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so ask already!!! > Self-Conscious, Self-Referential, Metafiction

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message 1: by Mostly on Storygraph (last edited Oct 18, 2014 10:33AM) (new)

Mostly on Storygraph | 46 comments Looking for recent novels (say, after 1980s) that draw the reader's attention to the fact that they are reading a book.

Here's an example from an earlier time period: Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler opens with "You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler."

A less obvious example: Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being features a character named Ruth Ozeki who eventually crosses over into the world of her characters in a subtle but interesting way that makes the reader aware of their own reading of her novel.

I'd prefer:
-Recent, post-1980s fiction
-Written by women
-And/or written by non-white authors
but would love to hear of any examples at all!

(Most of the standard go-to examples that people have of this genre--like John Barth, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Danielewski, Ian McEwan, etc.--are by white male authors, so I'm trying to go off the beaten path.)

Thanks in advance!


message 2: by Sophie (new)

Sophie (notemily) | 24 comments Not by a woman or POC, but: Sophie's World is very metafictional.


message 3: by karen, future RA queen (new)

karen (karenbrissette) | 1315 comments Mod
there's this one:

White Space

which is by a woman, but it is YA, if that matters. it's more of an adventure/horror/dark fantasy thing than litt'ry metafiction, but it's good, and while it doesn't address the reader directly like calvino, it's definitely about the blurring of "real" and "written."

everything else i can think of right now is all by dudes.


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