Plotless Novels

I am currently reading a book which could be described as plotless.  (See my review of it on Tuesday, November 7.)  Actually, I don’t think that any novel is really plotless; as long as there’s a character who performs actions, then there’s a plot.  Of course there are novels that are more character-driven than plot-driven and that’s really what I mean by plotless.

BookRiot recently published a list of six plotless novels:  https://bookriot.com/2017/10/28/praise-plotless-books/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Riot%20Rundown&utm_term=BookRiot_TheRiotRundown_Sun.  It includes the first novel I ever read that could be called plotless:  The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne. 

List Challenges has a list of 28 “Novels with No Plot Whatsoever”:  “These books not only have no story arc, but there is little character progression or change within the characters.  Instead, these books explore life through anecdotes, analysis, opinion, interjection, and a lack of concrete structure” (http://www.listchallenges.com/plotless-novels).