- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Rough Guides Ltd (28 April 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843533871
- ISBN-13: 978-1843533870
- Product Dimensions: 15.5 x 11.4 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 195,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
This new Rough Guide will make you a literary buff in the time it takes to say Jack Kerouac. Even if you already know your Hunter S Thompson from your Jim Thompson, you'll still find it hard to resist a book which tells you which cult novel has been implicated in assassinations, which world famous novelist offered to throw himself off a train to prove his devotion to his literary idol and which cult poet and prose stylist inspired a Broadway musical and the Velvet Underground. There's a critical guide to over 150 cult authors - from Kathy Acker to Yevgeny Zamyatin, including potted biographies, their must reads, and their surprising influences. Reviews of 100 cult novels - seminal works by authors who never quite achieved cult status themselves but still produced one classic work. Finally, there's a cult collection - a feast of literary trivia which categorises writers by the diseases they suffered for their art, reveals 12 literary giants who wrote standing up, and pores over the little known fictional epics of Sarah Bernhardt and Benito Mussolini.
About the Author
Written by the team behind the highly successful Rough Guide to Cult Movies.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This little volume is a real gem. Full of information on authors, books and more, it is the ultimate "dip into" read.
So many books are covered here - and I think that everyone should find at least a handful that they have not read.
And this is the main roll of this book - as a pointer to other works that might be of interest.
Also each book/author is linked to influences and what they have influenced - allowing readers to follow streams of cult fiction as they develop and evolve.
Also included are tips on writing a cult novel if anyone should wish to try (although surely trying to write something to be cult might stop it from being one).
I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever enjoyed the buzz of Naked Lunch, Gravity's Rainbow or Nausea.
So many books are covered here - and I think that everyone should find at least a handful that they have not read.
And this is the main roll of this book - as a pointer to other works that might be of interest.
Also each book/author is linked to influences and what they have influenced - allowing readers to follow streams of cult fiction as they develop and evolve.
Also included are tips on writing a cult novel if anyone should wish to try (although surely trying to write something to be cult might stop it from being one).
I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever enjoyed the buzz of Naked Lunch, Gravity's Rainbow or Nausea.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having in the past 3-4 years piled my way through cult books from authors such as Bukowski, Fante, Hesse, Kennedy Toole, Hamsun, Murukami, Hemingway, Eggers, etc, etc, etc the list goes on, with complete insatiable hunger, this book just fed that hunger further. If the above authors are your 'bag', then this book is pitched perfectly at your level and will stoke further ideas. I ended up with a wish list from this book nearing 70 books and i had already read a large proportion of the authors listed here. Incredible, the athors of this book know how to make boosk sound appealing. The recommendations are solid, but reading a potted history of the authors is entertaining in itself, especially those authors who have had such journeys it gets reflected in their art. Some one off books too are recommended, such as History of Luminous Motion by Scott Bradfield. Such books i would never have stumbled across without this. Highly recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
An invaluable, indispensable, illuminating, invigorating gem!
28 Jun 2006
Format:Paperback
When I first picked up this book I was immediately reminded of the 'AMOK 4th Dispatch' catalogue. Back in 1989 the AMOK bookstore out of L.A. released a sourcebook for the extremes of information in print. The book was an unbelievable find, a real jewel in the pre-internet age. Virtually every author who appeared in the 'PULPS' section of that catalogue has found themselves listed in this new ROUGH GUIDE.
For anyone who is tired of the bestseller lists and is looking for something different to read, this guidebook is indispensable! It features all the offbeat, wonderful authors who can lay claim to breaking new ground in literature. Some are well known bestselling authors (Vonnegut, Camus, Tolkien, Ellroy, Palahniuk, Pynchon), others are celebrated more for their lifestyles than their actual work (the infinitely emulated Kerouac, Bukowski and Henry Miller), still others are infamous (Selby, de Sade, Burroughs, Beirce) while many, many others have been either criminally ignored, forgotten or just faded with time (Crews, Himes, Mishima, Bowles, Dick, Willeford, Trocchi, Gysin et al.)
All have devoted (some would say slavish) readerships that have allowed for their works to remain in print one way or the other over the years. I have many of the writers in this collection but the real treasures are to be found with some of the other entries in the guide. You're bound to discover several new writers in this collection which, along with some extra facts that you may not have known about some of your favourite authors, makes it well worth buying. Some of you who haven't yet delved into the literary underworld are in for a real treat. I envy your upcoming voyage of discovery.
The guide is set up simply and efficiently. It covers over 200 novelists but also branches out to include classic cult books by authors who never became cult figures themselves, as well as graphic novels, beloved characters, non-fiction faves and even some trivia. I know about most of the authors mentioned in the book but there were still quite a few surprises as well as some illuminating facts, bios and recommended reads that made it well worth buying. I highly, highly recommend this guide for people who are ready to branch out from the bestsellers, the old classics and mainstream pulp. A whole new world of ideas awaits...
For anyone who is tired of the bestseller lists and is looking for something different to read, this guidebook is indispensable! It features all the offbeat, wonderful authors who can lay claim to breaking new ground in literature. Some are well known bestselling authors (Vonnegut, Camus, Tolkien, Ellroy, Palahniuk, Pynchon), others are celebrated more for their lifestyles than their actual work (the infinitely emulated Kerouac, Bukowski and Henry Miller), still others are infamous (Selby, de Sade, Burroughs, Beirce) while many, many others have been either criminally ignored, forgotten or just faded with time (Crews, Himes, Mishima, Bowles, Dick, Willeford, Trocchi, Gysin et al.)
All have devoted (some would say slavish) readerships that have allowed for their works to remain in print one way or the other over the years. I have many of the writers in this collection but the real treasures are to be found with some of the other entries in the guide. You're bound to discover several new writers in this collection which, along with some extra facts that you may not have known about some of your favourite authors, makes it well worth buying. Some of you who haven't yet delved into the literary underworld are in for a real treat. I envy your upcoming voyage of discovery.
The guide is set up simply and efficiently. It covers over 200 novelists but also branches out to include classic cult books by authors who never became cult figures themselves, as well as graphic novels, beloved characters, non-fiction faves and even some trivia. I know about most of the authors mentioned in the book but there were still quite a few surprises as well as some illuminating facts, bios and recommended reads that made it well worth buying. I highly, highly recommend this guide for people who are ready to branch out from the bestsellers, the old classics and mainstream pulp. A whole new world of ideas awaits...
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Fun to Read
8 Jun 2005
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I picked this up on a recent vacation to Minnapolis and found I couldn't put it down. I do think the book does omit some key cult writers but the ones who are included are handled by writers who obviously know their subjects. This guide includes a lot of my favorite writers (Jonathan Coe, Italo Calvino, Jasper Fforde, Borges, etc.) and I was pleased to find out some things about their lives and work that I didn't know before. The guide points out the writers' essential works and suggests what a particular writer might have in common with another writer. The book is often funny without being mean-spirited.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Excellent Place to Find Your New Favorite Novel
12 Jun 2005
Format:Paperback
First, a word about the term cult fiction, and its implications. When I first saw the title of this little book, I assumed it would be full of strung-out wreckages like Burroughs and Dick. While the Rough Guide does contain them (as it should), its scope is far greater than writers of that type. In here you'll find a wind range of novelists reviewed, including Graham Greene, John Fowles, even Zane Grey. Bottom line: an excellent resource for readers.
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