Laura Van Den Berg is an acclaimed fiction writer known for her thoughtful exploration of human connections and isolation. Her notable works include The Third Hotel and the short story collection I Hold a Wolf by the Ears.
If you enjoy reading books by Laura Van Den Berg then you might also like the following authors:
Kelly Link creates strange, imaginative stories that often blend elements of magical realism with everyday life. Her stories frequently show ordinary situations that slowly reveal an undercurrent of mystery and fantasy, taking surprising turns as they go.
Her collection Get in Trouble is an excellent example, filled with quirky characters, unexpected events, and a subtle sense of unease. If Laura Van Den Berg appeals to you for her mysterious, dream-like stories, Kelly Link will likely become a favorite.
Karen Russell writes stories characterized by unique settings and a playful sense of the bizarre. She mixes supernatural or fantastical elements into everyday experiences, giving her writing a slightly surreal but accessible style.
Her novel Swamplandia! follows a family that runs a failing amusement park in the Florida swamp, blending humor, tenderness, and eerie surprises. Readers who enjoy Laura Van Den Berg's blending of the real and the strange will find Russell appealing.
Carmen Maria Machado writes stories that deal with women's experiences, identity, and complicated relationships, often blending horror and fantasy with literary fiction. Her prose is vivid, emotional, and carefully crafted to reveal deeper truths about human experience.
In her short story collection Her Body and Other Parties, Machado explores unsettling themes through imaginative situations, much like Laura Van Den Berg's style of subtly exploring psychology and mystery through strange stories.
Yoko Ogawa crafts quiet, unsettling narratives that draw readers into strange, surreal worlds through understated prose. Her writing often touches on themes of memory, identity, and loss.
In her novel The Housekeeper and the Professor, Ogawa beautifully portrays the subtle bonds that form between unlikely people, with careful attention to the details of everyday life.
If you appreciate Laura Van Den Berg's exploration of loneliness, relationships, and subtle mystery, you'll enjoy Ogawa's thoughtful, quiet storytelling.
Ottessa Moshfegh is known for her dark, sharply observed fiction that explores characters who often feel alienated or disconnected from the world. Her writing is blunt, humorous, and deeply insightful into the quiet messiness of human lives.
Her novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation portrays a woman's desperate attempt to numb herself to reality through isolation and sleep, blending dark humor and psychological insight.
If you appreciate Laura Van Den Berg's introspective, slightly unsettling stories about deep human anxieties, Moshfegh will likely resonate with you as well.
Amelia Gray writes quirky, surreal stories that blend dark humor with unsettling twists. Her fiction explores strange situations and eccentric characters, often highlighting absurd aspects of everyday life.
Gray's book Threats is a novel about loss and paranoia, where clues and mysterious messages create a dream-like and compelling atmosphere.
Helen Oyeyemi's fiction blurs reality and fairy tale, often building complex narratives full of folklore and magical realism. Her stories examine identity, myth, and the boundaries between the ordinary and the uncanny.
In Boy, Snow, Bird, Oyeyemi retells Snow White using themes of race, family secrets, and shifting identities, offering readers both depth and wonder.
Alexandra Kleeman explores unsettling visions of contemporary life through clear prose and surreal intensity. Her fiction examines consumerism, media, identity, and isolation, creating narratives both eerie and emotionally insightful.
Her novel You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine satirically critiques modern culture's obsession with appearance and selfhood, presenting characters trapped in increasingly strange and unsettling experiences.
Catherine Lacey's writing is introspective and emotionally charged, confronting solitude, uncertainty, and identity crises head-on. Her stories often feature characters struggling with isolation, existential anxiety, and the search for meaning in contemporary life.
Her novel Nobody Is Ever Missing follows a woman who impulsively leaves her life behind, creating a haunting, introspective narrative exploring loss, alienation, and freedom.
Jenny Offill's style is fragmentary and concise, capturing complex emotions and daily insights through playful snapshots. She combines humor with honesty, portraying relationships, parenting, and human anxiety in a vivid and authentic way.
Offill's book Dept. of Speculation offers a sharp, impressionistic view of marriage and motherhood, bringing depth and poignant humor to ordinary moments and quiet doubts.
Sheila Heti writes fiction that often feels experimental, personal, and reflective. She explores themes of identity, creativity, selfhood, and relationships through candid and insightful narratives.
In her novel How Should a Person Be?, Heti blends fiction, memoir, and philosophy to examine the struggles of a young woman finding her place in the world.
Julia Armfield's stories have a distinct atmospheric quality, often playful yet eerie. She focuses on women protagonists, exploring isolation, longing, and transformations within relationships and oneself.
Her short story collection Salt Slow includes stories blending realistic characters with strange and unsettling situations, tapping into the uncanny elements found in everyday life.
Clare Vaye Watkins writes sharp, vividly detailed fiction often centered around the stark environments and harsh realities of the American West. Her stories examine themes of isolation, survival, nature, and identity with poetic intensity.
Her book Battleborn offers a collection of powerful stories set in Nevada, portraying characters at crucial crossroads in their complex inner lives.
Samantha Schweblin is an Argentine author whose fiction is lean and unsettling, featuring psychological unease and ambiguous supernatural elements. She explores dread, anxiety, fear, and the fragility of everyday life in stories that linger beyond their endings.
Her novella Fever Dream is an intense narrative exploring motherhood, environmental damage, and a mysterious illness in a haunting, dreamlike manner.
Rivka Galchen writes inventive fiction where ordinary reality often skews into the surreal. Her style explores identity, perception, memory, and the strange intersections between science and human experience.
In the novel Atmospheric Disturbances, a psychiatrist navigates confusion and paranoia when he suspects his wife has been replaced by a mysterious impostor, prompting a witty exploration of psychology, relationships, and the limits of reason.