What genre would this be?

by Em
(Italy)

Question: I wrote something but I don't know how to classify it.


It's about someone who goes on telling their partner the story of their life and career, but at the very end you realize it's all in their head, like they're a little crazy and they're alone in a room imagining the whole thing.

Response: Well, it sounds a little like psychological suspense, which is a genre in which the reader (and in this case the partner) have to figure out how much of what the main character perceives is real and how much is delusion. The main character is generally going through an inner nightmare in which they are suffering from delusions or obsessions, or they may be going mad or losing their grip on reality or their sense of identity.

However, it also depends on the tone (which I can't be sure from your brief description). Usually, psychological suspense has a dark, scary atmosphere -- because madness is scary. For instance, at what point does the partner realize the main character is mad, and are they safe?

Sometimes this genre goes by other names (psychological horror, psychological mystery, or psychological thriller). Sometimes it's seen as a subgenre of suspense.

Best of luck.

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