5 Disturbing Reading Recommendations

I am an avid writer and reader of dark and disturbing fiction. Here are five disturbing books that I would recommend. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Child of God by Cormac McCarthy

Child of God is a tautly written and concise work of ‘country noir’. Themes include loneliness and necrophilia.

My Review: Having been dispossessed of his land, Lester Ballard is now homeless and eking out an existence in the backwoods of Sevier County, East Tennessee. For food, he steals and forages. For … (more)

Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

Less Than Zero is about a privileged group of L.A. youngsters, who appear on the surface to have an idealistic life.

My Review: Set in nineteen-eighties Los Angeles, the story follows eighteen-year-old Clay, returned home for Christmas from college in New Hampshire. Clay immediately falls back into the L.A. social … (more)

The Blade Artist by Irvine Welsh

The complex and manipulative protagonist, sordid characters and squalid descriptions will appeal to fans of the Transgressive genre.

My Review: Reformed Scottish ex-con Jim Francis (formerly Franco Begbie) is now a successful sculptor living the dream in sunny California with his former prison art therapist now trophy wife … (more)

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

First published in 1962, A Clockwork Orange is a ground-breaking and controversial work boasting an intriguing and intelligent narrator.

My Review: Alex is an eccentric 15-year-old delinquent with a penchant for classical music and drinking milk. He and his fellow ‘droogs’ assault, rob and rape with impunity, that is until a … (more)

 The Killer Inside Me 

The Killer Inside Me is a suspenseful and unrelentingly bleak first person narrative about a psychopath.

My Review: Twenty-nine-year-old Lou Ford is a Deputy Sheriff from the West Texas town of Central City. Lou, who is in a long-term relationship with childhood sweetheart Amy Stanton … (more)