The Rough Guide to Cult Fiction (Rough Guides Reference Titles) [Paperback]

Michaela Bushell, Helen Rodiss Paul Simpson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2005 | Series: Rough Guide Reference

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Written by the team behind the highly successful Rough Guide to Cult Movies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides (May 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843533871
• ISBN-13: 978-1843533870
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable, indispensable, illuminating, invigorating gem!, June 27, 2006

By 

High Duke (Zagreb, CROATIA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Cult Fiction (Rough Guides Reference Titles) (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...

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun to Read, June 8, 2005

By 

Gabriel Oak (Middletown, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Rough Guide to Cult Fiction (Rough Guides Reference Titles) (Paperback)

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.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Place to Find Your New Favorite Novel, June 12, 2005

By 

Fuzzbottle (Freehold, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Cult Fiction (Rough Guides Reference Titles) (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.