Wikipedia says that “Transgressive fiction is a genre of literature which focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual or illicit ways.”
Another author friend of mine, once told me it’s debatable if transgressive literature even exists anymore. What’s transgressive nowadays? He calls it “Alternative Literature”.
Maybe, he’s right. I don’t know.
What I do know is “Transgressive” literature is hard to define.
Everyone has their own definition.
For me “transgressive” authors are writers who, in a world of conformity and commercialism, write how they want to write. They don’t give a shit about what genre or box they may fit into. Writing fucking honest words. They have a story to tell and they bleed their words onto the page until the story is done. They’re artists who blend poetry and prose effortlessly whilst writing about things that could/would still be considered taboo in today’s society. Mental health, suicide, sexuality, poverty, addiction, abuse and trauma being just a few prime examples.
You’ll never see these books on a supermarket shelf or in Oprah’s book club, but you’ll see them on the shelves of readers who live and breathe books. These books never made the New York Times Bestseller lists, but they’ve remained cult favorites and probably will always be cult favorites for the disenfranchised.
Enough talk. These are my top 13 “Transgressive” books to read before you die.
NOTE: I’ve stayed away from the more mainstream “transgressive” novels, to give love to the more unknown and dirty diamonds out there. So, there’s no Palahnuik or Ellis. No Transgressive novels that Google or Amazon are likely to suggest.
If you’ve found this article it means in a world of superficiality, dishonesty, and vapidness, you’re searching for books with soul, with balls, and with fucking heart. Here are thirteen.
13: Digging the Vein by Tony O’Neill
A pitch black ode to heroin addiction and hopelessness.
12: Hating Olivia by Mark SaFranko
A no holds barred recounting of a fucked-up love affair. Brutally honest and well-written.
11: So the Wind Won’t Blow it All Away by Richard Brautigan
A bitter-sweet and tragic story about loss. Loss of everything that matters: Youth, Love and Life.
10: Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
Madness and non-conformity and beauty.
9: Chump Change by Dan Fante
The brutal tell-all of a lost soul and drifter. Sometimes humorous. Often dark. Always real.
8: When I was Five I Killed Myself by Howard Buten
A truly beautiful novel that I can’t even begin to explain. This should be at the top of all literary lists. If you haven’t read it, start today!
7: Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver
It’s crime, but crime like you’ve never read before. A scathing attack on modern society as much as it is an interesting and very well-written crime novel.
6: Suicide Casanova by Arthur Nersesian
Nersesian is funny, fucked up, poetic and quite possibly a literary genius. Read this and then read all of his other novels.
5: My Fault by Billy Childish
Talking of genius. READ Billy Childish. Read his poetry. Admire his paintings. Drown yourself in all of his novels. Listen to his music. Revel in his lyrics. He’s the UK punk Bukowski and an English literary gem.
4: Leaving Las Vegas by John O’Brien
When I wrote my own transgressive novel Shadows Slow Dancing in Derelict Rooms, I hoped it would have 10% of the heartbreaking poetry of O’Brien’s masterpiece about an alcoholic going to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. O’Brien died too young and is missed.
3: Ask the Dust by John Fante
Love and poetry and poverty. Prose like punches. If you’re into transgressive novels, I’m guessing you’ve already read it.
2: Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
Adolescent angst. Humorous. Sad. Poetic prose. One of Bukowski’s more sentimental and introspective novels. I take it everywhere with me.
1: 4:48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane
This isn’t a book or play or script. It’s one long poem about mental illness, isolation, lost love, hopelessness and the oft brutal passing of days. The last thing Kane wrote before taking her own life and it really shows in the prose. RIP Sarah Kane.
There you have it.
I missed out a few. Quite a few. But these were just 13 of mine. Feel free to add your own in the comments below. There’s nothing better than discovering a great book you never knew existed.
-Honorable Mentions-
If you enjoyed this article, check out:
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If you’ve read most of these masterpieces already and are looking for some transgressive crime novels inspired by the works above, give my novels a read. They’re dark, they’re fucked up, but they’ve got a lot of heart.
Buy Transgressive Crime Noir Here
Stephen J. Golds was born in North London, U.K, but has lived in Japan for most of his life. He speaks the language pretty well and makes great takoyaki.
He writes primarily in the noir and dirty realism genres and is the editor-in-chief of Punk Noir Press. Some of his writing influences are Charles Bukowski, John Fante, James M. Cain, Tobias Wolff, Sarah Kane and Jim Thompson.
He enjoys spending time with his daughters, reading books, traveling the world, boxing and listening to old Soul LPs. His books are Say Goodbye When I’m Gone, I’ll Pray When I’m Dying, Always the Dead, and Shadows Slow Dancing in Derelict Rooms. His poetry collections are Poems for Ghosts in Empty Tenement Windows I Thought I Saw Once, and Half-Empty Doorways and Other Injuries. He also has a short story and poetry collection titled Love Like Bleeding Out With an Empty Gun in Your Hand.
Check Out Stephen’s Website Here
PRAISE FOR STEPHEN J. GOLDS
“And again we ask ourselves, what is noir? You’ll know it when you see it. The stories of the defeated and downtrodden, the songs of the fallen. The poetry of apprehension. The oasis of horror in a desert of ennui. Or maybe it simply comes down to this, as James Ellroy succinctly put it – you’re fucked.
Were we to canonize such things, Stephen J Golds would be the patron saint of the fallen and the fucked. Out there in the dark wash, up to his knees panning for gold in a placer rich with alluvial deposits of misery and last legs.”— Dom Nolan, Author of Vine Street
“[Golds] had something that everyone in this weird industry says they are looking for but rarely commit to: A VOICE. A tone. A style. Free and poetic. Something that, no matter what the story is, you can tell from the first page it is a Stephen J. Golds novel.” – Will Carver, Cult Crime Author of Nothing Important Happened Today
“Stephen J. Golds is a promising new talent that the world should be reading!” — Awais Khan, Author of In the Company of Strangers
“With every new word he writes, I’m further convinced: Golds is a once-in-a-generation literary talent.” – Rob Parker, Author of Audible Bestseller Far From the Tree
“Golds’ writing is exceptional – powerful, compelling and beautifully dark.” – Sarah Moorhead, Author of The Treatment
“A serious new talent has come to town.” — Judith O’Reilly, Author of Curse The Day
Punk Noir Press 