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Underground Library Annotations Report Promote Literature Resources used

Google Goodreads Novelist Time.com Modern Library Chuck Palahniuk’s website

Search Strategy Initial strategy

My initial strategy was to do a google basic search for “popular transgressive fiction” then browsed results and decided upon a Goodsreads link popular transgressive fiction books Popular Transgressive Fiction Books which was a list of two hundred and fifty books that were classified as transgressive.

Narrowing and refining

The list on Goodreads was organized by most popular so I browsed the top fifty and considering I needed items from the 50s onwards I tried to choose books from different decades. I selected 23 books that were suitable but then culled three of already having a novel from all three of these writers already in my bibliography.

Getting the information for my annotations

Once I selected an item I would search for it on Novelist using title search then get publishing details, appeal elements and rudimentary information about the plot and then search for it Goodreads by title search and gather more in depth plot details and read online reviewers comments to gather more perspective.

Describe usefulness of this annotated bibliography to the target audience and how it will promote this aspect of literature to chosen audience

Each item was selected because of it was classed as Transgressive on Goodreads. Novels American Psycho, Fight Club, Trainspotting, Naked Lunch, Crash, Clockwork Orange and Battle Royale I have previously read so before the blog was started were already under consideration.

The promotional qualities of my blog are the fact if you have read and enjoyed one of items then you will be able to find books that are analogous. It will additionally introduce people to a genre people were not aware of which may become their favorite genre.

Excluded Item Easton Ellis, Bret. Glamorama, New York: Vintage, 1998.

I have previously read this book it was in my original books list for the blog but it had to culled for the reason that I already had a Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho which is more popular and had an abundance of books in 1990s which would have made my timeline to 90s heavy.

Damned

Palahniuk, Chuck. Damned, New York: Doubleday, 2011.

Written by Chuck Palahniuk famous for writing Fight Club his newest novel like his previous works is darkly humorous and satirical as it follows 13 year old black sheep Madison who awakes in hell and tries to make the best out of her predicament.

Additionally the novel explores her previous pre hell life with as she lives unhappily with her rich father and movie star mother who compulsively adopt children from the Third World.

Drawing its humor from satire of celebrity culture to its cartoonish depiction of hell Damned is a great example of black humor that Chuck Palahniuk is capable of.

Clown Girl

Drake, Monica. Clown Girl,New York: Hawthorne Books, 2007.

Highly recommended by Chuck Palahniuk (the author of Fight Club) Clown Girl is a darkly humorous tale that follows Sniffles the Clown through bizarre escapades.

Set in Baloneytown which is a crazy strange metropolis filled with stoned dogs, clown prostitution and an abundance of other depressing characters.

Sniffles whose real name is Nita must attempt to keep her head above water financially and has to start doing things she would never do.

Clown Girl is entertaining absurdity immersed in black comedy but contains themes of modern feminism.

As previously mentioned Chuck Palahniuk who is a contemporary great transgressive author hails this novel as stated on his website and if Monica Drake’s next novels are as great as her dark debut Clown Girl she will be considered in the same class.

Clown Girl is most likely the best book you have never heard of.

Battle Royale

Takami, Koushun. Battle Royale, San Francisco, CA: Viz Media, c2003.

Battle Royale is a controversial dystopian novel that tells a story of class of high school students who part of totalitarian regime are pitted against each other on a deserted island for three days and only one can survive.

The novel has been highly criticized for its use of intense violence as it explains in graphic detail how each student hunts and kills another.

Fast paced and filled with adrenalin Battle Royale is a page turning science fiction thriller that does explore themes such as totalitarian governments, survival and competition in teenagers.

While being compared to Lord of the Flies and the Hunger Games this novel differentiates itself with its transgressive style becoming a contemporary transgressive classic.

Candy

Davies, Luke. Candy, New York: Ballantine Books, 1998

Set in Sydney Australia Candy tells a tale of a young couple’s addiction to heroin and each other and like all addictions it has euphoria and self destruction.

Once the narrator see’s Candy he is enthralled by her beauty and presence and they fall in love quickly.

Unfortunately their relationship turns sour when it becomes a threesome with heroin and they are forced to do abhorrent things to obtain money to sustain their habit.

Like many novels about drug culture Candy is filled with regret, pain and an abundance of dark humor but what sets Candy apart is its Australian setting where drug culture hasn’t really be explored so realistically.

Candy was adapted into a film starring Heath Ledger candy which was a moderate critical success but before watching the film read the book a rare Australian transgressive novel.

Fight Club

Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club, New York: W. W. Norton & Company ,1996.

How to maintain your identity and your masculinity in a world of consumerism? That is one of the many questions provoked in Fight club as it follows an anonymous narrator struggling with insomnia until he meets the charismatic Tyler Durden who together create an underground boxing club which quickly obtains many members who all try to regain their masculinity through fighting and anarchic acts of mischief.

