Hey everyone I'm compiling a book list and I was wondering if anyone here could help me discover some amazing authors. So far the best books I've discovered from word of mouth. My favorite reads are twisted stories with anti-hero's.
Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but 'anti-hero' jumped out me. You may wanna try 'Once Were Warriors' by Alan Duff if you can get ahold of it; I have yet to read the book myself yet but the film adaptation was immense.
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky probably has one of the most famous anti-heroes in all of literature.
From the first page preivew on amazon it looks like a good read! And for $4.00 you cant go wrong. thanks for this
I read the reviews and most people agree that the film was WAY better than the movie which surprises me because normally it's the other way around.
Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. The main character is not very likeable at all, but he does have a great deal of determination. It's a fantasy aeries in which te main character hurts everyone he gets close to, and yet he is destined to save The Land with the wild magic that he rejects. Not my favorite series, but it is different.
Lolita, by Nabokov - ultimate anti-hero (morally bankrupt but witty and charming, resulting in this horrible manipulation of your own morality). Also, Hemingway's Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises (one of the earliest anti-hero novels of the modern period). And, bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho (or, indeed, any of his books before that one, they all have narrators who devaite from the typical "hero" mould in various ways).
Well, the main character wasn't much of an anti-hero, but I think Dean Koontz's "Velocity" fits the bill for the twisted department. In the urban fantasy department--a sub-genre I'm new to--I just read Jaye Well's "Red-Headed Stepchild" and really enjoyed that. Might be worth a look-see.
Some awesome anti-hero stories would be Picture of Dorian Gray, or Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Both are fairly short novels. Portrait of the Artist, although, is written in the stream of consciousness style. For me, it was a tough read, and took about 3 tries to get through.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess Alex is the most anti-heroic character I can think of, but by the end you'll feel so sorry for him it hurts. Excellent writing.
Make sure the translation of 'Notes' is a good one. I've read the Pevear and Volokhonsky and the Norton Critical and I found the P&V more to my liking. Amazon sometimes has it so you can preview some of the book. If you can, check it out. Nothing worse than a terrible translation ruining a great book... Not sure if it counts but "The Stranger" by Albert Camus. Not an intentional 'villain' but morally different enough to count...
I just finished Geek Love by Katherine Dunn, and it's been a really long time since I've enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed this one. She really makes you feel for the characters, even if you don't like them. They're not necessarily "anti-heroes." But they have the same kind of feel. I actually posted a full review of it here.
The Dark Tower by Stephen King. It's a septology, but its darn good. The protagonist, Roland of Gilead (hey! Thats my username!) is the definition of anti-hero.
what is a stepology? Google just provided me with Harry Potter links. Edit: Nevermind I think I figured it out.
As the name implies, it's a saga of seven books. And here's the books I recommend: Smoke & Mirrors by Neil Gaiman (a collection of short stories and poems) The Road by Cormac McCarthy The Blade Itself Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (Really enjoyable) Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn
I've just finished reading Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. It doesn't fit into the traditional categories of hero and anti-hero and is quite complex in this way. It's about a young man's struggle to overcome racism and his own naivety and ultimate realisation at the pervasive nature of racism. He makes a few mistakes along the way but his actions are never neatly packaged and Ellison is never preachy. It's a dark and revolutionary novel that should be talked about a lot more
If you don't know him yet or are looking for a good laugh, then you can always try Terry Pratchett. My favourite book from him must be The Light Fantasic...or any book that has Rincewind and Twoflower in it.
Caroline B. Cooney is one of the best authors I have ever seen, hands down. Also, if you don't mind reading a little religious stuff every now and then, Melody Carlson is also one of the best.
I definitely recommend the book I'm reading at the moment, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, if you haven't already. It's a classic, and I think it suits what you're looking for.
V for Vendetta, if you don't mind comic boo-ahem, graphic novels The eponymous V is my favorite literary revolutionary, I believe. The movie lost a lot of the original meaning, sadly.
