Many people who know me believe me to have an alternate reality or other land where I can sometimes be found to have wandered off to. My three favorite books all feature and other worldliness; Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll where the female protagonist falls down a rabbit burrow and finds herself in a curious place, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley the story of a strange future and the Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien where a man's travels in search of a black box brings him to a county that observes rules beyond his own logic.

Many of the aspects of these stories seem ridiculous or nonsensical and indeed they are. Freud stated that the liberating effect of the nonsense is that it relies on the way it shortcuts all logic: we escape adult rationality for an instant. Nonsense is a way of keeping out certain thoughts.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll
But these works are not purely escapism - Alice struggles with the world she finds herself in, it is her present reality and she must battle her sense of logic to find her place in it.
'Who are you?' said the Caterpillar.
Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I - I hardly know, Sir, just at present - at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'

And yet there is a logic, abet refreshing and alternate one; 'Take some more tea,' the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly. 'I've had nothing yet,' Alice replied in an offended tone: 'so I can't take more. ''You mean you can't take less,' said the Hatter: 'it's very easy to take more than nothing.'

The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien
Within the masterpiece that is the Third Policeman we find murder mystery a black comic satire, philosophy, physics including theories on molecular displacement and surrealistic tale of country life. But no matter how strange things get the protagonist is aware of his inner struggle to come to terms with his reality (in deed often talking part in discussions with his inner self).

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brave new world poses a difference to the two books discussed. As a future vision written in the 30's it proffers and alternate current reality for the reader. A satire, it shows in both a comic and black light the possible progress of many of man's technological advances (e.g. test tube babies) they may seem ridiculous but maintain an element of truth which is disturbing to the reader. Yes these stories are nonsense, yet not the nonsense of pure escapism, they are a madness that is all-round us and within us. They are a madness that is us. I am the madness.

Others:
Brokeback Mountain (short story) by Annie Proulx.
Amazingly beautifully written. This brought tears to my eyes. Perfect.