What makes a novel a “cult classic?” According to The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/books/archive/2024/04/cult-classic-book-recommendations/678037/ Does a cult classic need to be subversive? Does it need to be strange? Does it need to be experimental? Do cult classics find their fan base because they say the quiet part out loud? Can a novelist write a cult classic intentionally, or does that status just result from a specific and peculiar point of view? Would you rather write a cult classic or a mainstream novel? What is the difference?
Some novels that have been classified as cult classics on Goodreads: 1984, Fight Club, A Clockwork Orange, American Psycho, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Catcher in the Rye, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, Slaughterhouse Five, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Bell Jar, Trainspotting, On the Road…. https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/cult-classics But these novels are very well known. Do they have a cult following? What would you say they have in common?
So, I want to expose myself to a real cult classic. I’ve just downloaded Women’s Barracks: The Original 1950 Tale of Life and Love in the Free French Army. Here’s the Amazon blurb on it:
I don't think novels qualify as cult classics. So few people read, it's a cult in its entirety. Movies are a different story. Everyone watches those.
I’ve been doing some reading, and cult fiction is definitely recognized as a thing. A cult classic is a genre-bender, and tends to be groundbreaking (e.g. through prose style or subject matter), explicit or controversial. Reactions to the story are strong. Readers either love it or hate it. Those that love it feel that the book was written just for them. They identify with an alienated main character to the point that a change in their outlook towards life takes place. They say things like, “Reading this book changed my life.” https://journals.ala.org/index.php/rusq/article/view/3600/3934
That's got nothing to do with the essence of a cult. A small group of fanatical followers? These books are some of the most popular ever written. The complete antithesis of a cult and the spirit with which it's used to describe other art forms, like movies and music. They can call it whatever they want.
This is tough, because it seems like most novels are either well known by most readers in the genre or no one talks about them. I can't think of anything I read that would be analogous in semi-popularity to Zahler, Rodriguez, Raimi, or particular Carpenter movies. Do you read Sutter Kane?
Interesting. Sutter Cane is a fictional writer based off of Stephen King and H. P. Lovecraft. His surname, "Cane", is a variation of Caïn in English. he also has some kind of demon like creature in the back of his head but its only seen once.
Hey, I've read quite a number of those. I'm in a cult? I'm in a cult! I'm gonna call my kids and tell 'em I'm more than embarrassing dad jokes and a taxi home from the pub. Aw man, could you not have left it just a little while? On OP, much like others have said, reading a book is generally done in solitary, antithesis of cult community, though some do build up distinct fan bases, fanfic, that kind of thing that might veer towards cult status. Others, such as Ulysses, have annual celebrations, like Bloomsday every June (I think) where a bunch of Joycean fans do the whole dress up and walk the trail that Leopold followed through the book. That could be considered cultish, of a sort, with very refined accents and jolly old times. Not particularly subversive, though, even if the book breaks conventions (such as legibility) and subversiveness is, I imagine, a trait of the cult. Maybe, these books are widespread but could still have a devoted cohort who identify very strongly, group together to relive the best parts, become a lifestyle focus like those folks who learn Klingon. Lots of people have read Fightclub, but only the true cult devotees have set up their own backyard fighting Pitt to beat the shit out of each other? They just don't like to talk about it.
The “cult” devoted to a particular book is not a typical cult community. It’s the book that connects them. They may never know one another, but the story speaks to and impacts a shared consciousness within all of them. The book is at the nexus. In my personal experience, one book stands out as having the greatest impact on me. That book is Women Who Run With the Wolves - which has been called “the ultimate cult feminist classic.” It touched me deeply. Revelation after revelation. Reading it, I did have the feeling that it was written just for me, an experience I am sure other women had. So, I feel a kinship with all these other women who came out of it saying “I get it.” Perhaps this is the meaning of a cult classic. It has nothing to do with the number of copies sold, but the power of the book to change lives. Not all readers will share in this experience. But those that do will feel that they have discovered some great truths, especially about themselves, that they did not know before. That a book can be so powerful is pretty awe-inspiring.
How can you say that so few people read? Lot's of people read. I would think there are probably more novels than movies that come out each year. And most of us who are here as writers are writing books not screenplays. It's just strange for me to hear a writer saying so few people read. We would we be writing novels if that was true? Anyway, as for cult classic books I think The Road could fit that category. I think more so than the examples given that I see more as classic at this point than cult classic. Out of the examples probably On The Road is the biggest contender to fit the bill, but then there are other beat writers who produced works that I would consider more a cult classic like Naked Lunch. But those are older works now. The Road (Not to be confused with On the Road) is the really the only recent title I can think of that could be considered a cult classic. I think the experimental nature and flawless execution is what puts this novel in that category.
Yes, there are still lots of books being consumed, but peers, friends, coworkers, family don't seem to be the ones doing it. The voracious demos appear to be on their way out, replaced by or changed into smartphone users. There's a pretty strong overlap with the goals and outcomes of casual readers, those who would read the latest airport fiction to pass the time and those who would scroll online. The latter is more stimulating. It wins. I genuinely think it is true that few people read these days compared to consuming other forms of entertainment but it doesn't bother me enough that I would stop writing. To be fair, the same thing is happening to films as well.
Easy. Walk into a room of a randomized population and ask them how many books they read a year vs how many movies/shows they watch a year.
I guess it just sort of comes down to the people you like to spend time with and have common interests with. All of my friend's read books. Many of them write them. I'm honestly not sure how many people in my social circle own televisions. I don't. I'm thinking about getting one, but that's off topic. Or I guess I can say that it has been more important for me to read certain books than watch certain shown. I do have Netflix on my computer which I like having. But I also like reading great books. I read every day. I would say that's true for a lot of the people I know. I don't think a group od random people is an ideal pool for much.
What does being a writer have to do with it? X number of people read. Y number of people don't. Reality doesn't change based on the orientation of the observer.
I'm just saying plenty or real people read in reality. In fact a lot of people read as new books are coming out all the time. I don't think a room full of people who don't read is much use to a writer when judging or thinking about things that have to do with writing. Non-readers aren't a target audience for me. So, their thought and opinions on literature and books is not at all important to me. I honestly don't get how people don't read at all. I would think there are more people in the world who do read than don't read. @Homer Potvin. why don't you think people read? Why would you want to be a writer if you don't see reading as popular (which I respectfully disagree)?
I would say that describes what happened with Frank Herbert's Dune. Cult popularity and take a book to the screen, which seemed to be the case with Logan's Run, and First Blood.
I only know of only one Animal Farm. It was required reading during my high school years. I can say with certainty I didn't join its cult.
One of my favorite books is Padraic Colum’s The King of Ireland’s Son. Nowadays very few people know about it, and most of those who do belong to Waldorf schools, which some consider a cult… so…
