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6 Dark Fiction Reading Recommendations

Mar 30 2018

I am an avid reader and writer of Dark Fiction. Here are six Dark Fiction reading recommendations for you, some of which are humorous, some of which are not. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Definition: Dark fiction is concerned with the sinister side of human nature. It is often distinguished from the mainstream horror genre in that it tends not to be fantasy-orientated. Dark fiction may contain elements of black or satirical humour.

Rashōmon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

A sense of doom and despair permeates this somewhat disparate assemblage whose cynicism, dark humour and tormented, fin-de-siécle tone appealed to this reader.

My Review: The book, which is divided into four parts, begins with the sinister tale Rashōmon. Set during the Heian era (11th century) it sees a confrontation between an unemployed servant and an old woman, who is in the process of …(more)

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Imbibed with a sense of impending doom, Rebecca is a slow-moving, haunting and atmospheric literary masterpiece, boasting an expertly woven plot and an abrupt ending.

My Review: Our young, unnamed narrator is working as an assistant for a rich American woman in Monte Carlo. It is here that she meets recently widowed, forty-two-year-old Maximilian (Maxim) de Winter. Maxim is the proprietor …(more)

POP.1280 by Jim Thompson

About: Pop.1280 is a first person work of noir fiction set in a sordid, rural Texas backwater. It is written in the author’s trademark stark, pulp prose style.

My Review: Sheriff Nick Corey’s problems are mounting. There are the troublesome pimps, the nagging wife and mistress, and the forthcoming election that could see him replaced as sheriff. Intent on avoiding conflict at all costs, the seemingly slow-witted …(more)

Novel with Cocaine by M. Ageyev

About: Novel with Cocaine is a nihilistic and philosophical novel about adolescence and addiction that could be described as Dostoyevskian.

My Review: Set in the years immediately before and after the Russian Revolution, Novel with Cocaine follows the life of Vadim, a Moscow adolescent and student. Vadim is prone to self-loathing and disdainful of others, none more so than his mother, whose …(more)

Skagboys by Irvine Welsh

Skagboys is a work of Transgressive Fiction set for the most part in Scotland. Its main focus is many of its characters increasing obsession with heroin.

My Review: Skagboys is the prequel to Trainspotting. Its colourful, mostly young characters hail from the Edinburgh port suburb of Leith. There is the bookish, unambitious Mark ‘Rents’ Renton, and his best friend, the verbose, predatory womaniser Sick Boy …(more)

An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd

An Ice-Cream War’s motif is the absurdness of war. This unpredictable serio-comedy’s blend of tragedy and black humour appealed to this reader

My Review: After much tension and speculation, World War I begins. The main campaign is contended on the Western Front, but there is also a less well-known offensive in colonial East Africa, where the British and their native conscripts are pitted against the …(more)

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

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.

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 Book Prizes Must Be Won

Mar 16 2018

I am excited to announce that my prize draw starts today. As I am an avid writer and reader of dark humour, I have opted for prizes that reflect this.

1st PRIZE: A rare, signed, flawless, first edition, hardback copy of Haunted (2005) by Chuck Palahniuk (Worth: £122.21/$170.70). Haunted is one of the most provocative and controversial works of fiction ever written.

Two Lucky Runners-Up will receive the following three darkly humorous books, all of which I highly recommend. Post Office by Charles Bukowski, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach.

To enter all you have to do is sign up to my humorous, monthly, book-related newsletter. Click on this link to enter – MY PRIZE DRAW

Click here to view one of my newsletters.

If you want to enter My Prize Draw but are already signed up to my newsletter, just sign up again. I will get rid of any duplicates.

Good luck!

Terms & Conditions: The contest’s duration is 16/03/18 – 15/04/18. Entries close at midnight GMT. Prizes will be sent by recorded/special delivery. Participants from any country are eligible. The runners-up prizes are new paperbacks sourced from Amazon. Winners will be selected at random using a random number generator. Winners will be informed by email on the 16/04/18. Subscribers can unsubscribe to my book-related newsletter at any time. All queries should be sent to info@guyportman.com

About me.

Transgressive Fiction: A History

Mar 09 2018

Transgressive fiction 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 …

Though fiction of this kind has only relatively recently been labelled as Transgressive, its origins lie in the literature of the past. The writing of the Marquis de Sade, Émile Zola and even Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s seminal work, Crime and Punishment, have been described as Transgressive. But it was the following 20th Century authors who came to be viewed as the early exponents of the genre.

