The Literature of Cruelty.

Hello. I have found myself becoming interested in fiction where an author is not afraid to be as cruel as possible to his characters, be it physical pain or psychological. While I am not a complete sadist- I cannot stand animals, infants and children in peril, sadism and cruelty in literature is beginning to attract me. One of the most perverse books I know of is Jerzy Kosinski's The Painted Bird, which shews the horrors of the Second World War and the Holocaust through the eyes of a child. I believe Kurt Vonnegut also said a similar thing pertaining to sadism in fiction though I have quite forgotten. If anyone on this forum knows books where an authors cruelty and sadism is taking to the limits then I would be grateful. But please do not think me a madman who takes delight in suffering, I have only a passing interest in this forbidden and nameless form of para-literature.

Read some de Sade and some Jean Genet. Also Comte de Lautreamont's Songs of Maldoror. Georges Bataille pretty much any of his fiction. J.G. Ballard's Crash.

THE CONSUMER by Michael Gira.
Hard to find cheap but I assure you the tone is unremittingly cruel and void of even a shred of dignity.

One I haven't got to myself yet is TODDLER HUNTING AND OTHER STORIES by Kono Taeko, which I believe is rife with cruelty.
Different from THE PAINTED BIRD but equally shattering are Kosinski's COCKPIT and STEPS. Don't come back whimpering that you didn't ask for this

I thought of Sergio Pitol's Infierno de Todos (roughly translated: "this hell for everyone") but apparently it's never been translated into English. Bummer. It's almost exactly what you're asking for: a collection of short-stories where its various protagonists end up sick or deranged or emotionally crippled. In the foreword to a recent re-edition Pitol says something along the lines of "best case scenario, my characters died." The physical or emotional trauma is not so much the point of the stories, but their framework. For instance, one story, "Victorio Ferri tells a tale", the eponymous character is a bed-ridden child and he's talking about the rumors surrounding his family: some believe his father, a cruel and vicious landowner, is the devil; there's word of an apparent incestuous relationship between the father and one of Victorio's sisters. And that's more or less the story: this kid who is dying of some terrible disease painting the bleak landscape of the little world he knows. It's a good read, but sadly out of reach for non-Spanish speakers. Bummer.

edited to add: apparently at least the one story I mentioned has been translated into English, under the same literal title I used. There's a preview here http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08905768708594240?journalCode=rrev20 but I'm afraid the full text is only available for subscribers to this particular journal.

Other than that, I'm thinking of Hedayat's The Blind Owl.

A lot of good recommendations. For my part--
Guy Endore's The Werewolf of Paris. An unremittingly brutal book where all the characters come to cruel ends. I'm a little surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet. In time, it would. Because of its artistry, it makes De Sade seem clownish. (He was anyway).
It's also the only werewolf novel I know of that deserves to be called classic. As many have pointed out, it's the Dracula of Lycanthropic horror. But, by God, it is unpleasant.
I bought the paperback when I was ten. You shouldn't have a problem finding a reasonably priced copy.

Very good suggestions.

Some of the aforementioned titles can be found as pdf files, if one does a quick Google search. At least one can then get a taste of the works mentioned and decide if a purchase is needed.

Interesting thread, thank you.

Dennis Cooper and Peter Sotos may be of interest.

Also, Matthew Stokoe.

RE addiction literature don't forget Geza Csath's Opium and Other Stories. Which also happens to be relevant to the topic of fictive cruelty. And I can recommend Georges Bataille's Literature of Evil.

Cruelty and Sadism in literature is a very interesting topic, I believe that even most simple examples - almost complete mannerism, could still be good for your imagination from time to time.
It really doesn't get any better than Marquis de Sade, I rate him among those like Shakespeare and Po and I would even say one day they will be forgotten and Marquis will still be considered modern, almost everything pales compared to him, but sadly most dismiss him as simple pornographer which is of course bullshit.
It would be interesting to see some further discussion on cruelty on other mediums - like internet of course, in recent years great rise of popularity of Snuff genre which is getting more and more exposed, sites that contain videos of torture from some random war-zones across world, "leaked" mortuary video shows or blogs that mainly focus on pictures of car crash victims for example... There is whole scene now and its getting wider, for better or worse. There is some kinda of addiction behind all this when you just cant look away, those who know better speak speak of some kind of healing process behind all this, which is kinda hard to believe, but there is certainly something special behind all of that, not just dead-end pathology.

I won't post any images in order not to offend anyone, but contemporary visual artists such as Thomas Hirschhorn engage this problematics very explicitly. Particularly in his collage works.

Sarah Palin's autobiography 'Going Rogue' is, at least in my opinion, a real tour de force and an essential contribution to the literature of cruelty. Her technique of sugar-coating the sadism and cruelty is quite fresh and original.

