Why Are So Many Contemporary Novelists Not Naming the Narrator?

The article highlights a trend in contemporary fiction where many novels feature narrators without names.

This trend has been noted since at least 2015, when critic Sam Sacks called it an 'epidemic' in the New Yorker.

Examples include novels like Audition by Katie Kitamura, Transcription by Ben Lerner, My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy, and Life of M by Rachel Cusk.

These narrators are not confined to specific genres like apocalypse or thriller novels but appear in plot-light, 'vibe-heavy' literary fiction.

The absence of a name often becomes noticeable only after finishing the book, leaving readers unaware of a fundamental detail about the narrator despite knowing intimate aspects of their life.