typically marks a period of internal conflict where you become preoccupied with questions of meaning, purpose and identity. In some cases, it’s triggered by a major life change, like the end of a university degree or turning a certain age. Other times, it can hit you out of nowhere.
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Of course, it’s always worth leaning on the people around you. However, if you prefer to sit in solitude, then it might be worth turning to literature. Whatever you’re feeling, there’s a comfort in knowing that writers throughout history have pondered similar questions. From Albert Camus’ musings on the absurd to Yanagi Sōetsu’s case for finding beauty in the small things, we’ve rounded up eleven books to help you through it.
If you want a philosophical read
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Stranger is a short book that packs a big punch. The story follows Meursault, an Algerian Frenchman who feels little grief after hearing the news of his mother’s death. After killing a man on the beach in an almost accidental act, he is put on trial and condemned for his indifference. What follows is Camus’ interrogation of absurdity, expectations, indifference and the question of how to define a life.
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Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
In a slightly similar vein, Kafka’s Metamorphosis follows a character who wakes up one day as a giant insect. It’s a perfectly absurd metaphor for feeling like an outsider, offering a fascinating meditation on feeling inadequate and alienated from modern society.
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If you need a dose of inspiration
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
On a slightly less cynical note, Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act is a call to arms. It advocates for readjust how you view the world, encouraging you to reconnect with your creative side. It’s an illuminating and motivating, inspiring a new approach to your day-to-day.
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The Beauty of Everyday Things by Yanagi Sōetsu
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In The Beauty of Everyday Things, Yanagi Sōetsu offers the chance to slow down and rediscover the meaning in the objects surrounding you, whether that’s a coffee cup, a cloth or a handmade jar. It’s all about quiet moments of beauty, showing you that a meaningful life can be found in noticing the small moments.
Get it here.
If you want to feel less alone
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
If you’re in your twenties, going through a quarter-life crisis, then it might be time to pick up Dolly Alderton’s Everything I Know About Love. It traces the trials and tribulations of being young, falling in and out of love, living in a sharehouse and choosing a career. Tender, honest and funny, it’s a comforting read about being young and feeling a little lost.
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This Ragged Grace: A Memoir of Recovery and Renewal by Octavia Bright
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This Ragged Grace is a memoir, covering Octavia Bright’s life. It details her addiction to alcohol and recovery, parallel to her father’s slow deterioration from Alzheimer’s. Though heavy, it covers what it means to be young, making mistakes, dealing with grief, and losing and finding yourself again. It’s about the wild work of staying tender in the face of difficult times.
Get it here.
The Living Autobiography by Deborah Levy
The Living Autobiography is a series of three memoirs (Things I Don’t Want to Know, The Cost of Living, and Real Estate) by Deborah Levy. Each book explores different stages of Levy’s life as a woman and writer, offering a deeply personal account that touches on themes of identity, motherhood, separation and forging forward.
Get it here.
If you’d prefer to stay in bed
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
My Year of Rest and Relaxation follows an unnamed protagonist’s attempt to hibernate for an entire year. Despite having it all (she’s young, pretty, lives in Manhattan and has money), she feels empty. Naturally, her solution is to stock up on prescription pills and sleep through the entire year. Satirical and absurd, it’s a cathartic read.
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If you don’t fit the mould
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Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Sayaka Murata’s deadpan, quietly subversive novel follows Keiko, a convenience store worker who finds genuine meaning in a life society deems worthless, refusing to apologise for it. Funny, strange and surprisingly moving, it’s about a woman’s refusal to conform.
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If you’re after an escape
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Secret History by Donna Tartt is an all-consuming, atmospheric read. It pulls you into the world of a group of classics students in an American college who become entangled in a murder. It plays with ideas of morality, blurring ethical lines.
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The Wall by Marlen Hushofer
The Wall is an Austrian novel that follows an unnamed woman who wakes up in a mountain hunting lodge, only to find herself sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible wall. With only a dog, cow and cat for company, she is forced to learn to survive alone. Strangely meditative, it’s the kind of book that gets under your skin.
Get it here.
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