if i liked the movie l'avventura, what books will i like?

June 25, 2013 11:52 PM

i really like the slow/subtle treatment of ennui/cultureshock/different manifestations of love/and the engaging "nonplot"
posted by sawyerrrr to Writing & Language (8 answers total)

You want A Month in the Country by JL Carr. It's fabulous, and is about exactly what you've described. Exactly. It's quite short, so you can (and should) read it every year.
posted by OmieWise at 2:55 AM on June 26, 2013

This isn't really fiction, but you might try Roland Barthes' A Lover's Discourse.

I also imagina Virgina Woolf might fit the bill.
posted by munyeca at 8:15 AM on June 26, 2013

I love that movie (and others like it) and loved the book Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb. Another great one is A Fool's Paradise by Anita Konkka.
posted by perhapses at 10:09 AM on June 26, 2013

I sort of feel that The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes fits the bill here.
posted by thinkpiece at 1:33 PM on June 26, 2013

Two great movies that come to mind are The Holy Girl from Argentina and Summer Hours from France.
posted by umbú at 9:29 AM on June 27, 2013

Sorry! I read quickly and thought you were asking for recommendations of both books and movies. Carry on...
posted by umbú at 7:25 PM on June 27, 2013

Alberto Moravia's Boredom (his other books are good too, if you like that one you should try Contempt).

Also similar are the George Simenon books that aren't police procedurals. Say, something like Three Bedrooms in Manhattan.

And if you want something depressing and American, give Richard Yates a try (The Easter Parade, like L'avventura, has a female protagonist that is just drifting thru life)
posted by MrMisterio at 11:17 AM on June 29, 2013

L'avventura's one of the films on the top of my watch-list, but I read the thread and immediately thought Journey By Moonlight by Antal Szerb too. happily nthing A Lover's Discourse & Easter Parade as well.
posted by lethologues at 1:05 PM on June 30, 2013