Almost every bookstore, all around the world, has one thing in common: labelled shelves with specific genres. Initially, genres were introduced to classify books into patterns and techniques that repeat within certain categories such as fantasy, memoir or literary fiction. It points readers towards titles that will appeal to them and helps them recognise motifs they enjoy while reading. However, what happens when a book is part-illustration, part-short story? Or when it is an immersive murder mystery game, but also a novel? The boundaries of genres blur and merge with each other. There is a certain beauty to these kinds of books, the ones that are multi-genre. In honour of that sentiment, here is a Platform curated list of multi-genre books that should find space on your bookshelf.
Cain’s Jawbone by Edward Powy’s Mathers
In 1934, famed crossword compiler Torquemada published a book of puzzles, all as terrifying as each other. But the final 100 pages were even more so: a modernist murder mystery novel, with all the pages out of order. The puzzler's goal is to identify the full names of all six victims and the murderer or murderers, as well as the exact order of the pages. Nothing hazy, nothing guessed at. Only the exact solution. Part game, part murder mystery, this book is not for the faint-hearted. Brought to India by Hachette, the mystery has only been solved by four people. Think you have it in you? You should probably get started right away.
Speedboat by Renata Adler
Jen Frain, the narrator, gives her thoughts as to being an urban American in the 1970s, but instead of looking into herself, she is far more interested in looking out; to such a degree that when describing her friends and the world around her, she is very close to being effaced from her own narrative. Speedboat may be void of any conventional plot, narrative or timeline, but it works somehow; it is a collection of vignettes, anywhere from a short paragraph to a few pages long. Adler is a writer’s writer at her core, and the words ‘novel’ or ‘fiction’ do not do justice to her prose, which is what makes her work gloriously multi-genre.
Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter
This jewel of a book is a wonderful reading experience; it truly is one of a kind. It's presented as a novella, but can be read more like a collection of poems. The language is inventive and brutal and beautiful, which is to say, it's not an easy read, even though it is very short. This book requires lingering and time to sit with it, given that it is narrated by a father who recently lost his wife, and his narrating his grief to his son. The book is also interspersed with rambles from a third character, ‘Crow’, who represents love, hope, and heartbreak, all at once.
Bluets by Maggie Nelson
As one might guess from the title, this book is about the colour blue. But it is also about so much more. Maggie Nelson delightfully refracts from the colour blue and talks about things so much larger than herself. There is something about the way it is structured which is particularly likeable, and that´s the fact that the paragraphs are numbered, as if that makes it more paused, and each paragraph is an important element for the whole. It is a poetry collection, but one could also call it a lyrical essay or memoir of sorts. Nelson’s usage of the disjointed form is stunning, as she introspects the loss of a partner, depression, the injury of a close friend and, yes, the colour blue.
Wolf’s Path by Joyce Chng
This collection tracks the author's writing over three phases, from their early experimentation to more recent work written during the pandemic, and it's all absolutely wonderful. Tracing themes of the monstrous and the animal, dystopia and history, the body and queerness, it's a love letter to Singapore and a fresh, exciting take on multi-genre fiction. It comprises short stories, poetry, art and cultural critique, and is the perfect read when you don’t feel like sticking to one genre shelf.
How to Forget by Meera Ganapathi
This book describes itself as a book of ‘short steps and long walks’. How to Forget: A Book of Short Steps and Long Walks, written by Meera Ganapathi, combines poetry and prose, and tells a story of childhood, love and longing through the very simple act of walking. The entire book is a love letter to the joys of walking in a city, and all the art that comes from it — prose, poetry, photography, meditations and more. You can read our interview with Meera Ganapathi here.
The Elsewhereans by Jeet Thayil
Jeet Thayil expertly combines fiction, travelogue, memoir, a family saga, and even a ghost story in The Elsewhereans. Thayil is unafraid to bend form, language, or plot, and each piece of writing — prose or poetry — feels intentionally crafted. He uses historical events as building blocks within his work, which lends itself very interestingly to the conventional format of a memoir. His writing is intense, and will take you on a journey around the world; Vietnam to China to Germany. You can read our interview with Jeet Thayil here.
Words Neeraja Srinivasan
Date 7-8-2025