Transgressive Fiction discussion
How/Where Do You Hunt Down New Books?
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I would start by defining what you mean by "transgressive". First there is a so-called "transgressive genre" which is barely acknowledged by anybody mostly because it is so small and because Secondly transgressive art and literature have existed since the beginning of writing. Oedipus was transgressive when he killed his father and fucked his mother, for example. This second theme of transgression is what interests me most.My best source for finding what I am looking for is Goodreads and the best way I find books is by lurking and reading through peoples' booklists.
A distant second is book reviews on Youtube, although I have only found 2 quality reviewers there who are consistently good in recommending this type of literature.
Third would be word of mouth or reading blogs/forums about this subject matter but it yields few results. There are 1000000 bloggers who think they are the only one who has ever reviewed American Psycho and another 1000000 people who think they are edgy because they read Chuck Pahlaniuk.
Otherwise, think outside the box and find your own way. Read the books that have influenced your favorite authors or inspired your favorite musicians or artists. Learn about different literary schools and periods where you might find transgressive literature (surrealism, early modernism, Beat Generation, French Decadence etc). Don't go along with the herd by reading what everybody else is reading. Search the most obscure corners of the internet/bookstore/library/antique markets/estate sales. Talk to people in bars. Ask the people you do drugs with. Taxi drivers and sex workers are often surprisingly knowledgeable about this kind of thing. A prostitute might be the one who recommends your next favorite novel.
This can be a lifelong quest, even longer if you don't commit suicide at a young age. Good luck.
Also, searching the web for lists of controversial literature, offensive literature, or disturbing literature works better than using the search term "transgressive". Like I said before, think outside the box,
"Transgressive" as in: the books this Goodreads group leans toward. It does seem that searching online often yields the same grip of well-established and even famous books -- but finding new stuff written by unknowns, and published by small and independent presses is more my speed.
YouTube reviewers...certainly never thought of looking there. Thanks for the idea. Appreciate the response.
Thommy Waite podcast is a good source to find new transgressive authors, He chats to quite a few.https://open.spotify.com/show/4hV9Wcm...
J
I started out reading books published by Amphetamine Sulphate. I mean, I’d read stuff by like Dennis Cooper and some bigger names previously, but yes, AS, and some of their authors had overlapping interests with me so through that I started following and befriending some of their authors on social media. I get recommendations that way and it’s worked out fairly well for me the past couple of years.
Social media?
Magazines?
Or do you just follow writers you already know you like?
Transgressive stuff is just a dark enough corner that tracking down new books can be a challenge!