Recommendations for novels with a pathetic, loser protagonist?
No obligatory “my diary” response yet? Daphne du Maurier excels at writing pathetic, loser protagonists who have to contend with charismatic and conniving characters. Rebecca is her most well-known and likely her best work
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann I don't know if Hans Castorp counts as pathetic, but certainly tries to avoid life at any cost. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis A medievalist that doesn't know anything about medieval history, perfect for pseuds.
No Longer Human - Dazai
Honestly I wouldn't characterize Oba as a pathetic loser moreso than someone who doesn't fit into the qualification of "being human" (like Roquentin in Nausea)
So Oba is a human being who doesn’t fit being human… and thus fails in that regard… and as such is a… loser. Checkmate gaytheist libtard B)
Strongly agree with everyone recommending Houellebecq. I have to recommend The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek and The Loser by Thomas Bernhard. Both have protagonists from Vienna who, while exceptional, fail to become truly great pianists.
Notes From Underground is the classic standard of a loser protag.
A long time ago I read a novel called The Fuck-Up. I think the author’s name was Nersesian?
You probably already know about Possibility of an Island and In the Miso Soup and such, but Butterfly Stories by Vollmann is the best losercore and frankly excels Houellebecq because of how vivid it is. There's also Trainspotting if you haven't read it yet. I didn't for a while because of the scots but you get used to it faster than you'd think. Someone shut that bairn up! High Life by Matthew Stokoe is another one if you're into that seedy LA style, or Cows also by Stokoe, but that one is fucked up.
Frederick Exley, A Fan's Notes. Richard Yates and Carson McCullers, their complete oeuvre.
incel by arx-han the elementary particles by houellebecq my personal favorite: oblomov by ivan goncharov (1850s russian NEET)
+1 for elementary particles still crazy that i read a girl breaking her back during an orgy with a straight face
excuse me what?
confederacy of dunces - incredibly funny book, and the protagonist is like every reddit moderator you have ever seen combined into one character