Bret Easton Ellis | Guy Portman's Blog

Transgressive Fiction: A History (Part 2)

Mar 23 2018

For those not familiar with this literary form Transgressive literature is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways …(more)

The following recent and contemporary Transgressive authors are presented in chronological order. Click on the book links to read my reviews.

Charles Bukowski

August 16th 1920 – March 9th 1994

Notable Transgressive Works: Post Office, Women, Ham on Rye

Charles Bukowski’s visceral writing was heavily influenced by his home city of Los Angeles. He wrote about disillusionment, alcohol consumption, women, a loathing of authority and the dehumanising nature of low-level employment. His seminal work, Post Office, is a semi-autobiographical account of his years of drudgery at the post office.

Hunter S. Thompson

July 18th 1937 – February 20th 2005

Notable Transgressive Works: Hells Angels, Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, The Rum Diary

Irvine Welsh

Born: September 27th 1958

Notable Transgressive Works: Trainspotting, The Acid House, Skagboys, Filth, Porno

Controversial themes in Welsh’s writing include drug abuse, soccer hooliganism, sexual perversion, inner city poverty and brutality. His first book, Trainspotting, is about Scottish housing scheme dwelling heroin addicts. Filth has a tapeworm afflicted, misanthropic, corrupt policeman as its protagonist.

Bret Easton Ellis

Born: March 7th 1964

Notable Transgressive Works: Less Than Zero, American Psycho, Glamorama, The Informers

Disillusioned, nihilistic and even sociopathic characters are the staple of cult author Bret Easton Ellis’s books. His most infamous work, American Psycho, caused outrage even before it was published, as many in the literary establishment were disgusted with the sexual violence and what some viewed as the misogynistic nature of its contents.

Chuck Palahniuk

Born: February 21st 1962

Notable Transgressive Works: Fight Club, Haunted, Choke, Invisible Monsters, Rant

Palahniuk has constantly courted controversy with the dark and disturbing content of his books. His seminal work Fight Club is brimming with violence and nihilism. His most scandalous work, Haunted, is often voted in polls as one of the most disturbing books ever written.

My Top 4 Transgressive Authors

May 15 2015

Definition: Transgressive literature is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways. Protagonists in Transgressive literature are in one form or other rebelling against society. Due to this they may appear to be anti-social, nihilistic or even sociopathic.

These are my top 4 Transgressive authors. Click on the book links to read my reviews.

Charles Bukowski

August 16th 1920 – March 9th 1994

Heavily influenced by his home city of Los Angeles, Bukowski wrote about disillusionment, alcohol consumption, women, a loathing of authority and the dehumanising nature of low-level work, all presented in his unique visceral writing style. His seminal work, Post Office, is a semi-autobiographical account of his years of drudgery at the post office. Bukowski is a cult figure, whose writing remains popular to this day.

My Favourite: Post Office

Would also recommend: Ham On Rye & Pulp

Bret Easton Ellis

Born: March 7th 1964

Disillusioned, nihilistic and even sociopathic characters are the staple of cult author Bret Easton Ellis’s books. His most famous work, the infamous American Psycho, caused outrage even before it was published, as many in the literary establishment were disgusted with the sexual violence and what some viewed as the misogynistic nature of its contents. American Psycho went on to become one of the most influential books of the nineties and secured the author his legacy as an important literary figure.

My Favourites: American Psycho & Less Than Zero

Chuck Palahniuk

Born: February 21st 1962

Palahniuk has constantly courted controversy with the content of his books. Fight Club, which remains to this day his most celebrated effort, was viewed as extremely controversial when the film version was released in 1999, only six months after the Columbine school shootings. Palahniuk’s dark and disturbing fiction has continued to scandalise ever since. His book Haunted is often voted in polls as one of the most disturbing books ever written.

My Favourite: Fight Club

Would also recommend: Damned, Haunted & Rant

William S. Burroughs

February 5th 1914 – August 2nd 1997

William S. Burroughs, was a controversial character with a penchant for rent boys and heroin, who rebelled against the social norms of his era by writing about disillusionment, drugs and homosexuality. Arguably his most famous book, the non-linear Naked Lunch was viewed as so scandalous at the time of its publication that it underwent a court case under U.S. obscenity laws.

