The 52 Book Club: 2025 Challenge discussion

40. Stream of consciousness narrative

Stream of consciousness is a narrative style that tries to mimic the way we think. It shows a character’s internal thoughts in a realistic way, often capturing incomplete and non-linear ideas, sensory impressions, incomplete grammar, repetition, etc. It doesn’t just show what a character is thinking but replicates the experience of thinking.

For this prompt, you may choose a book entirely written in stream-of-consciousness narrative, or choose a book that uses stream-of-consciousness for only specific parts or certain characters.

While a stream-of-consciousness narrative is more than just an interior monologue, we always allow creativity for prompts. Some books contain elements of the stream-of-consciousness narrative style (for example: The Catcher in the Rye) and you’re welcome to stretch this prompt to include books with a more structured, interior monologue style.


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I’m going to be re-reading Milkman

All Fours

Fan Girl by Rainbow Rowell

Sorry what makes it different to an interior monologue?

Orbital by Saman Harvey would fit.

Ms Dalloway

Any one have any good horror books for this prompt?

Julio Cortázar – Hopscotch

Rachel wrote: "Any one have any good horror books for this prompt?"

Some readers consider The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe as horror.

Many of Stephen King's most famous novels employ some stream-of-consciousness: The Shining, Salem's Lot, Pet Sematery, The Institute are but a few such examples.

Shirley Jackson's two most famous books, The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, are old school horror. Not much blood and gore, but creepy all the same.

And then there's I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid.

Peter Straub has been known to use the narrative device as well, but I'm not familiar with his work enough to name a particular book. I only know what some customers used to say about him when I worked at a bookstore.

Thank you for the suggestions! I'll check them out

Almost anything by Faulkner or Virginia Wolff are written in a stream of consciousness style. I'm reading A Light in August again as well as A Room of One's Own and hoping to find two (or more) challenges they will fit. They're brilliant, but not what I consider an easy read. They both make you work for it.

I am reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius for this prompt.

For this prompt I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. It was my first time reading it and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it! The Blind Owl would also fit this challenge, although I found it a lot harder to follow.

the Dresden files. He is always pondering right and wrong.

Planning to read Intermezzo by Sally Rooney for this prompt.

Reading Gilead which is all as a rambling stream of consciousness letter to his son. He loses track of his train of thoughts sooooo many times.

I planning on reading:


Beloved by Toni Morrison

HAPPY READING!!

Would “I Who Have Never Known Men” work for this prompt?

I'm currently reading Bunny by Mona Awad and as the book progresses, the narrator's thoughts definitely become stream of consciousness (as she becomes further enmeshed in stuff...no spoilers).

I read {book: We Spread] by Iain Reid.
Following Penny's thoughts with the care home she finds herself in is quite scary!

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

I read The Stranger by Albert Camus.

A Sea Of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young

In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn is mainly told by a character after she dies in the book so I’ll be using that!

I read Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

I’ve just read the neighbour by Lisa Gardner

Without giving anything away to others would this count? It beginnings with dialogue from a murdered person but later it’s not that simple.

Sally Rooney's Intermezzo

I would NOT recommend but fits the bill. However, does it put you in another head and scream and cringe , yes.

I'm reading Nightwatching for this prompt.

Annie Ernaux, Getting Lost
Beautiful Losers

These don't STRICTLY fall into the category of stream of consciousness, but they do emit the same *feeling*...

Or maybe: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close ??

Andrea wrote: "I read {book: We Spread] by Iain Reid.
Following Penny's thoughts with the care home she finds herself in is quite scary!"

Yes, this book was disturbing!!! So good though!

Lisa Marie wrote: "I planning on reading:


Beloved by Toni Morrison

HAPPY READING!!"

Such a good book! One of my favorite authors!

Rachael wrote: "All Fours"

Interested to hear your thoughts on this book... I know it was the big hit of last summer, but I didn't have a favorable reaction to it, to say the least...

I found that Model Home doesn't use quotation marks for dialogue and the protagonist's thoughts often wander to her past, so will be using it for this prompt. Enjoying so far.

Other books that are written without quotation marks for dialogue and written in stream-of-consciousness style are The Listeners and Solar Bones.

I am yet to read Ducks, Newburyport but it is experimental fiction written in a single long sentence, and judging from the online preview would also fit this prompt.

Trista wrote: "In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn is mainly told by a character after she dies in the book so I’ll be using that!"

This was a beautiful book. I read it for this prompt too.

Grace wrote: "I found that Model Home doesn't use quotation marks for dialogue and the protagonist's thoughts often wander to her past, so will be using it for this prompt. Enjoying so far.

Oth..."

I am going to read Ducks for this prompt. I started its but due to the single sentence structure it is hard to find a stopping place sop i am waiting for spring break when I'll be able to dedicate long stretches of time to it. I like what I read so far

The book I read for letter M, Milkman by Anna Burns, is an excellent book and can be used here

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins

I listened to From to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough.

Joyce Carol Oates often use stream of consciousness in her writing.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read “ The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende.

I read Beloved, which is not all in stream of conscience narrative but is in part.

I'm reading The one and only Evan

I read Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. Similar in style to Jose Saramago who I read for prompt 37.

I read Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill.

I read "The Hearing Test" by Eliza Barry Callahan

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman


An audiobook must - I loved it.

“Wide Sargasso Sea” by Jean Rhys is definitely stream-of- consciousness writing so it very confusing at times, but the vocabulary is beautiful. It also gives you the back story of Jane Eyre.