Valentine’s Day Book Recommendations for Freaks

Sticky book recommendations about infatuation, obsession, and love.

''La Belle Dame sans Merci'' by Frank Dicksee (1901)

I’m not one for romance as a genre unless it’s about queers and specifically set at Christmas, the only time of year that I allow myself to feel sentimental. Regarding books on love, I am more likely to devour books about obsession. I want the relationships to be messy and forbidden. Love should be sticky and human. The characters should be freaks. So, if you want to read something off-kilter this Valentine’s Day - give these a go.

My Husband by Maud Ventura

A woman with synesthesia who is driven mad by her obsession with her aloof husband. In an erratic stream of consciousness, the main character fixates on every perceived slight that her husband makes against her and attempts to punish him accordingly. The final chapters had me sweaty and then outraged. This book was originally translated from French and was my top-rated book of 2024. I don’t think the writing is special, but that could be the translation. Despite this, I cannot wait for Ventura’s upcoming translation Make Me Famous.

‘No one can see my neuroses except me. The way I see myself is not how other people see me. Everything is okay. I belong here.’

The Pisces by Melissa Broder

When I picked up Pisces, I didn’t realise it was written by the same author as So Sad Today. If I had, I probably wouldn’t have read it because So Sad Today is simply an awful book. Fortunately for Broder, this book was on the ‘Hot Girls Books’ list I was working through, and since I’m not very astute, I gave it a crack. I have since read all of Broder’s books. I don’t think I am her target audience (and I’m not sure who is) but I can say that this is her best one. But also who am I to judge? I can barely spell The Pisces.

Lucy, a PhD candidate writing her thesis on Sappho, retreats to LA to housesit for the summer. Lucy has been trying to distract herself from her failings in various ways (group therapy, tinder hookups etc) but finds something worth being consumed by when she meets a ripped dude lying on the rocks. She later discovers that he is a merman (don’t worry, the tail starts after his penis. Reflecting, I think that would make swimming around a nightmare - but it works better for the story).

The thing I like the least about Broder’s writing is that she hits you over the head with whatever she is trying to say. What sets The Pisces apart from her other work is that I wanted to be hit over the head with this story. I want a sexy merman to turn up in my life - even if his motives are a bit fishy.

Vladimir by Julia May Jonas

Vladimir’s plot is driven by pretentious academics at a third-rate college, which is a position I could imagine myself in one day. The main character begins obsessing over Vladimir as her marriage crumbles around her. One thing that stuck out to me in this book was when the main character describes Vladimir’s penis as thin (spoiler alert, she successfully seduces him). I was expecting him to be a girthy king.

The ending of this book felt rushed which overall tarnished the reading experience, but I still enjoyed it enough to recommend it.

Bear by Marian Engel

First of all, this book was written in 1976. When I found that out I was shocked. Not just because the story feels current, but because it’s about a woman fucking a bear.

Yes, it’s a deeply introspective novel about a shy woman who is called to an estate on a remote island but it’s also about fucking a bear.

This book is quite atmospheric and creepy, but I couldn’t help but wish that I lived in an ailing mansion on an island. It ends exactly how you would expect a bear/lady romance would end (not well).

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

A transcriptionist for a sex therapist becomes obsessed with one of his patients. I think the characters are hyperbolies of themselves in a camp way.

Big Swiss is as much a book about obsession as it is about trauma. It’s hilarious but at times deeply unsettling or uncomfortable. You want to scream at the protagonist as she continues to make a series of the worst decisions you could imagine. The presence of bugs and grime in contrast to the clean aesthetic of the protagonist’s love interest is a bit much.

This book is kooky and really divided my book club (me vs everyone else). If you’ve read any of my other reviews you’ll know I often think books are 100 pages too long. This one I think could have cut 150 and been significantly better.

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyong Frazier

After her father dies, a pregnant young woman avoids everything and everyone except for one of her customers.

The relationship that blossoms in this book is messy and, at times, tender. The protagonist is grappling with grief, impending motherhood, feelings of suffocation, and micro-aggression. A staple in weird-girl lit.

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

If you are a lesbian and we have crossed paths since I read this book, I have probably already told you how good it is.

To be with her is a sin, to be without her is a tragedy

Set in the 90s Ireland, Sunburn tells the story of two teenage girls in love. Their love is juvenile and messy, just like all teenage romances. The writing though, oh my god. It’s just beautiful. I cannot recommend it enough. It’s kind of like if Normal People was gay but also good.