James Joyce

February 2nd 1882 – January 13th 1941

Notable Transgressive Work: Ulysses

James Joyce was a central figure in the modernist avant-garde. His seminal work, Ulysses, embraced a revolutionary stream of consciousness style that influenced many later writers. At the time of its publication, the book’s masturbation scene was viewed as so scandalous that it was the subject of an obscenity trial.

D. H. Lawrence

September 11th 1885 – March 2nd 1930

Notable Transgressive Works: Lady Chatterley’s Lover, The Rainbow

Lady Chatterley’s Lover, though published was heavily censored, due to what was regarded at the time as its pornographic content. Thirty years after Lawrence’s death Penguin attempted to publish the original version, but were forced to go to trial because of the ‘Obscene Publications Act’ of the previous year.

Vladimir Nabokov

April 22nd 1899 – July 2nd 1977

Notable Transgressive Work: Lolita

Nabokov’s most famous work, Lolita, is widely regarded as one of the greatest novels of the 20th Century. It is also considered one of the most controversial books of all time because of its sensitive subject matter – the protagonist Humbert Humbert’s infatuation with a twelve-year-old girl.

William S. Burroughs

February 5th 1914 – August 2nd 1997

Notable Transgressive Works: Junky, Queer, The Soft Machine, Naked Lunch

Burroughs was a controversial character who rebelled against the social norms of his era by writing about disillusionment, drugs and homosexuality. The non-linear Naked Lunch was perceived as so scandalous at the time of its publication that it underwent a court case under U.S. obscenity laws.

To be continued …

10 Transgressive Novels

Mar 02 2018

I am an avid writer and reader of Transgressive Fiction. Last November I devoted a blog post to 10 works of Transgressive Fiction. This week we return to the subject with 10 more Transgressive novels, none of which featured in the previous post. Click on the links to read my reviews.

Definition: Transgressive Fiction 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.

The following books are presented in chronological order:

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller (1934)

Sexuality, freedom and the human condition are themes in this ground-breaking work of Transgressive Fiction. Tropic of Cancer was banned from being imported into the United States after its publication in France in 1934.

My Review: Set in the late 1920s and early 30s, Tropic of Cancer is a semi-autobiographical first-person account of a young, struggling American writer living in Paris, and for a short period Le Havre. His is a seedy existence, characterised by a shortage of money …(more)

Novel with Cocaine by M. Ageyev (1934)

Novel with Cocaine is a nihilistic and philosophical novel about adolescence and addiction that could be described as Dostoyevskian. Since the time of its publication in book form there has been intense speculation over who wrote it.

The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson (1952)

The Killer Inside Me is a suspenseful and unrelentingly bleak first person narrative about a psychopath. It is the most disturbing work of fiction this reader has ever read. The book left an indelible mark on his mind.

My Review: Twenty-nine-year-old Lou Ford is a Deputy Sheriff from the West Texas town of Central City. Lou is a hard-working and simple character with a fondness for clichés; at least this is how he is perceived by his community …(more)

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)

The story is about a man named Humbert Humbert, who falls in love with a twelve-year-old girl, Lolita, the daughter of his landlady. Banned in a number of countries Lolita continues to cause controversy to this day.

My Review: The protagonist, Humbert Humbert, is an intellectual with an all-consuming craving for young girls, or nymphets as he refers to them. After his wife leaves him for another man, Humbert Humbert becomes a live-in tutor for the Hazes, a family consisting of a …(more)

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)

First published in 1962, A Clockwork Orange is a ground-breaking and controversial book with an intriguing and intelligent narrator, which leaves many questions to ponder concerning behaviourism and the role of the state.

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 serious incident sees him arrested and incarcerated. Our anti-hero is anticipating …(more)

Ham On Rye by Charles Bukowski (1982)

Ham On Rye is a coming-of-age story, in which the protagonist views himself as an intruder, refusing to adhere to society’s expectations. This is a sad and moving work written in the author’s trademark economy of prose style.

My Review: Ham On Rye is a semi-autobiographical account of Bukowski’s formative years in his home city of Los Angeles. The story follows the early life of the author’s alter ego, Henry Chinaski, starting with his earliest memories, then through his school years …(more)

Queer by William S. Burroughs (1985)

Autobiographical in nature, the book is an account of Burroughs’s life in Mexico, during a troubled time in his life shortly after accidentally shooting wife Joan Vollmer dead. The author adeptly portrays a deep sense of longing and loss.

My Review: Queer is an unreciprocated love story, in which the protagonist Lee craves love and attention from a young American by the name of Eugene Allerton. Set in the American ex-pat scene of hedonistic, lawless 1940s Mexico …(more)

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (1991)

American Psycho is a satire of the yuppies culture of the 1980s. The book caused outrage when it was published due to its explicit violent and sexual content, as well as its perceived misogynistic elements.

