I'm Trying to Find a Certain Type of Book...

[Jonbo]

Howdy all. 1st post so be nice!
Basically I've always had an interest in disturbing, some might say "freaky" things. I'm aware of how rubbish that description is so I'll give example.
Things such as the concept for the Hellraiser films (shame the films were a tad naff!), the imagery for Clive Barker's Tortured Souls and having grown up as a part of the computer games generation - things such as Silent Hill and Loaded (which features the inmates of a twisted mental institution breaking out with guns - poor game but disturbing none-the-less.)
Anywho, I'm looking for an adult book (if there even is one) that incorporates those kind of dark and "wrong" ideas such as I mentioned above.
I'm a big lover of the "dark & warped" lunatic asylum thing - freaks me out!
Any ideas anyone!?

 

[Motokid]

Lunatic Asylum brings to mind One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

hope I spelled that right....

 

[Jonbo]

Thats good. More dark tho!!

 

[Mari]

Clockwork Orange.

 

[Freya]

http://forums.thebookforum.com/showthread.php?t=3030

Try that thread for a few suggestions made some time ago!

 

[Jonbo]

It's weird. It's a really specific style I'ma fter that I can't quite put into words. I suppose it would fall under the canopy of "horror" but not your stereotypical kind. ARGHH IT'S FRUSTRATING!!!

The following link is a link into Clive Barkers Tortured Souls site. It sums up better than anything else what I mean.

http://www.spawn.com/features/torturedsouls/

Never seen any other Tortured Souls material - just the figures shown from when I worked in toy shop!

 

[Ainulindale]

Highly recommend Conte de Lautreamont's Maldoror

*EDITED*

I want to add works by Thomas Ligotti and Arthur Machen as well.

 

[Jonbo]

Cheers for the "Maldoror" point. I tried looking for the book on Amazon but they didn't think it necessary to include a synopsis for the novel. Cheers Amazon! So what's it about? The cover looked dark so I've got high hopes. (Didn't sombody once say something about judging a book by it's cover...?)

 

[Cathy C]

Have you read any H.P. Lovecraft? Some of his stuff is VERY dark and disturbing!

 

[Ainulindale]

Cheers for the "Maldoror" point. I tried looking for the book on Amazon but they didn't think it necessary to include a synopsis for the novel. Cheers Amazon! So what's it about? The cover looked dark so I've got high hopes. (Didn't sombody once say something about judging a book by it's cover...?)

Maldoror is credited with being a catalyst for the surealism and is as story about possibly the most nihislitic person in literary history (teh title character). Being a surreal novel it's really about true freedom and rebellion, and smal ldifference betwen them. An engaging chaarcter profile about a person so extreme in forsakign everything that its unimagianble however we see glimpses of several people in him.

I was looking at your preferences again, and you may want to look at Ian Banks's Wasp Factory (highly recommended), or Ramsey Campbell's The Darkest Part of the Woods, or The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen as well.