Cult Fiction

by Andrew Calcutt, Richard Shephard

What makes a novel "cult"?: drink and drugs; sex and rock 'n' roll?; a window on subcultures?; the ability to tap into the zeitgeist? This book provides an insight into the cult canon assessing 250 authors who have pioneered experiments in style and content, from Kathy Acker and Nelson Algren via Burroughs and Bukowski to Tom Wolfe and Irvine Welsh. Each entry has an author biography, an assessment of their oeuvre, a "for" and "against", and a further and related reading list.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Books About Books

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Dr Andrew Calcutt is the 'hackademic' (former journalist turned academic) who left Channel Cyberia (one of the earliest online magazines in the UK) to set up the University of East London's first journalism programme (BA Journalism and Print Media.) His academic career is as old as UEL's Docklands Campus, which opened in 1999.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prior to joining Goodreads, there was a period of a few years during which I was getting recommendations from this guide of books to read. Besides naming authors, associating them with one or another genre of fiction, and suggesting which books one might start with, this book includes biographical details on each of the writers. Moreover, like the Amazon website, it suggests that if you like author X, you might also want to try author Y.

Acquired Nov 20, 2005
Powell's City of Books, Portland, OR

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

An eclectic reference of writers, some well-known, some not. Tom Robbins is one of the authors this book introduced me to. I think Bataille may have been included, too. I still pick it up and leaf through it from time to time. There is a short description of each writer, usually mentioning what is considered to be their best work.

[Grant Talabay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The greatest guide to cult, punk, disenfranchised, and downright lowly writers. A short bio of the author is followed by descriptions of their works, recommendations of the best and laudable works, then points the reader to similar authors! A must read, Must Own!

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turned me on to a lot of good authors, but is missing many vital names.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

most authors mentioned I've never heard of before and there were also a lot of phrases I am unfamiliar with, so it was mind broadening, to say the least.