The Metamorphosis of a Prime Intellect.
Chuck Palahniuk’s Haunted is the first thing which popped into my head.
It’s a ‘diegetic’ anthology, the context is reminiscent of Sartre’s No Exit in many ways, but taken to Palahniuk’s particular style of extreme.
There’s one short story in it which caused furor back in the day, but I honestly found the meta-context to be even more philosophically gruesome.
Edit: may be biased, I got the book as a gift from a girl I used to like a lot, but she… well, let’s just say she was living that book at the time.
I’m gonna try that! Not really a book, but guts by him is also grotesquely integuing.
Hope you enjoy, Guts is part of Haunted, the one which caused the furor!
Wildest as in…?
I finished reading Maldita Guerra, which is the current de facto book detailing the Paraguay War (1864-1870). Francisco Solano López, Paraguay’s dictator at the time, is possibly the worst thing to have happened to the country. The fucking psycho established a cult of personality (saint figures in churches were removed to put photos of him), the only newspaper allowed to print was always cheering on how great and perfect he was, plus a secret police to ensure nobody would dare rise up against him. Oh, and the population was incentivized to denounce anyone that didn’t show enough love for the president.
To make matters worse, there was no real justice system. If you were accused of treason or conspiracy, you were as good as dead, no recourse. Oh, and López’ head was deep inside his own ass, any war reports that showed difficulties or stated losses from the Paraguayan army were rebuked and the person could end up dead for giving the bad news. The fucking asshole willfully ignored facts while giving orders to his army. He could’ve wiped the Triple Alliance’s forces when they began the counterattack, but his “strategic genius” was composed of himself and nobody else.
Jitterbug perfume was out there.
Kafkas famous book, I think the title is the transformation.
Also Orson Wells about the civil war in Spain. This was not fiction, but it points out so much real life non sense and lies that had my head spinning for most of the book.
Which book is that about the Spanish Civil War?
On that topic, George Orwell’s book, Homage to Catalonia, is also very much recommended.
That’s the one, I think I got my authors mixed
Definitely House of Leaves. A story inside of a story, inside of a story, with all narrators being just a bit crazy. Text of different fonts, going all over the place and even upside down based on the story. Just make sure to get the physical copy.
Just finished this one. And honestly, it broke my brain and how I interpret other written narratives.
2nd on the physical copy. This text doesn’t work otherwise.
House of Leaves feels like reading some sort of forbidden text.
I’m pretty sure that was the intent.
I’ve been meaning to get his latest work which he predictably didn’t finish. Have you read it?
Oh I didn’t know about this. You’re talking about The Familiar, right? I don’t know if I’m up for another 5 books like this but now I really want to try.
Exactly so!
I came here to say this
Not a book, but a webcomic: https://elan.school/
Be careful what you wish for OP, this is THE WILDEST shit you will ever read (at least top 5, guaranteed) and the worst/best part is that it’s all true.
Also, its VERY addictive so clear your schedule.
You’ve been warned.
You’ve ALL been warned.
So it’s not all true, right?
I remember reading through the entire thing in one sitting… it is LONG. You can’t look away
Yup, I started reading out of curiosity from a suggestion on a thread just like this one, then found myself 10 hours later feeling like I’d come down from an acid trip.
I’m jealous of the people who can take that ride now, but also glad my ride with it is over. If that makes any sense.
You know I’d rather not read about that “school” again.
Exactly, but not knowing it exist is even worse.
No it’s NOT all true. It begins true, like the first couple chapters, then it spirals into 100% creative fiction. Please do not trouble your brain & emotions over fiction.
The best fiction can be quite troubling, the trick is knowing the difference and/but allowing the troubles. Good art can move you. Great art compells you to move yourself.
What years were you in Elan, since you are the obvious expert? And even if the Elan part was creative fiction, are you saying that I shouldn’t care about the children who really went through that? Should I watch Saving Private Ryan and not “trouble my brains and emotions” about war because “Tom Hanks wasn’t really a soldier”?
You sound like a sociopath.
Yeah, i found it here a while ago, read about 60 chapter. And then just decided tot preorder the 3 physical books. A fantastic but also horrifying read.
Just shotgunned the whole thing while sick abed. A wild ride, for sure; I almost quit reading several times.
I went into Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? blind. Hadn’t seen the movie, hadn’t read any other Dick, hadn’t even had it hyped to me by a friend. What a series of mindfucks.
