Beautifully written, shadowed edges

I love books that are written so beautifully it's like they're straight out of a fantasy. Even mediocre story lines can be made enjoyable when the writing effortlessly flows from page to page. It is special to find books that engage readers with their characters through meticulously constructed sentences, bringing the events to life as your eyes scan the pages. Books like these with a darker side to them are especially engaging, making each occurrence chill-worthy. It makes reading more of an emotional roller coaster than those without that darkness. Below, I’ve chosen a few favorites that are dreamily written with a dark side.

I can’t bring together a collection of dreamlike books without discussing “The Night Circus” (2011) by Erin Morgenstern. Each word is eloquently chosen with great care, bringing together the most magical story I’ve read and one I return to again and again. Morgenstern outlines the life of Le Cirque des Rêves -- or the Circus of Dreams -- a circus travelling mysteriously from place to place, only open from dusk until dawn, and its performers, each players in a larger game of rivalries and debts. The characters shine in the story, from the contortionist who always hints that she knows a bit more than she should, to the small farm boy living in Victorian Concord, Massachusetts who dreams of joining the circus.Morgenstern paints sparkling pictures with her words as the story falls into place from a variety of perspectives and leaps through time. No other writer manages to come close to Morgenstern’s talent in creating such an enticing and magical story based in dreams and the line between reality and fantasy.

Falling more into a nightmarish realm of writing, Iain Banks’ “The Wasp Factory” (1984) has a darkness that is evident on every page. The story follows Frank Cauldhame, a young boy living on an island with his father, and his descent into murderous thoughts and actions, though he believes his actions are by no fault of his own. Frank struggles with his fear that his older brother, recently escaped from a mental hospital, is coming to hurt him. Frank's anxieties manifest themselves in horrifying ways, all completely changing Frank for the rest of his life. Certainly not for the faint of heart, in "The Wasp Factory," Banks illuminates the complex emotions raging inside of Frank. He creates a story that seems entirely plausible, and one in which it's almost too easy to insert yourself into Frank’s shoes.

Perhaps the most well known book on this list, Franz Kafka’s “The Trial” (1925) is a book of confusion and darkness, and one story, that of Josef K., that is never quite satisfyingly resolved. It follows Josef K. who is on trial for a crime neither he nor the reader knows he committed. Josef is greeted by two unknown officers at his door one day, who tell him he's been charged with a crime but don't arrest him. Josef K. instead follows mysterious instructions to investigate on his own. He examines who could have summoned him and for what. His searching unravels the world he knew, bringing his story to an ending he both expects and refuses to accept. Kafka’s style is renowned for being absurd and detailed, and it is no clearer than in “The Trial.” He keeps the reader right alongside Josef, shedding little light for either reader or protagonist until it’s too late.

Beautifully written books are hard to come by, and they are made even better when an air of mystery and darkness taints their otherwise dazzling stories. So is coming across great textiles. Books that have a shadowed edge feel truthful in their storytelling, and the realism makes them frightening but strangely alluring. These books are few in number, so take advantage of their splendor when you find them.