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If you loved
Books like Barrel Fever
A delightfully cynical romp through the bizarre, petty, and absurd corners of everyday human behavior. These 12 books are the closest matches in mood, pace and themes, with what each one shares with Barrel Fever.
- darkly comedic
- chaotic
- irreverent
- slightly unhinged
- 01
Holidays on Ice
David Sedaris · 1999
A hilarious, cynical antidote to the suffocating sweetness of the holiday season.
- 02
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
David Sedaris · 2004
A hilarious, sharp-tongued exploration of the inescapable, absurd, and ultimately endearing trap of family.
- 03
A supposedly fun thing I'll never do again
David Foster Wallace · 1997
A hyper-articulate, deeply neurotic plunge into the surreal and exhausting landscape of American leisure.
- 04
Pastoralia
George Saunders · 2000
A hilarious, heartbreaking funhouse mirror reflecting the soul-crushing absurdities of modern work and life.
- 05
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men
David Foster Wallace · 2001
A dizzying, darkly hilarious plunge into the neurotic, self-justifying minds of profoundly alienated people.
- 06
No One Belongs Here More Than You
Miranda July
A tender, delightfully weird exploration of lonely people fumbling toward connection in the most unexpected ways.
- 07
Don't Get Too Comfortable
David Rakoff
A bitingly funny, Wildean grand tour through the absurdities of American overconsumption and the special circle of gilded-age hell we've built for ourselves.
- 08
The Polysyllabic Spree
Nick Hornby · 2004
A laugh-out-loud, highly relatable chronicle of the eternal battle between the books we buy and the books we actually read.
- 09
I was told there'd be cake
Sloane Crosley
A wry and hilarious celebration of well-intentioned haplessness in the modern city.
- 10
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs
Chuck Klosterman
A hyper-caffeinated, wildly entertaining deep dive into the profound philosophical truths hidden inside our trashiest pop culture.
- 11
Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory
Raphael Bob-Waksberg
A bittersweet and imaginative collection of stories exploring the messy, imperfect nature of human connection.
- 12
Let the Dead Bury Their Dead
Randall Kenan
An intimate, atmospheric collection of short fiction exploring the intersections of Black and queer identity in the Carolinas.