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. He is intelligent, well-educated, wealth …(more)

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (1996)

The author takes us on a journey through a dark, menacing and brutal world that mirrors the film it inspired almost exactly. Palahniuk’s seminal work is about a nameless narrator, who starts a fight club with a charismatic anarchist.

My Review: The protagonist, who remains nameless, is an insomniac leading a bland corporate existence, investigating accidents for a car company, whose only concern is profit. Unable to find meaning in a faceless consumerist society, he instead seeks solace in …(more)

Skagboys by Irvine Welsh (2012)

Skagboys is a work of Transgressive Fiction set for the most part in 1980s Scotland against a backdrop of Thatcherism, the rise of dance of music and HIV. The main focus is many of the characters increasing obsession with heroin.

20 More Quotes About Writing

Feb 23 2018

This week’s post is dedicated to 20 writing-related quotes that have not previously been featured on my blog.

To write, or to Netflix. That is the question – Kat Myley

Saturday night is perfect for writers because other people have “plans” – Mike Birbiglia

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it – Winston Churchill

The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering – Tom Waits

The dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he’s given the freedom to starve anywhere – S.J. Perelman

It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous – Robert Benchley

Drowning in my own words with only a semicolon as a lifeboat – Jessica Baumgartner

I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me — Ray Bradbury, WD

If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it — Elmore Leonard

An original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate – François-René de Chateaubriand

He’d heard that writers spent all day in their dressing gowns drinking champagne. This is, of course, absolutely true – Terry Pratchett, Snuff

Not all writers are silently suffering inside. But it certainly helps – Joyce Rachelle

Sadly, there are writers who wouldn’t know an umlaut from an omelet – Kevin Ansbro

The only impeccable writers are those who never wrote – William Hazlitt

For writers it is always said that the first twenty years of life contain the whole of experience – the rest is observation – Graham Greene

Writing romantic fiction is the second chance that loved ones denied us – Shannon L. Alder

Don’t break a writer’s heart and think ink won’t spill – Ming D. Liu

Writer’s block’ is just a fancy way of saying ‘I don’t feel like doing any work today – Meagan Spooner

Writing should beguile us, not just take us from A to B to Zzzzz – Kevin Ansbro

Even on the silent days, believe your ship will come – Shana Chartier

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15 Banned Books

Feb 09 2018

‘Few things in life seem more sexy than a banned book.’ — Chuck Palahniuk

Back when this blog was in its infancy I dedicated a post to 10 banned books. Today, we revisit this fascinating topic with this expanded post.

In chronological order here are 15 famous books that have been banned:

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (1877)

This best-selling didactic story is narrated by its protagonist, the horse Black Beauty. The book emphasises the importance of animal welfare, in addition to lessons pertaining to kindness and sympathy.

Why Banned: Black Beauty was allegedly banned by the white apartheid government in South Africa because it contained the word ‘black’ in its title. It was assumed that the book was a black rights novel.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915)

Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find that he has been transformed into a beetle. To compound matters Gregor’s family now see no use for him. Click here to read my review.

Why Banned: Kafka’s books were banned in Czechoslovakia because he refused to write in Czech (Kafka wrote in German). The author’s works were also banned during the Nazi occupation and later by the communist regime.

Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)

Joyce’s stream-of-consciousness novel chronicles a day in the life of Leopold Bloom. The day in question is 16th June 1904. Ulysses is regarded as one of the most important works of modernist literature.

Why Banned: Joyce’s seminal work was declared obscene at trial in 1921 in America due to its sexual descriptions. Throughout the 1920s the book was burned by United States Post Office department.

The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (1928)

This novel is about a homosexual upper-class Englishwoman. The book argued that ‘inversion’ is a natural state and that people should be left to their own choices.

Why Banned: The editor of the UK newspaper the ‘Sunday Express’ was so disgusted by the book’s subject matter he campaigned against it. It was judged to be obscene by a British court but survived legal challenges in the US.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence (1928)

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a fictional account of an aristocrat’s clandestine love affair with the family gamekeeper. The book details their erotic meetings.

Why Banned: Lady Chatterley’s Lover’s perceived pornographic content resulted in the original version being banned in the UK. Penguin published the book in its entirety when the decision was overturned in 1960.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)

Set during the Great Depression, The Grapes of Wrath is about a poor family from Oklahoma who trek to California to start a new life.

Why Banned: This Pullitzer Prize winner was banned from many libraries in the US, and was even burned due to peoples outrage at its controversial depiction of the poor.

Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)

This dystopian novel about animals living on a farm is an allegory about the Russian Revolution and Stalinist rule in the Soviet Union.

Why Banned: So controversial was the subject matter that the book was not published until more than a year after its completion. Animal Farm was banned in the Soviet bloc because of its political content.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1951)

Protagonist Holden Caulfield recounts his two day trip to New York following expulsion from his private school for fighting with his roommate.

Why Banned: Between 1966 and 1975 the book was the most frequently banned book in schools due to its profanity, sexual references and the relentless negativity of its protagonist.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)

The story is about a man named Humbert Humbert, who falls in love with a twelve-year-old girl, Lolita, the daughter of his landlady. Click here to read my review.

Why Banned: Citing the book’s controversial subject matter and perceived pornographic content, the UK Home Office confiscated all copies of the book in 1955. Lolita was banned in France the following year, but never in the US.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)

This science fantasy novel is the first book in a quintet. It has spawned two film adaptations. The book has won numerous prizes.

Why Banned: A Winkle in Time is listed at number 23 on the American Library Association Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000. Criticisms include references to crystal balls and witches, and concerns that it ‘challenges religious beliefs.’

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1969)

This is the autobiography of the early years of iconic African American poet and writer Maya Angelou. It recounts racism, trauma and above all her burgeoning love of literature.

Why Banned: The book has been challenged by 15 US states. Issues of contention have been its inclusion of rude words, perceived disrespectful religious depictions and what some have regarded as sexually explicit scenes.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)

The story follows the life of Billy Pilgrim, a married optometrist and a survivor of the notorious firebombing of Dresden in World War II. Click here to read my review.

Why Banned: Slaughterhouse-Five’s anti-war rhetoric has resulted in it being banned from numerous US schools and libraries. It is one of the American Library Association’s 100 most frequently challenged books.

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (1988)

Having survived a plane crash a Bollywood superstar has to rebuild his life, while the other survivor, an emigrant, finds his life in disarray.

Why Banned: Many Muslims were offended by a number of allegedly pagan verses, which were included in the Qur’an, but later removed. It has been banned in Japan, Venezuela, and due to death threats, taken off the shelves of several US bookshops.

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis (1991)

The book is written from the perspective of a young Wall Street financier, Patrick Bateman. Patrick is an intelligent, well-educated, wealthy, good looking psychopath. Click here to read my review.

Why Banned: American Psycho’s graphic violent and sexual content resulted in it being banned in Canada and Queensland (Australia). In the rest of Australia and New Zealand its sale remains restricted to those over eighteen.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (1996)

The book’s nameless narrator starts a fight club with charismatic anarchist Tyler Durden. Their fight club concept soon becomes very popular and spreads across the nation. Click here to read my review.

Why banned: Despite its violent content and anarchist philosophy, Fight Club was not widely banned. In 1999 the Chinese authorities prohibited the sale of the book due to it containing instructions on how to make explosives.

About me

20 Quotes About Writing

Feb 02 2018

Here are 20 writing-related quotes. I hope these will amuse and/or inspire my fellow writers.

You know you should be writing. Get off Twitter – Yvette Kate Willemse

Grammar, you’re the pickiest noun I know – Buffy Andrews

Writers, like teeth, are divided into incisors and grinders – Walter Bagehot

Pen-bereavement is a serious matter – Anne Fadiman

Discipline is the bridge between a great idea and a completed novel – T. N. Suarez

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. I say its closer to 675 or 700 – A. E. Samaan

He carried a pencil that put a camera to shame – E. B. White

I always start writing with a clean piece of paper and a dirty mind —Patrick Dennis

You cannot write unless you write much – W. Somerset Maugham

Those who write are writers. Those who wait are waiters – A. Lee Martinez

The more you leave out, the more you highlight what you leave in – Henry Green

The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress — Philip Roth

Before publishers’ blurbs were invented, authors had to make their reputations by writing – Laurence J. Peter

Writers should be read, but neither seen nor heard – Daphne du Maurier

Not a wasted word. This has been a main point to my literary thinking all my life —Hunter S. Thompson

An autobiography usually reveals nothing bad about its writer except his memory – Franklin P. Jones

The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair – Mary Heaton Vorse

Writers don’t have lifestyles. They sit in little rooms and write – Norman Mailer

You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write – Saul Bellow

Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good – Dr. Samuel Johnson, to an aspiring writer

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If Authors Were Desserts

Jan 26 2018

Here are twelve authors and the desserts that in my opinion they/their writing corresponds to.

Norman Mailer

Mailer

Cultural criticism, controversy and obscenity were hallmarks of this volatile and violent author.