Also, I'd highly recommend the Bible. Children being torn to pieces by bears at the command of the Lord Jehovah are only the tip of the iceberg.

Coa said:

Cruelty and Sadism in literature is a very interesting topic, I believe that even most simple examples - almost complete mannerism, could still be good for your imagination from time to time.
It really doesn't get any better than Marquis de Sade, I rate him among those like Shakespeare and Po and I would even say one day they will be forgotten and Marquis will still be considered modern, almost everything pales compared to him, but sadly most dismiss him as simple pornographer which is of course bullshit.

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Coa, I've never dared taste a single fragment from the excremental works of the salubrious Marquis, but I cannot say I haven't always found the odor of his persona to be a musky, appetizing fragrant (and Quills is really an awesome play and film). Which of his works would be most suitable for a newcomer to his cuisine?

Joko's Anniversary by Roland Topor has some really cringe-inducing scenes of torture and humiliation, but I think the most cruel and sadistic work I've read is Lautréamont's diabolical masterpiece already mentioned by luciferfell:

I shall set down in a few lines how uptight Maldoror was during his early years, when he lived happy. There: done. He later perceived he was born wicked: strange mischance! For a great many years he concealed his character as best he could; but in the end, because this effort was not natural to him, each day the blood would rush to his head until, unable any longer to bear such a life, he hurled himself resolutely into a career of evil … sweet atmosphere! Who could guess whenever he hugged a rosycheeked young child, that he was longing to hack off those cheeks with a razor and would have done so often had not the idea of Justice and her long cortège of punishments restrained him on every occasion.

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The scene where the animals of the earth find God inebriated on the side of the road and then proceed to have their way with the defenseless drunkard always leaves me in stitches sweetened with schadenfreude.

Waffiesnaq said:

Coa said:

Cruelty and Sadism in literature is a very interesting topic, I believe that even most simple examples - almost complete mannerism, could still be good for your imagination from time to time.
It really doesn't get any better than Marquis de Sade, I rate him among those like Shakespeare and Po and I would even say one day they will be forgotten and Marquis will still be considered modern, almost everything pales compared to him, but sadly most dismiss him as simple pornographer which is of course bullshit.

Click to expand...

Coa, I've never dared taste a single fragment from the excremental works of the salubrious Marquis, but I cannot say I haven't always found the odor of his persona to be a musky, appetizing fragrant (and Quills is really an awesome play and film). Which of his works would be most suitable for a newcomer to his cuisine?

Joko's Anniversary by Roland Topor has some really cringe-inducing scenes of torture and humiliation, but I think the most cruel and sadistic work I've read is Lautréamont's diabolical masterpiece already mentioned by luciferfell:

I shall set down in a few lines how uptight Maldoror was during his early years, when he lived happy. There: done. He later perceived he was born wicked: strange mischance! For a great many years he concealed his character as best he could; but in the end, because this effort was not natural to him, each day the blood would rush to his head until, unable any longer to bear such a life, he hurled himself resolutely into a career of evil … sweet atmosphere! Who could guess whenever he hugged a rosycheeked young child, that he was longing to hack off those cheeks with a razor and would have done so often had not the idea of Justice and her long cortège of punishments restrained him on every occasion.

Click to expand...

The scene where the animals of the earth find God inebriated on the side of the road and then proceed to have their way with the defenseless drunkard always leaves me in stitches sweetened with schadenfreude.

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The best place to start with de Sade is Philosophy in the Bedroom. Its not as overlong as his other books. It gets right to the good stuff.

I second the recommendation of Dennis Cooper and Peter Sotos. I would also add Bret Easton Ellis, Alain Robbe-Grillet's A Sentimental Novel, pretty much all of David Peace's Red Riding Quartet as well. Oh, and Guyotat's Eden, Eden, Eden (one of the most difficult texts I've ever come across).

This thread may prove invaluable; I now have a list of writers I shall never read. Some obvious choices are missing. Blood Meridian, for one.

I don't really care for this type of literature but I have read my share. A few more that could be added: Maurice Level, Charles Birkin, and Jack Ketchum. Not favorites of mine.

I remember enjoying De Sade's irreverence more than his cruelty. "Philosophy in the Bedroom" and "A Dialogue between a Priest and a Dying Man" were entertaining. ( at least they were 20 years ago) You can read them for free on the net. Other than that I have read Justine and a few other shorter works. I started 120 Days of Sodom but never progressed too far. It seemed like more of the same with a bit more disgust thrown in.

I've read a few others mentioned on this thread: Maldoror, Ballard's Crash, Kalich's Nihilesthete, Joko's Anniversary by Topor, Geza Csath's Opium and Other Stories, (about half of the stories) The Painted Bird and Steps by Kosinski, The Consumer by Gira, Bataille's Literature of Evil, and Blood Meridian by McCarthy. Everything that I have read by McCarthy would qualify, but Blood Meridian is the best. Some of these I liked, some not.