Fight Club which was adapted into a highly successful film starring Brad Pitt feels like a piece of apocalyptic fiction and is darkly humorous in its tone.

Intended mature audiences those who can handled its intensity will find it quite enjoyable and it is a must have for generation X individuals.

Trainspotting

Welsh, Irvine. Trainspotting, New York: W. W. Norton, 1996.

Trainspotting is a fast paced novel about working class culture and heroin addiction in Edinburgh Scotland as it follows the lives of several young people in their punk lifestyles.

Told from multiple perspectives the novel could be considered book of short stories about each of the characters as they steal, go to concerts, cause mayhem, use heroin, drink pints, have abstract conversations, have relationships and run scams.

It heavily uses Scottish dialect in its writing adding more reality to the speech of these characters but also causing the reader to perhaps phonetically sound out some of the words.

It instantly got cult status for its depiction of a dark side of Scotland not often explored and for its black humor.

Trainspotting has adult content and should be read by people over 18 who are interested fast paced humorous read that goes against social norms.

American Psycho

Ellis, Bret Easton. American Psycho, New York: Vintage Books, 1991

Very controversial upon getting published Bret Easton Ellis’s disturbing satire American Psycho explores the life of Patrick Bateman a stereotypical eighties yuppie who has it all beautiful fiancée, high paying job and the best fashion but also is a serial murder.

The novel set in New York follows Bateman through his own perspective as he goes to work, goes to parties, argues with friends over the best fashion and appliances and while he tortures and kills people mostly women.

While very gruesome, violent and graphic American Psycho is often very darkly hilarious as it satirizes vanity, consumerism and machismo in eighties Wall street culture.

Disturbing and not for the suitable for the weak stomached but anyone who can handle it will find it most enjoyable.

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture

Coupland, Douglas. Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, New York: St. Martin's Press,1991

Told from multiple perspectives Generation X: tales for an accelerated culture follows three friends Dag, Claire and Andy as they face dilemmas pertaining to being part of the post baby boomer generation.

Satircal in nature Coupland successfully lampoons absurdities of the 1990s such as the Mcjob revolution.

A novel pumped with anarchy with characters that refuse to grow and give to monotony.

Hilarious and well structured Generation X: tales for an accelerated culture is a good read.

Geek Love

Dunn, Katherine. Geek Love, New York: A. A. Knopf, c1989

Geek love tells the story of the Al and Lillian Binewski and their children who Al and Lillian deliberately tried to give them birth defects to make them bigger attractions to the carnival.

Told in two different time periods one that follows the Binewski family travelling around the country as performers in the carnival and the infighting between the children especially around the spotlight and the second is set much further in the future as it follows Oly Binewski one of the children and a humpback who spies on her daughter who doesn’t know Oly is her mother.

Containing a lot of black humor Geek Love satirizes spectacles, religion, celebrity and vanity.

This novel should be considered an underground classic.

Perfume: the Story of a Murderer

Suskind, Patrick. Perfume: the story of a murderer, New York: A.A. Knopf, 1986

Set in France Perfume Jean-Baptiste Grenouille an orphan who processes an incredibly sense of smell which is the source of his horrible obsession.

As Jean-Baptiste grows up and becomes an apprentice perfume maker which is ironic because he himself has no scent.

His search for perfect scent though drives him to terrible acts as he believes young virgins possess the scent he is after.

A tale full of intrigue and horror, not for those who scare easy or detest violence.

Perfume has become a cult classic and has even broken into mainstream conciseness.

Empire of the Sun

Ballard, J.G. Empire of the Sun, New York: Simon and Schuster, c1984

Based on J.G. Ballard’s real life accounts Empire of the Sun follows Jim Graham a British boy who lives in Shanghai with his parents.

His life gets chaotic after the Pearl Harbor attacks as he gets separated for his parents and put in Japanese concentration camp and must endure much turmoil to get back to his parents.

Bleak and haunting in the novels tone as Jim must encounter war and the worst in the men at such a young age.

A highly emotional coming of age tale that can be enjoyed from people in their adolescence and older.

Ham on Rye

Bukowski, Charles. Ham on Rye, New York: Ecco, c1982.

Ham on Rye tells the origin story of Henry Chinaski Charles Bukowski’s alter ego anti hero protagonist who is the main character in most of his novels.

It follows Chinaski through his childhood in the depression with his strict very cruel father to his adolescence where he was alienated by his disfiguring pimples and ill-temper right through to the start of his adulthood and the start of his alcoholism.

Like many pieces of literature Charles Bukowski produces Ham on Rye is hilarious and cynical in its outlook on life and early twentieth century Los Angles but it also has this sense of tragedy, regret and nostalgia.

An intriguing novel that might answer some questions why Henry Chinaski and Charles Bukowski are the way they are.

