Existential Book Club discussion

Hi, new to Goodreads (though I have this account for a long time due to reading on a Kindle) and I believe (setting aside very old posts that I've long forgotten) that this is my first post so forgive me if I broke any etiquette by asking this:

What makes a great modern existentialist book?

I am drafting a book (that I plan to self publish) based on my experiences from being sent multiple times to a psychiatric ward and holding antipsychiatry opinions but I don't want it to come off like a navel gazing autobiography especially since I haven't accomplished much in life and I am inspired by the events in Naked Lunch and I wonder if that is a book that holds up well in modern times or do you guys have any alternative suggestion?

I guess, book suggestion aside, I am wondering if there's any room in book space for a personal philosophy book based around a victim mentality or is this considered whiny in this age of the internet?

I haven't yet read Naked Lunch so can't comment on that aspect of your question, but I think the idea of a modern existentialist novel is intriguing. I don't really think existentialism needs 'modernising' because of it's sheer universality, but I do think there's definitely a gap for a modern existentialist novel that draws upon distinctly modern issues of nihilism, isolation, existence, etc.

I'm specifically thinking about the idea of the virtual and especially the internet. It has revolutionised our views on socialising and interacting, and even more pertinently provides us with a platform by which we can refashion our own selves and identities. It essence it can form a sort of second-self, which brings up all sorts of questions about the existence of the physical self in comparison to the virtual self.

Thanks for starting the thread though and would really love to hear about what other people think about the idea of a modern existentialist novel.

Marvin wrote: "Hi, new to Goodreads (though I have this account for a long time due to reading on a Kindle) and I believe (setting aside very old posts that I've long forgotten) that this is my first post so forg..."

If you are looking for books to get inspiration from for your topic, from what you wrote I think that you could incorporate elements of two of Franz Kafka's books: The Castle and The Trial.

On *in the age of internet* thing, you may get past the whiny opinions of the reader if the case of your story gets the contemporary things with which millennials get used to. Such things, if used appropriately amidst some crises, might engage people even when they know the plot is going to kill the protagonist, just saying

What makes an existential piece of writing good is the main character. One of the most important parts of this philosophy is having a "sane" character living in an absurd world.

In my mind, it seems like all existentialists would be considered "mentally ill" for finding life and society so damn strange. So it makes perfect sense to have a mentally ill main character, perhaps questioning if he's the one that's crazy, or if the world around him is crazy.

I've never read Naked Lunch, and I myself and new to this group. I'm just now looking more into existential pieces of literature and a book along those lines would deeply interest me.

Good question, Marvin. Good luck.

Jung’s work on psychosis is very interesting also an old joke what’s the difference between psychosis and religion? Numbers !