Corresponding dessert: Fruitcake

Fruit Cake

Rationale: Self-explanatory

Stephanie Meyer

Meyer

Meyer is a young-adult fiction writer responsible for the vampire romance series Twilight.

Corresponding dessert: Sponge Cake

sponge cake

Rationale: It might look like a cake, feel like a cake and smell like a cake, but on taking a bite one realises it’s mostly just air.

Vladimir Nabokov

Nabokov

The intellectual Russian born Nabokov utilised an ornate prose style.

Corresponding dessert: Deconstructed S’more

Deconstructed Smores

Rationale: This sophisticated, deconstructed extravagance contains chocolate-coated cereal garnishes, caramelised vanilla marshmallow and more besides.

L. Ron Hubbard

Hubbard

The Scientology founder wrote numerous Sci-Fi and psychotherapy books.

Corresponding dessert: Waffle

Rationale: The content of Scientology’s doctrine.

Ambrose Bierce

Corresponding dessert: Lemon sorbet

Rationale: Few desserts are more acerbic.

Anne Rice

Rice

The Vampire Chronicles creator is one of the best-selling writers in recent American history.

Corresponding dessert: Jelly

Jelly

Rationale: Right-minded adults steer clear of this puerile dessert.

Bret Easton Ellis

Easton-Ellis

Easton Ellis is a master of social commentary. Much of his writing features vapid, soulless characters.

Corresponding dessert: Lemon Sorbet

lemon

Rationale: This cold, astringent dessert isn’t for everyone. I rather like it.

Dan Brown

Brown

Brown has sold more than 200 million of his mystery/conspiracy novels.

Corresponding dessert: Ring-Shaped Donut

Doughnut

Rationale: These deep-fried snacks have a gaping hole in the middle.

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

English crime novelist Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time.

Corresponding dessert: Tunnock’s Teacake

Tea Cake

Rationale: One has to first unwrap the packaging and then bite through the outer layer to reveal what lies beneath.

E. L. James

ELJAmes

Erotica novelist E. L. James is one of the World’s best-selling authors.

Corresponding dessert: Cheesecake

cheese

Rationale: Many, including yours truly, are of the opinion that cheese and cake should not be mixed.

Leo Tolstoy

Tolstoy

Iconic Russian writer Tolstoy is best-remembered for his opuses Anna Karenina and War And Peace.

Corresponding dessert: Heavy Cake

Heavy Cake

Rationale: Heavy Cake is dense and requires a lot of chewing, but it tastes good.

Sidney Sheldon

Sidney Sheldon

Chick lit/Thriller author Sheldon is the one of the best-selling authors of all time.

Corresponding dessert: Wafer

Wafer

Rationale: With their primary ingredient being air, wafers won’t satisfy one’s hunger.

A Personal Update

Jan 19 2018

It has been over a week since I released my fourth novel, the black comedy Sepultura. The early reviews have been very positive, and there are now a fair few up on Goodreads. I particularly like these comments, all of which are taken from Goodreads reviews.

A superb addition to Portman’s eclectic, wonderful corpus — Sean

… I already need the sequel! — lexlooksatbooks

I couldn’t help but observe with relish Dyson’s latest interactions with the philistines who haunt his waking hours — Wendy

Click here to see the reviews.

On another subject a couple of days ago I started reading my first book of 2018. Skagboys is a work of Transgressive Fiction by Irvine Welsh. Its length (500 pages), Scottish vernacular, and the utilisation of some passages presented in a handwritten font will no doubt result in it taking a while to read. But I am thoroughly enjoying it so far.

This a bit random – I have a cheese recommendation for you, and it is an exceptional one at that. Perhaps you have tried it already. If not might I suggest you get hold of a Black Bomber at your earliest convenience. Black Bomber hails from Wales. This cheddar like cheese is a delight on the palate. I only recently discovered Black Bomber. It is now my favourite cheese.

Here is some I prepared earlier posing alongside Tuscan salami.

Sun is in something of a rarity in England at this time of year (some would say at any time of year). Here is a picture of my dog basking in the morning sun shining through the window. Trigga is a Hungarian Vizsla.

Have a good weekend.

AUTHOR GUY PORTMAN'S BLOG

6 Dark Fiction Reading Recommendations

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Transgressive Fiction: A History (Part 2)

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My Book Prizes Must Be Won

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Transgressive Fiction: A History

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10 Transgressive Novels

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20 More Quotes About Writing

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15 Banned Books

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20 Quotes About Writing

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If Authors Were Desserts

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A Personal Update

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AUTHOR GUY PORTMAN'S BLOG

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