I still want to read Endore's novel. It's around here somewhere.

Mark Cooper said:

Sarah Palin's autobiography 'Going Rogue' is, at least in my opinion, a real tour de force and an essential contribution to the literature of cruelty. Her technique of sugar-coating the sadism and cruelty is quite fresh and original.

Also, I'd highly recommend the Bible. Children being torn to pieces by bears at the command of the Lord Jehovah are only the tip of the iceberg.

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Palin always made me sick. I might take a look at her book if it is at the library. And I echo your sentiments about the Bible.

Waffiesnaq -

There is a nice collection of early stories by Oxford University Press called - The Misfortunes of Virtue and Other Early Tales. It contains thirteen or so stories and its a nice starting place, also The Mystified Magistrate and Other Tales... and there is of course juggernauts like Justine and Philosophy in the Bedroom.
Les Crimes De l'Amour was my first book by Marquis and many would recommend it as good starting place but that's only because its most "cuddly" and tame of all he's books, avoid it.
Also, stay away from "The Complete Marquis De Sade" edition translated by Paul J. Gillette, you can find much better translations than that.

On a light-hearted note, there's Spencer Holst. His stories tend to be rather humorous and whimsical (he's often described as some hybrid of Franz Kafka and Gabriel García Márquez), but an argument can be made that he was exceptionally cruel to a good deal of his characters, as he more often than not put them through rather awful ordeals, though the cruelty was always more sardonic than sadistic.

If I may recap one of his tales for reference: in "The Blond Bat" the protagonist is a chubby and somewhat ugly-looking bartender. One day after work he gets on the subway and sees this beautiful girl dressed with a mask that covers most of her face and a black velvet costume. It's the most beautiful girl this bartender has ever seen. Over the course of the brief ride he falls in love and musters the courage to say something to her. (At this point Holst makes a point of saying he realizes he might seem like a sadist for throwing such a scenario towards this poor bartender, with a girl who'll probably end up breaking his heart, but he argues along the lines of "yes, after tonight the bartender will have many months of horror and many years of sadness, but he'll always be thankful for this magical night of love. He won't be unhappy because unhappiness is not having the courage."

The story then proceeds. The girl stands up anticipating her stop. The bartender stands up and says what he has to say to her. She looks at him for a moment, then laughs. But it's a playful, inviting laugh. When the subway door opens she runs, and the bartender chases after her. When they exit the subway, there's some kind of huge party going on with music, parades, and everyone is wearing costumes. The blond bat turns around, grabs the bartender, kisses him, takes his hand, and leads him through the celebrations until they reach a table with some judges in it and she signs them up for some sort of contest. They win the contest on the spot and the judges usher them to this heart-shaped chair and crown them king and queen of the night. Then the crowd starts going wild. The raucous celebration increases. Somewhere a bell begins to chime. The blonde bat takes off her mask... and she's even prettier than the bartender imagined.

The story ends there, in the chair. The maskless girl points towards the clock on the side of a building, leans closer to the bartender and says: "It's midnight! Take off your mask!"

"Miss Gentibelle" by Charles Beaumont is one of the cruelest stories I've read. It was filmed, rather well, for a British anthology television series and reaction from the public was so negative the series was soon dropped from American TV.
I hated that story, still do, but Beaumont was a good writer and , if I remember correctly, Ray Bradbury said it was the first story Beaumont wrote.

Was Leonid Andreyev mentioned? I was thinking of him when I mentioned obvious choices. I enjoyed "Lazarus" but he's not one of my favorites though I intend to read The Red Laugh one of these days.

For cruelty, I'm not sure many could match the writers of the old Weird Menace pulps. Dreadful stuff!

Many thanks, Coa. The Marquis is just one of those colorful rascals I've never gotten around to. But I have gotten round a few.

Hell-Ghost said:

Heavens above! So many fine choices and recommendations. I do not like cruelty for its own sake but if it is integrated into the narrative with a decent purpose. Hence, the renegades who call themselves the Splatterpunks hold no interest for me. They are not so much 'This is what happens when Man goes too far.' as 'I have mutilated a child beyond all recognition! Now I have aesthetic value!'

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You're talking a lot of sense. I remember reading Ligotti in an interview stating he can't handle real-life violence, news violence, it's just too heartbreaking. I feel him. Some true crime non-fiction I've read, on the Snowtown killings for example, is more harrowing than any weird fiction, including Ligotti (who doesn't fixate on physical suffering in his stories, thankfully).

I like the existential and meaningful stuff, like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Terrible-Horrible-Good-Very/dp/0689711735

No irony intended.