Roadside Picnic

Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's Roadside Picnic is unlike any book I've ever read. It tells the story of a sort of post-apocalyptic world in which aliens landed on Earth and left very shortly afterwards. No one saw the aliens or knows what they were doing and why they did it, but they left behind zones which have remnants of their presence: objects left behind, forces and earthly things which have been altered, etc. Certain risk-takers sneak into the zones in hopes of collecting objects to sell (for collection or scientific exploration). Scientists also hire some of these men to guide them through the zones to study them. Red is one of these men, and the novel's main story concerns the way that the zone affects Red and his family. He marries the woman of his dreams, but he puts himself in danger, their daughter devolves and his father is brought back to life (in a zombified state).
There are some insightful speeches about things like religion, politics, humanity, and science. However, this books feels neither very haunting nor exciting. The whole thing feels confusing, just like the zone. Roadside Picnic doesn't quite seem to follow the rules of novel structure. For example, each section of the book is told in a different way or from a different perspective: the introduction is a radio interview, but the other sections generally tell Red's story from either the first- or third-person perspective.
I am glad that I read this as I think it was a unique experience, but I don't know that I would read it again. If I ever do, it will be to try to understand it better. The storyline is clear, but a class discussion left me questioning what exactly the ending means. Unfortunately, it's been long enough that I don't remember what exactly the debate was about.
I think that this is a real deviation from typical science-fiction (or at least stereotypical SF). If you're looking for something different, this might just be the thing.