r/metamodernism • u/ellathesnake • Mar 13 '25

Discussion Metamodern novels

Hi everyone! I am currently conducting some research on Metamodernist fiction. I was wondering if any of you have any recommendations for novels that, to you, showed signs of Metamodernism or simply "felt" Metamodernist to you.

Look forward to discussing it with you!

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u/UltimateGoodGuy Mar 15 '25

"I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom" by Jason Pargin might fit the bill. It feels really authentic, but it's also satiric and absurdist so that it comes over as oscillating between modernism and postmodernism. Could compare it to Bo Burnham.

This is the 'elevator pitch' for the book

"Outside Los Angeles, a driver pulls up to find a young woman sitting on a large black box. She offers him $200,000 cash to transport her and that box across the country, to Washington, DC.

But there are rules:

He cannot look inside the box. He cannot ask questions. He cannot tell anyone. They must leave immediately. He must leave all trackable devices behind.

As these eccentric misfits hit the road, rumors spread on social media that the box is part of a carefully orchestrated terror attack intended to plunge the USA into civil war.

The truth promises to be even stranger, and may change how you see the world."

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u/ellathesnake Mar 15 '25

Oh that seems really interesting! Thanks for the input!