My Favourite: Junky

Would also recommend: Queer

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Happy Birthday Bret Easton Ellis

Mar 06 2015

As Bret Easton Ellis, one of my favourite authors, turns 51 on March 7th, I am devoting this week’s blog post to him.

(Born: March 7th 1964)

Bret Easton Ellis rose to prominence when his impressive and controversial first novel, Less Than Zero, was published in 1985 when the author was only 21, and still studying at college. The social commentary and plotless realism that were to become Ellis’s trademark are in evidence throughout this nihilistic first person narrative.

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 scene, … (More).

Bret Easton Ellis shot to fame/infamy with his third novel American Psycho, which was widely condemned at the time of its publication for its violence and perceived misogyny.

My Review: American Psycho is a highly controversial novel that brought its young author Bret Easton Ellis instant fame. The book is written from the perspective of a young Wall Street financier, Patrick Bateman…. (More).

His fourth novel, Glamorama, is a satirical work that adeptly captures the hedonism of 1990s New York. In typical Ellis fashion the text is punctuated with numerous pop-culture references, in addition to sporadic descriptions of violence and prolonged graphic sexual encounters. Click here to read my review.

I have also read his sixth novel, Lunar Park. Lunar Park is a mock memoir that begins with a parodic account of the author’s early fame. Although I am a big fan of Bret Easton Ellis I found Lunar Park to be convoluted and self-indulgent. Click here to read my review.

To this day, Ellis, who has written 7 novels in total, 4 of which have been made into films, continues to cause controversy, not only through his books, but also with his incendiary Tweeting habits, which have included controversial Tweets on such sensitive subjects as HIV and Aids. This has left the author open to accusations from some that his social media antics are nothing more than publicity stunts. One might argue that controversy appears to be such an integral part of Ellis’s identity that he will never be able to willingly abandon it. However, regardless of this, there can be no doubt that the iconic author will always be remembered as a literary pioneer and erudite social commentator.

Transgressive Fiction II

Feb 21 2014

My second book, Necropolis, is a humorous work of dark fiction about a psychopath, who works for the Burials and Cemeteries department in his local council. Necropolis could be described as Transgressive fiction, and it is for this reason that I have dedicated two blog posts to the subject.

Transgressive literature is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways.

Protagonists in Transgressive literature are in one form or other rebelling against society. Due to this they may appear to be anti-social, nihilistic or even sociopathic. Transgressive literature deals with potentially controversial subjects such as sex, drugs, crime, violence and paraphilia.

Last week we looked at a number of early and mid 20th Century authors, who wrote books that could be labelled as Transgressive. The authors were James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, Vladimir Nabokov and William S. Burroughs. This week we continue in the same vein with:

Charles Bukowski

August 16th 1920 – March 9th 1994

Notable Transgressive Works: Post Office, Factotum, Women, Ham on Rye

Charles Bukowski’s writing could best be described as Dirty realism and/or Transgressive literature. Heavily influenced by his home city of Los Angeles, Bukowski wrote about disillusionment, alcohol consumption, women, a loathing of authority and the dehumanising nature of low-level work, all presented in his unique visceral writing style. His seminal work, Post Office, is a semi-autobiographical account of his years of drudgery at the post office prior to writing the book by the same name. Bukowski is a cult figure, whose writing remains popular to this day, despite the fact that he has been accused by some of being misogynistic.

Click here to read my blog post about Charles Bukowski

Click on the links to read my reviews of Post Office, Factotum & Pulp

Hunter S. Thompson

July 18th 1937 – February 20th 2005

Notable Transgressive Works: Hells Angels, Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, The Rum Diary

Hunter S. Thompson was a controversial author and journalist with a penchant for alcohol, drugs and guns. The Gonzo Journalist’s most famous work, the cult classic, Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas, is about a journalist and his attorney consuming a vast array of pharmaceuticals in Las Vegas. First published in nineteen seventy-one against the backdrop of Vietnam, and President Nixon’s declaration of war on drugs, the book can be viewed as a savage indictment of a corrupt, violent, ignorant, polarised and disillusioned nation, hell-bent on a path to self-destruction.

