A Trip for One: Exploring Healthy Escapism
Taking a break is something that we all need to do every once in a while, especially when the stresses of everyday life begin to pile up. This is what’s known as escapism.
Escapism is defined as a way of detaching from unpleasant realities, especially by thinking, reading, or otherwise immersing oneself in more exciting activities. It’s harmless in theory, but often bears negative connotations because of its links to avoidance, emotional suppression, or to depressive symptoms. When used excessively, escapism could allow unresolved problems in real life to snowball. We also run the risk of it turning into a regular habit, which we turn to whenever the slightest inconvenience arises.
But as with most things, there are two sides to escapism. As a short-term solution in stressful situations, escapism creates a safe space from which we may recalibrate our thoughts before returning to our problems with a clear, fresh mind. In more emotionally overwhelming instances, it might be conducive to redirect our awareness — instead of mindlessly reacting — to cool down and properly process our feelings.
There are many ways in which we can indulge in escapism. Watching movies, whipping up a good meal, doodling, exercising or being in nature can be wonderful ways of taking some time for ourselves. But of course, we highly recommend reading — and what better way to escape and distract ourselves than to dive into a surrealistic read or two.
Surrealism is a cultural and largely aesthetic movement that began in the aftermath of World War I that sought to tap into and express the unconscious mind. In Surrealism, strange, dreamlike and at times, unnerving situations are depicted in irrational forms, free from the constraints of reality to explore the impossible. In other words, expect the unexpected and be prepared to be taken on an adventure.
So if you’re in need of a break from the everyday, here are some books that might just be the respite you need.
1. The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington
Artist, painter and novelist Leonora Carrington is no stranger to the realm of surrealism, having been a part of the Surrealist movement of the 1930s. Her works as an artist are haunting yet dreamlike, and many of them explore the female body and female sexuality, which was a point of interest within the Surrealist movement as well. Her novel, The Hearing Trumpet, which delves into themes of aging and the female body, is similarly strange and wonderful.
The story begins with 92-year-old Marian Leatherby, a woman who, hard of hearing, has been given the gift of a hearing trumpet. With it, she discovers that her family plans to and eventually does admit her to a retirement home for old women, but one quite unlike any that we know of on earth. This home along the outskirts of Mexico consists of oddly-shaped buildings — some in the shape of a boot, some an igloo and others an Egyptian sarcophagus. The events that unfold within the premises and its residents are equally unusual — think occult rituals, murders and the search for the Holy Grail.
Though it is a rather brief read, The Hearing Trumpet provides an amusing, poignant glimpse into a strangely captivating world akin to an apocalyptic fairy tale which readers would thoroughly enjoy exploring.
Get the book here: Physical Copy
2. The Nose by Nikolai Gogol
Imagine waking up one day without a nose, and then finding your nose dressed up as and pretending to be a high ranking civil servant, running around the neighbourhood. This is what happens to Major Kovalyov, a minor official who acts as if he is of a much higher status, in Nikolai Gogol’s novella, The Nose. The story follows Kovalyov on a wild goose chase as he attempts to locate and reattach his nose, an adventure that ends as abruptly as it began (don’t worry, no spoilers here).
Despite its simplicity in plot, the novel has been adapted into a fun, wild, absurdist opera by Dimitri Shostakovich. The Royal Opera’s take on the opera even sees eight giant noses dancing in perfect synchronicity, which is something that Gogol would probably have enjoyed very much — he was known to have a keen interest in noses, having described this very specific body part and the olfactory sense in great detail in a few of his other novels. Perhaps it’s because Gogol himself was known to have a rather sharp, distinctive nose himself. Either way, The Nose is a story well worth checking out.
Watch the iconic dancing nose scene here.
Get the book here: eBook
3. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Whenever Franz Kafka is mentioned, The Metamorphosis probably comes to mind. One of Kafka’s best known works, the novel tells the tale of salesman Gregor Samsa who one day wakes up as a giant beetle-like insect and has to navigate and adapt to life as a bug. Both funny and touching, the novel sees Samsa’s family fall apart as they come to terms with his transformation.
Kafka was known for works that combined elements of surrealism and realism, and his protagonists usually find themselves in one form of bizarre predicament or another. With The Metamorphosis, Kafka relegated the pitiful Samsa to the life of an insect, stripped of humanly functions and forms of communication. Once the family’s sole breadwinner, he is now a physically repulsive, burdensome dependent on his impoverished family. He is unable to express his love for his family, and can only watch as they struggle to get by.
As readers, we live in Samsa’s small family home with him, becoming increasingly alienated and isolated in his dark room. And as we watch the rest of the family go about their simple, mundane lives through Samsa’s eyes, we too begin to question the human experience — of guilt, inadequacy and human existence.
Get the book here: Physical Copy, eBook, Audiobook
4. The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe
Some surrealistic stories have very magical, dreamlike elements while others, like Kobo Abe’s The Woman in the Dunes, are chilling in its realism. Abe’s story charts the disappearance of Jumpei Niki, a schoolteacher and insect collector from Tokyo, after he visits a rural fishing village to collect insects. The rural fishing village exists among undulating sand dunes, with houses standing in crevices hollowed out within the dunes. The residents of these houses lead simple, monotonous lives, and spend their days sleeping and their nights shovelling sand to keep themselves from being buried alive.
This precarious form of existence described in the novel seems both realistic yet improbable at the same time — after all, how can anyone live in a deep, dark sandpit? As the story progresses, the keen sense of claustrophobia creeps up on us as readers, and this Sisyphean way of life grows more unsettling with each page.
Coupled with eerily beautiful line illustrations, The Woman in the Dunes is a story that is bound to leave an imprint on readers.
Get the book here: Physical Copy, eBook, Audiobook
All books featured are available via the NLB Mobile app or at our public libraries.
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Text by
National Reading Movement
National Library Board
