What makes a novel like Irritant so exciting—not that there are many novels like Irritant—is it widens the range of narrative possibility to include both information and exformation.
Peter Mattei's The Deep Whatsis has a rich, self-centered misogynist snob as its main character, delivers a narrative filtered through the male gaze, and promises a transformation that its conclusion fails to deliver. Despite those unlikable ingredients, reading the book is very satisfying experience.