Jen Beagin is known for contemporary literary fiction with dark humor and originality. Her novels Pretend I'm Dead and Vacuum in the Dark offer sharp insights into life's absurdities, featuring unique and memorable characters.
If you enjoy reading books by Jen Beagin then you might also like the following authors:
Ottessa Moshfegh writes darkly funny stories about oddball characters and messy lives. Her novels often explore loneliness, alienation, and the strange quirks people hide beneath ordinary surfaces.
If you enjoyed Jen Beagin's mix of dark humor and introspection, try Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation, which follows a young woman's attempt to escape her problems by sleeping for an entire year.
Mona Awad creates unsettling but hilarious stories with unusual characters and twisted plots. Her writing tackles themes like identity, self-image, and obsession with a sharp, sometimes surreal approach.
Fans of Jen Beagin might connect with Awad's novel Bunny, which humorously explores toxic friendships and the intensity of artistic ambition at an elite MFA program.
Melissa Broder is honest, funny, and often brutally direct in the way she confronts her characters' inner struggles. She skillfully explores desire, mental health, and flawed relationships with wit and sincerity.
Readers who loved Jen Beagin's candid storytelling might enjoy Broder's The Pisces, a raw and funny tale about love, obsession, and existential anxiety featuring an unusual romance with a merman.
Halle Butler writes sharp and bleakly humorous stories about ordinary people stuck in mundane lives and frustrating routines. Her characters are often sarcastic, dissatisfied, and refreshingly honest about their struggles.
If you appreciate Jen Beagin's dry, dark humor and quirky realism, you'll likely enjoy Butler's The New Me, a short, biting novel about the absurdity and hopelessness of modern office life.
Miranda July tells poignant and quirky stories about vulnerable, awkward, and deeply human characters. Her fiction mixes humor, sincerity, and emotional depth with a sense of wonder about life's absurdities.
If Jen Beagin's observations of human behavior appealed to you, try July's The First Bad Man, a funny and heartfelt novel centered around an emotionally guarded woman whose orderly world falls apart when a younger houseguest moves in.
Alissa Nutting writes darkly humorous stories full of sharp satire and absurd situations. Her novel Tampa offers a provocative look at twisted desires and social taboos through uncomfortable comedy.
Like Jen Beagin, Nutting explores unsettling topics boldly, balancing disturbing elements with wry wit.
Maria Semple creates lively, funny novels featuring quirky yet relatable characters caught up in everyday absurdities. Her novel Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a witty, charming story full of sharp humor and unconventional family dynamics.
Fans of Jen Beagin's offbeat style and vivid characters will appreciate Semple's equally humorous take on modern life.
Kevin Wilson blends dark comedy with genuine warmth, creating stories about dysfunctional families and unusual people who struggle to fit in. In his book Nothing to See Here, Wilson brings a funny, inventive perspective to themes of friendship, responsibility, and loneliness.
Readers who appreciate the quirky, heartfelt characters in Jen Beagin's work will enjoy Wilson's playful yet thoughtful storytelling.
Patrick deWitt is known for his sharp wit and eccentric, memorable characters. In French Exit, he follows a wealthy, unconventional mother and son duo as their privileged life crumbles in delightfully twisted ways.
Much like Jen Beagin, deWitt finds humor in flawed people facing life's absurdities.
Leigh Stein writes candid, relatable fiction that blends humor and sadness, highlighting millennial anxieties and awkward social interactions. Her novel Self Care satirizes toxic wellness culture, social media overwhelm, and female ambition with biting humor and sharp insights.
Stein's irreverent yet thoughtful tone will resonate with readers who appreciate Jen Beagin's blend of frank honesty, humor, and contemporary observations.
Chelsea G. Summers writes dark, sharp, and wickedly humorous fiction that boldly explores difficult themes.
In her book, A Certain Hunger, she combines sharp wit and satire to explore the complexities of appetite, desire, and violence through the eyes of a charismatic food critic turned serial killer.
Weike Wang has a precise, insightful style with subtle humor and tender emotional observations. Her novel, Chemistry, focuses on a young woman navigating relationships, academic pressures, and identity struggles within the scientific world.
Wang's concise storytelling and dry wit make her work quietly moving and enjoyable.
Megan Stielstra is a talented essayist known for clear, personal, and deeply relatable writing. Her work, The Wrong Way to Save Your Life, features honest reflections on motherhood, anxiety, creativity, and identity, all told in a voice that's authentic, funny, and deeply human.
Samantha Irby writes hilarious, blunt, and unapologetically honest essays about everyday life and awkward situations.
In her collection, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, she delves into her personal experiences around dating, friendship, body image, and mental health, always with a sharp sense of humor and refreshing honesty.
Elif Batuman writes bright, perceptive fiction that thoughtfully and humorously captures coming-of-age experiences, complicated relationships, and the ironies of life.
Her novel, The Idiot, tells the story of a young student's first year at Harvard, full of romantic confusion, awkward encounters, and intellectual exploration, all told with gentle wit and warmth.