anti-novel
Convention-rejecting fiction
An anti-novel is a work of fiction that deliberately rejects conventional narrative elements—plot, character development, linear chronology, or coherent meaning.
The form emerged in the mid-20th century, particularly in French literature, as writers experimented with what a novel could be: Robbe-Grillet's anti-novels frustrated readers expecting traditional storytelling.
The term implies opposition to novelistic convention rather than a unified style.
Literature aware of itself
- unreliable narratorStoryteller whose credibility wavers
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
- intertextualityConnections between written works
- defamiliarizationMaking common things seem strange
pastiche · parody · bricolage · self-reference · footnotes · typographical · blank pages · erasure
Breaking into smaller pieces
- nonlinearNot in sequence
- disjointedLacking orderly sequence
- digressiveTending to stray topically
- unstructuredLacking imposed order
plotless · discontinuity · stream-of-consciousness · collage · aleatory · palimpsest · episodic · cyclical
Skeptical of metanarratives
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- modernistAdvocate of experimental forms
- experimentalTesting new methods
- Beat GenerationFifties literary counterculture movement
Philosophy embracing existence's irrationality
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
- nihilismRejection of objective meaning
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
meaninglessness · alienation · ennui · ambiguity · uncertainty · indeterminacy · purposelessness · irrationality
- HopscotchNumbered squares, tossed marker
- Naked LunchFragmentary Beat novel
- MobileSouthern Alabama seaport
metafiction
Literature aware of itself
- unreliable narratorStoryteller whose credibility wavers
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
- intertextualityConnections between written works
defamiliarization · pastiche · parody · bricolage · self-reference · footnotes · typographical · blank pages · erasure · interruption
fragmentation
Breaking into smaller pieces
- nonlinearNot in sequence
- disjointedLacking orderly sequence
- digressiveTending to stray topically
unstructured · plotless · discontinuity · stream-of-consciousness · collage · aleatory · palimpsest · episodic · cyclical · labyrinthine
postmodern
Skeptical of metanarratives
- avant-gardeInnovative cultural pioneers
- modernistAdvocate of experimental forms
- experimentalTesting new methods
Beat Generation · surrealism · dadaism · counterculture · subversive
absurdism
Philosophy embracing existence's irrationality
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
- nihilismRejection of objective meaning
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
postmodernism · meaninglessness · alienation · ennui · ambiguity · uncertainty · indeterminacy · purposelessness · irrationality · chaos
Beckett
Molloy
- HopscotchNumbered squares, tossed marker
- Naked LunchFragmentary Beat novel
- MobileSouthern Alabama seaport
anti-novelclassic novel
Revered older fiction
realist novel · Victorian novel · page-turner · linear narrative · genre fiction
novel, novelty, novelist, novella, novelistic, novellas, novelize, novelization, novelized