ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

12 apocalyptic novels to read during pandemic

publication · 2026-04-27

Marco Enrico Giacomelli curates a list of twelve apocalyptic novels for Artribune, published in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The selection includes Stephen King's 'The Stand' (1978, Italian edition Bompiani 2017), Albert Camus's 'The Plague' (Bompiani 2017), José Saramago's 'Blindness' (Feltrinelli 2013), Fred Vargas's 'Parti in fretta e non tornare' (Einaudi 2004), Jan Weiss's 'The House of a Thousand Floors' (Santi Quaranta 2005), Antonio Moresco's 'Canto di D'Arco' (SEM 2019), Stig Dagerman's 'Island of the Doomed' (Guida 1985), Boris Vian's 'Heartsnatcher' (Marcos y Marcos 1993), William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' (Mondadori 2003), Tullio Avoledo's 'Le radici del cielo' (Multiplayer.it 2011), Jeff VanderMeer's 'Southern Reach Trilogy' (Einaudi 2015), and Joe R. Lansdale's 'The Drive-In Trilogy' (Einaudi 2019). Each entry includes publisher, year, page count, price, and ISBN. The article also promotes Artribune's newsletters and WhatsApp channel.

Key facts

  • List of 12 apocalyptic novels curated by Marco Enrico Giacomelli
  • Published on Artribune in March 2020
  • Includes Stephen King's 'The Stand' (1978)
  • Includes Albert Camus's 'The Plague' (1947)
  • Includes José Saramago's 'Blindness' (1995)
  • Includes William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' (1984)
  • Each entry provides publisher, year, page count, price, ISBN
  • Article promotes Artribune newsletters and WhatsApp channel

Entities

Artists

  • Marco Enrico Giacomelli
  • Stephen King
  • Albert Camus
  • José Saramago
  • Fred Vargas
  • Jan Weiss
  • Antonio Moresco
  • Stig Dagerman
  • Boris Vian
  • William Gibson
  • Tullio Avoledo
  • Jeff VanderMeer
  • Joe R. Lansdale
  • René Daumal
  • China Miéville
  • Dmitrij Gluchovskij
  • Arkadi Strugatzki
  • Boris Strugatzki
  • Andrej Tarkovskij
  • Luis Buñuel

Institutions

  • Artribune
  • Bompiani
  • Feltrinelli
  • Einaudi
  • Santi Quaranta
  • SEM
  • Guida
  • Marcos y Marcos
  • Mondadori
  • Multiplayer.it
  • Giunti

Locations

  • Orano
  • Algeri
  • Parigi
  • Los Angeles
  • Mosca
  • Venezia
  • Texas
  • Italia
  • Francia
  • Russia
  • Stati Uniti

Sources