Lies, Inc. is another by PKD that will leave your head spinning.
I love pkd but haven’t read that, thx.
If you want something really wild by him you can try Valis. Going in blind or not won’t really make a difference.
The only Philip K. Dick I’ve read is Flow my tears the policeman said (epic title for a book). It’s pretty linear and coherent until one point towards the end where, without question, 'ol Dick popped some acid.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is an obvious but nonetheless relevant answer. What a ride.
Also Infinite Jest.
I’d say the first book of The Chronicles of Thomas covenant the unbeliever was a wild trip.
In the story, Thomas covenant has leprosy. Due to the leprosy he is numb from the neck down even though he can still walk. He has no sensation when he touches anything and he cannot engage in his chosen profession which is writing. In a fit of pique he rescues a girl that almost gets hit by a car and gets isekaied.
This was written in the late '70s so it was not a common trope at the time.
He arrives in a world of magic on top of a mountain covered in Giant steps, he crawls his way down the mountain and encounters a girl who uses the magic of the land to heal him of his leprosy.
Believing this is all a dream and trying to prove to himself that this is not real, he rapes the girl.
The girls seems very distraught but pulls herself together and guides him into town and that is when he discovers that the white gold wedding ring on his finger is the source of wild magic.
There is a great evil on the land that plans to destroy everything and he is the chosen person, the only person who can stop it.
He has to fight against his disbelief of the world while reconciling his abhorrent actions with his own internal sense of morality in order to have a chance to go home again.
This book spawned a 10 book series covering hundreds of years of history in the land with Thomas Covenant’s battle with the forces of evil and the lives of the people of the land resting in his leprosy numbed hands.
It’s an amazing work but it is a rough read.
Have read the first 6 books at least a half dozen times since my local librarian suggested Lord Foul’s Bane to 12 year old me in the early 80s. Little heavy for a pre teen, so I’m pretty sure she hadn’t read it herself…But those books ignited a lifelong passion for fantasy adventure stories. Saltheart Foamfollower is one of my absolute favorite characters of all time. Sooo many wild parts in those books. Good call!
Indeed. When saltheart foamfollower undergoes the lava caamora? Like I don’t cry but that brought a tear to my eye.
There is a final four books out which are of a different caliber than the first six but not a terrible read.
Yeah…I read the last 4, too. Not all that long ago. I appreciated the nostalgia returning to The Land engendered…but…“a different caliber”, is a very diplomatic way to refer to them. Lol
China Miéville - The City & the City is one that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Wild because as far out as it feels, it’s also a pretty accurate portrayal of how we’ve trained ourselves to intentionally not see. I find myself thinking of the book often.
The premise for this book was so strange I often had to reread passages to fully understand the differing perspectives of people standing next to one another and yet be in two different realities.
The Road. Still think about it a lot.
Philip K Dick - The three stigmata of palmer eldritch.
It’s like a dream, where you forget where you came from, but at the same time there are powerful themes that are personally and emotionally affecting. Like an acid trip or religious experience, you aren’t the same person after you’ve finished it, whatever lesson you got from it.
The Book of Rack the Healer by Zach Hughes was pretty wild.
It’s ‘New wave’ sci-fi from the 1970’s, and revolves around these mutated humans in a deeply poisonous and radioactive world where it’s forbidden to dig into the earth.
The humans have evolved a carapice and internal air sacks that they fill to hold their breath before leaving their safe organic dome homes that change color depending on their mood. Some of the domes have women in them that don’t seem capable of complex thought, and live purely through sensory input, are telepathic, and are basically constantly edging themselves all day.
It’s a drug fueled fever dream, for sure.
That sounds a bit like “The Prince in Waiting” by John Christopher (more famous for “The Tripods”), it’s a trilogy also set in the distant future after a nuclear war, where all machines have been outlawed and humans exist alongside dwarfs and mutants. Over the course of the trilogy, the protagonists (living in fairly alright areas) venture deeper into more and more radiated areas and encounter grotesque stuff.
Oh man, I adore the tripods, so I’ll be giving that a read for sure. Cheers for sharing!
I found my next read. Copy ordered.
I read Mother Load by Zach Huges decades ago. Not as strange as the one you describe but I still remember it.
Ha, cool! Hope you enjoy it 😄
Strange new world by Heinlein.
Martian Jesus comes back to earth and is like, wtf guys?Do you mean Stranger In a Strange Land? Because that’s one of mine.