Blood and Guts in High School

Acker,Kathy. Blood and Guts in High School, New York: Grove Press, c1978.

Told through diary entries Blood and Guts in High School recounts the story of Janey Smith as she describes the recent events in her life such as becoming a prostitute after her father who was also her lover rejects her for another women.

Considered experimental fiction because of its narrative style using conversation, description, conjecture, and moments snatched from history and literature to convey the emotions and story.

The novel is in your face with a very punk feminist feel which gets in enhanced by the writing style and the subversive topics covered in the book.

While the book has a liberating teenage protaganist it also graphic and should not be read by younger audiences.

Crash

Ballard, J. G. Crash, New York: Picador, c1973.

Told as a first person account from the protagonist James Ballard’s point of view who after an atrocious car accident he becomes sexually aroused and attracted to automotive crashes and discovers like-minded individuals such as the mysterious Vaughan who together explore their compulsion and their fantasies.

Violent, haunting and still relevant today as it analyses themes such as the demise of human relations in a world of technological dependence.

This novel should be considered an underground classic and an important transgressive novel.

Post Office

Bukowski, Charles. Post Office, Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1971.

Post Office is infamous barfly Charles Bukowski’s semi-autobiographical account of his time working as a mail courier.

In is his first novel Bukowski introduces us to his alter ego anti-hero protagonist Henry Chinaski as he takes the reader through his gambling, drinking and womanizing which he uses to counteract the numbness and boredom he feels working at the post office.

Told over the course of over a decade Post Office is filled with cynicism and despair but while Chinaski’s opinion on the world and its inhabitants is never optimistic it is usually very funny.

Post Office is a mixture black comedy, social analysis and tragedy and a great introduction to Charles Bukowski .

Hell's Angels

Thompson, Hunter S. Hell’s Angels. New York: Modern Library, c1967.

Based on Hunter S Thompson’s experiences Hell’s Angels follows Thompson as he recounts his time living with California’s infamous biker gang of the 1960s the Angels as they travel through California. Thompson learns about the bikers and how they live.

Vibrant and perceptive Hell’s Angel creates a realistic portrait of counter culture and anarchy in biker lifestyle.

Written with a candid style and with a violent menacing tone Hell’s Angels is a cult classic.

Clockwork Orange

Burgess, Anthony.A Clockwork Orange, New York: Norton, c1967

This bleak dystopian science fiction novel which was famously adapted into an Academy Award nominated film follows Alex and friends through their sociopathic ultraviolent escapades.

Written as a first person narrative the novel highly uses a futuristic slang called “nadsat” while adding more intrigue but additionally making it a little harder to comprehend.

Thought provoking with its questions of morality and free will Clockwork Orange has long been considered a classic and is even named in the Modern Library’s 100 best novels.

An interesting science fiction staple, a must read for people over 18 interested in transgressive fiction.

Last Exit to Brooklyn

Selby Jr. Hubert. Last Exit to Brooklyn. Groove Press, c1964

Considered the first book to really portray America’s lower class and displays the violence and anger pertaining to being part of America’s forgotten people.

Told in six parts the novel tells stories about different individuals and their life in a New York slum. Controversial upon its released Last Exit to Brooklyn was banned in Italy and part of a obscenity trial in the United Kingdom due to its realistic portrait of drug use, street violence, gang rape, homosexuality, transvestism and domestic violence in modern day society.

Written with that real stream of conciseness style of writing that was influenced by and influenced a abundance of writers and a high use of natural slang make it easy to read give more truth to the depiction. Time has not hurt this novel as it has become a transgressive fiction fan must have.

Naked Lunch

Burroughs, William S. Naked Lunch, Paris : Olympia Press, 1959.

William S Burroughs third and arguably his best novel follows the character William Lee though a series of surrealist adventures which heroin, dark humor and the odd Dr. Benaway all feature.

Originally very difficult from Burroughs to get published because of its controversial subject matter Naked Lunch has since become considered a great piece of American literature even Time Magazine named it in their 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005 .

The book uses Burroughs famous cutaway technique which while it may makes the book sometimes confusing it never gets boring.

Darkly funny and very provocative and very good read.

Lolita

Lolita 1955 Nabokov, Vladimir . Lolita, New York: Knopf, c1955

Originally published in 1955 in Paris Lolita tells a disturbing tale of a literary professor who has a destructive obsessive attraction to his 12 year old step daughter Dolores who he has nick named Lolita.

Controversial upon its release and still controversial today for its subject matter which concerns pedophilia and obsession and for its use of a first person perspective which creates sympathetic protagonist.

Besides the novels dark subject matter Vladimir Nabokov has written stylistically complex and witty piece of fiction which has had continuous critical acclaim since it was first published.

Lolita is included on Time's list of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.

Intended for mature audiences.