Click here to read my blog post about Hunter S. Thompson

Click here to read my review of Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas

Irvine Welsh

Born: 27 September 1958

Notable Transgressive Works: Trainspotting, The Acid House, Skagboys, Filth, Porno

As the titles of many of the iconic Scottish writer’s books suggest, Irvine Welsh’s controversial themes include, drug abuse, soccer hooliganism, sexual perversion, inner city poverty and brutality. His first book, Trainspotting, about Scottish housing scheme dwelling heroin addicts, disgusted some in the literary world, was later adapted for the cinema and is now regarded as a cult classic. Perhaps Welsh’s most controversial book, Filth, has a tapeworm afflicted, misanthropic, corrupt policeman as its protagonist, whose pastimes include sexual abuse and gorging on junk good, alcohol and cocaine.

Bret Easton Ellis

Born: March 7th 1964

Notable Transgressive Works: Less Than Zero, American Psycho, Glamorama, The Informers

Click here to read my reviews of Less Than Zero, American Psycho, Glamorama & Lunar Park

Chuck Palahniuk

Born: February 21st 1962

Notable Transgressive Works: Fight Club, Haunted, Choke, Snuff

Palahniuk’s dark and disturbing fiction has continued to scandalise ever since. His book Haunted is often voted in polls as one of the most disturbing books ever written. In Turkey, the translator of Palahniuk’s book, Snuff, was detained and interrogated by the police over what the authorities regarded as the book’s offensive content.

Click on the links to read my reviews of Choke, Damned, Fight Club & Haunted

Click here to sign up for my monthly book-related newsletter.

Controversial Authors (Part 2)

Jun 14 2013

Many authors have been branded as being controversial over the course of history. What is viewed as controversial varies over time and what constitutes controversy in one era may well not in a later one. The following blog post is dedicated to two authors, widely regarded as being controversial, who will always be remembered as being pioneers by the literary establishment.

D.H. Lawrence

(September 11th 1885 – March 2nd 1930)

Notable works: Sons and Lovers, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, The Rainbow.

David Herbert Lawrence to give him his full name, was a novelist, short-story writer, poet, playwright and literary critic, in addition to being a talented painter. Born into humble means as the son of a coal miner, D.H. Lawrence went on to become one of the most influential writers of his generation. Controversy courted the writer incessantly, primarily because of the perceived explicit nature of his works.

His novel The Rainbow (1915) for instance faced an obscenity trial and was banned, all copies being seized and burnt by the authorities. One of his most famous novels, Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928) though published was heavily censored, due to what was regarded at the time as its pornographic content.

D.H. Lawrence was eventually forced into a voluntary exile, where after a sustained period of poor health, he succumbed to tuberculosis in France, at the age of only forty-four.

The controversy did not end with his demise. In 1960 Penguin attempted to publish the original version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, but were forced to go to trial due to the ‘Obscene Publications Act’ of the previous year. However as the book was deemed to be of literary merit, it was allowed to be published. In the more permissive era in which we live the controversy surrounding D.H. Lawrence has all but been extinguished and he is now remembered fondly as a literary pioneer and one of the most talented writers of his generation.

Click here to read resident book reviewer Adam’s review of Sons and Lovers.

Bret Easton Ellis

(Born: March 7th 1964)

Notable works: American Psycho, Glamorama, The Informers.

Author Bret Easton Ellis’s third novel, the infamous American Psycho (1991) caused uproar even before its release date. The book was viewed by many in the literary establishment as scandalous; no mean feat in a period of permissive tolerance. The reasons for this were the book’s explicit violent and sexual content as well as its perceived misogynistic elements. American Psycho went on to become a cult classic and one of the most influential books of the nineties.

Easton-Ellis has continued to cause controversy ever since, not only through his books but also with his incendiary Tweeting habits, which have included crude and controversial Tweets on such sensitive subjects as HIV and Aids. These comments have left the author open to accusations from some that they are nothing more than publicity stunts. One might argue that controversy appears to be such an integral part of the author’s identity that he will never be able to willingly abandon it.

Whilst the author and his books are certainly an acquired taste, there is no doubt that Bret Easton Ellis’s destiny as a literary pioneer and social commentator is assured. His works, particularly American Psycho, will be studied and debated for centuries to come.

Click on the links to read my reviews of American Psycho and Glamorama.

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Transgressive Fiction: A History (Part 2)

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My Top 4 Transgressive Authors

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Happy Birthday Bret Easton Ellis

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Transgressive Fiction II

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Controversial Authors (Part 2)

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