November 2025
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    20 Comments

    1. Hello
      I think “L’étranger” of Albert Camus fit nicely into that category, it’s a short and clssic book in France and it’s really good.

    2. I’m fascinated by The Kreutzer Sonata because Tolstoy’s thesis is such unhinged nonsense. I assumed it was a character dissection until I finished reading it, and was then surprised by the fact that Tolstoy unironically believes what he makes his protagonist say. But in the end, that’s what fascinates me about it, too.

    3. Anything written by The Marquis de Sade. The man for whom sadism is named. He was literally institutionalized at most publications. Though I can’t really suggest the books … I couldn’t even stomach reading synopses when I went looking for quotes at one point.

      For something actually readable, Joan Didion wrote a book full of essays after her husband passed away, while she was deep in the throes of grief. Certainly not in her right mind. Beautiful and painful.

    4. I don’t know if I’d say insane necessarily, but after reading The Road and Blood Meridian, I have to conclude that it must have been dark as fuck inside Cormac McCarthy’s head.

    5. *Empress Theresa* by Norman Boutin. I have the fortune to own a physical copy and it is an almost hypnotisingly bad book, the product of the author basically pouring this story out of his head and onto the page with little to no editing or refinement. It’s more infamous for Boutin’s vehement defence of the book online and rants about conspiracies to besmirch his name and tear down the book. His arguments with people at one point reached the maximum comment limit on certain sites. He’s still at it too; I think some of his more recent comments are visible on Goodreads.

    6. Top-Pepper-9611 on

      Philip K Dick was mentally ill and a heavy drug user. I’m not sure it’s obvious from his work, but I doubt he could have created his books without his ailments.

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