jitterbug Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 This may sound odd, but my favorite books are the one by clearly messed up and "off" writers. The ones that never yawn. My favorites are Charles Bukowski, John Fate, Jack Kerouac, and Tom Robbins. I'd just like to find other writers like these guys and was hoping you could help! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libri vermis Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 (edited) Hmmm, if you like Tom Robbins, you might want to try Thomas Pynchon. I haven't read him yet, but I have heard he is wacked in a similar way. Tom Robbins is the more accessible of the two, though. You may also like Christopher Moore. I don't enjoy him quite as much as Tom Robbins, but he is more prolific. Try either Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal or Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Oh, and another author you might like is Philip K. Dick. His style is definitely a bit "off". Less humor and more science fiction than the previous two mentioned. Try UBIK or Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Edited November 30, 2009 by libri vermis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 You want "messed up" authors? Fine... Edgar Allan Poe, Nietzsche, H.P. Lovecraft, Hunter S. Thompson, Dylan Thomas, James Joyce (though his weird tendencies have been overplayed in biographies and analysis), Julian Maclaren-Ross (maybe). Phillip K. Dick was more into pills than booze, but he seems weird enough to be included. I remember reading that Robert E. Howard had serious mental health issues (there is a great story of him at his typewriter, banging out a Conan short, terrified to turn around because he believed the Cimmerian was standing behind him with an axe), so we should consider him weird enough, right... An author whose work is much more complex and weird than the man himself is David Britton. His novel- Uh... Better link here, the title is NSFW -is as insane and troubling as it is brilliantly inventive. Insane is probably an understatement for the book. I think you'll find that 'messed up' and 'off' writers are slightly more common than people would believe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Chuck Palahniuk is one of my favourite authors and he's pretty 'messed up'. Haunted and Rant are my favourite books by him and Fight Club is also pretty amazing. If you want seriously messed up I'd recommend Danny by Chancery Stone. I've tried to read it about three times but have to put it down sharpish as it's just too much for my fragile soul to take. I think there's Danny Volume II and III too but I haven't managed to get that far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beccles Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 What about some Stephen King when he was on drink and drugs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimmy619 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 My suggestion would be Hunter S Thompson. I know he has been mentioned above, but I wanted to second the suggestion. Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas is a good place to start and is one of my favourite books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Oooooh totally forgot to mention Richard Brautigan! His work is amazing! A lot of it is out of print now but you can still buy some of it on Amazon. I've read Dreaming of Babylon, Sombrero Fallout, Willard's Bowling Trophy and The Hawkline Monster. He was an alcoholic for most of his life and shot himself at the age of 49....such a sad story but you can tell just by reading his work, that he was a torn personality. Such a good writer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Sombrero Fallout is an utterly fantastic book! Sadly out of print, now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicola Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 It's amazing isn't it! The idea of the story continuing without the knowledge of the author is pretty unique . I borrowed the books from a man at work who kept telling me I should read Richard Brautigan. I really must invest in copies of these books for myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adonis Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Try Cosmic Banditos by Allan Weisbecker. It's not exactly what you're talking about but it's along those lines, very funny and slightly based on reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaustoMerckx Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Definitely Fear and Loathing. William Burroughs is extremely messed up, 'Naked Lunch' is just obscene. Aldous Huxley 'The doors of perception'. I've got some short stories by Dylan Thomas that are messed up. Picked up couple second hand books other day that look to be along these lines - 'Confessions of a hope fiend' by Timothy Leary and 'Dead Babies' by Martin Amis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigWords Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 TV Tropes has a name for "messed up writers" - Creator Breakdown (which is about things going pear-shaped mid-series), and there are fine examples included. A comic-book example would be (famously) Dave Sim, but the Skippy saga is much more interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rijsel Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 William Burroughs most definitely !!! Have you ever tried French ones, like Jean Genet or Henri Michaux? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricco Balboa Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Ive looked into some of these authors and already ordered 2 books off some authors suggested. I would also Reccomend Hunter S Thompson. I tried Rant by Palahniuk which was ok. I would however reccomended The Thin Red Line by James Jones. Its pretty gruesome and a bit twisted but factual and quite funny in places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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