Hello! This feels, in a way, conceited but it’s my question! I have been reading a lot lately, some very intelligent authors, with very thoughtful characters, Like Dostoevsky, Camus, Baldwin, Morrison… It does seem though these characters fall into the realm of my own binary reasoning, where i tend to agree with them on most things and, I’m not sure if the things i disagree with are based in reality… i wonder if there are books, (i like literary fiction but for this sake i would read nonfiction), that glimpse into the world that I don’t quite understand, the world of thoughtless and selfish people? To help my understanding of what the heck is going on in the world around me.
I hope this question makes sense! Thank you for reading this!
Okay so the main character in this book is intelligent, but you also asked for selfish or thoughtless characters and I think Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively would fit this. It’s from the point of view of an elderly lady reflecting on her life and various relationships. She’s not a completely terrible person but she does make choices that hurt other people, and she’s not even always aware of the consequences of her actions. What I liked in particular was that throughout the book she recalls particular moments and things she said or did, but then the author will rewrite the same scene to show what happened in reality, usually with some subtle changes which reflect poorly on the MC. You also get the POV of another character telling their version of events that contradicts what the MC believes. I thought it was quite an interesting take on the nature of a flawed individual and how she sees herself, vs how the world around her sees her.
That sounds exactly like what I was hoping for, I really appreciate this recommendation! Reading your comment, I’m reminded of The Stranger by Camus, where you get perspectives from other characters about their perspective of situations where you initially had sided with the main character, it would be wise for me to reread it with this idea of disregard for the people around him, (instead of only disagreeing with him at the very end, as was how my first read went).
I am excited to read this now! Thank you : )