Kunkel, Benjamin: *1972

Indecision, 2005 - Thematic Parallels: Search for Meaning in Life

Kunkel, Benjamin: Indecision, 2005
The novel is both a satirical coming-of-age story and a commentary on the disillusionment of young intellectuals during a politically and socially turbulent time.
The following books are thematically simliar. Having read "Indecision," the following texts lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Cunningham, Michael: A Home at the End of the World, 1990, ~340pp
  This novel delves into family relationships, generational ties, and the impact of heritage.
  Both novels explore questions of identity, emotional paralysis, alternative living arrangements, and the consequences of modern Western alienation, particularly through the lens of white middle-class men. Both align in their generational critique: American success has left its young inheritors with too much freedom, not enough community, and an overwhelming sense of emotional uncertainty.
- Higgins, Colin: Harold and Maude, 1971, ~110pp
  A darkly comic novel about a young man’s existential crisis and his relationship with an eccentric older woman, ultimately celebrating life, individuality, and the importance of living authentically.
  Both novels are meditations on how one finds meaning in an alienating world. Through love, absurdity, and self-reinvention, both Harold and Dwight escape the inertia of privilege. They arrive at the same realization: to live authentically is to embrace risk, contradiction, and engagement with the world.
- Maugham, W. Somerset: The Moon and Sixpence, 1919, ~210pp
  The novel follows a man who abandons conventional life in pursuit of artistic meaning, questioning societal values versus personal fulfillment.
  Both works dramatize a flight from bourgeois values in the name of self-actualization — "The Moon and Sixpence" through the myth of the tortured artist, "Indecision" through post-9/11 slow, unnoticed process of moving away.
- Sillitoe, Alan: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner, 1959, ~170pp
  The central character uses running as a metaphor for autonomy and self-definition, wrestling with the meaning of freedom and individual purpose in a restrictive society.
  Both works center on young male protagonists navigating alienation, autonomy, and resistance to dominant societal structures. They explore what happens when the individual comes up against systems designed to strip meaning, autonomy, and freedom. The protagonists illuminate the lonely, paradoxical nature of resistance in a world that offers few clear choices.
List of general discussion questions on Search for Meaning in Life (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Search for Meaning in Life (pdf)