Nov 26, 2025

8 books that talk about existentialism

Aanya Mehta

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

A powerful blend of memoir and psychology exploring how purpose helps humans endure suffering.

Source: amazon.in

Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre

A defining existentialist novel that explores the feeling of absurdity and the search for authentic existence.

Source: amazon.in

The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

A profound essay on the absurd and Camus’ iconic idea that we must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Source: amazon.in

Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky

A foundational existential work questioning free will, self-awareness, and the contradictions of human behaviour.

Source: amazon.in

No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre

A powerful play exploring identity, relationships, and the existential idea that “hell is other people.”

Source: amazon.in

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse

A novel delving into inner conflict, alienation, and the journey toward self-acceptance and meaning.

Source: amazon.in

The Stranger by Albert Camus

Camus’ classic story of emotional detachment, fate, and the absurdity of life through the character Meursault.

Source: amazon.in

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

A philosophical masterpiece introducing ideas of self-overcoming, moral freedom, and the “Übermensch.”

Source: amazon.in

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