mssr moony;

3. The George Miles Cycle, a 5 book cycle of transgressive/experimental literary fiction beginning with Closer by Dennis Cooper

Okay, these are mainly the books that had me worried about making this list. Dennis Cooper is basically the grandaddy of transgressive gay lit in America from the 80s onward, and these books are a huge hot button moment in queer lit/culture but they are NOT for the faint of heart!

CW/TW for these: murder, pedophilia, rape, incest, castration, graphic violence, severe drug abuse, most everything you can think of that is extremely upsetting is in these. I would not read these books unless you are okay with being surprised at every turn and not knowing how grisly the surprise might be.

I remember reading an interview with Cooper where the interviewer asked him what he's afraid of, if he writes such relentlessly taboo books, what does he fear? And he said "I'm scared of the things I write about. That's why I write about them." That makes sense as you read them. Cooper's work always feels like it's asking big questions about life and violence and sex and queerness, unlike his contemporary Bret Easton Ellis, whose work always kind of read like glitzy nihilism and shock value with not much else to prop it up.

At the heart of these books, there's this exploration of the ways people desire control and the ways they lose it, the inherent loneliness of knowing you can't ever really know anyone, and the extremely unsettling intersection of sex and violence. I first read them in college, and they broke my brain open in so many ways. Cooper actually has a new book out this year too so he's still making challenging, strange, queer work.

4. Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon

Could rename this one Sex, Lies, and People Aren't Who You Think They Are! A very queer thriller whose description is pretty spot on:

"Oliver Park, a recovering addict from Indiana, finally has everything he ever wanted: sobriety and a loving, wealthy partner in Nathan, a prominent DC trauma surgeon. Despite their difference in age and disparate backgrounds, they’ve made a perfect life together. With everything to lose, Oliver shouldn’t be visiting Haus, a gay bathhouse. But through the entrance he goes, and it’s a line crossed. Inside, he follows a man into a private room, and it’s the final line. Whatever happens next, Nathan can never know. But then, everything goes wrong, terribly wrong, and Oliver barely escapes with his life.

He races home in full-blown terror as the hand-shaped bruise grows dark on his neck. The truth will destroy Nathan and everything they have together, so Oliver does the thing he used to do so well: he lies."

5. Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage

CWs/TWs: This is another one that has a LAUNDRY LIST of triggering things. Talk of conversion therapy, drug use, rape, emotional abuse, homophobia, physical abuse, but I am NOT sure I'm covering it all, honestly. So again, this is one I'd suggest doing a thorough google of before diving in.

"Jonah Keller moved to New York City with dreams of becoming a successful playwright, but, for the time being, lives in a rundown sublet in Bushwick, working extra hours at a restaurant only to barely make rent. When he stumbles upon a photo of Richard Shriver—the glamorous Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright and quite possibly the stepping stone to the fame he craves—Jonah orchestrates their meeting. The two begin a hungry, passionate affair. When summer arrives, Richard invites his young lover for a spell at his sprawling estate in the Hamptons. A tall iron fence surrounds the idyllic compound where Richard and a few of his close artist friends entertain, have lavish dinners, and—Jonah can’t help but notice—employ a waitstaff of young, attractive gay men, many of whom sport ugly bruises. Soon, Jonah is cast out of Richard’s good graces and a sinister underlay begins to emerge. As a series of transgressions lead inexorably to a violent climax, Jonah hurtles toward a decisive revenge that will shape the rest of his life."

I could definitely make this list longer if I think on it some more, but I think this is a good post length for now. I wish I had some women on this list though. In my experience, women have a really hard time breaking into publishing with challenging, dark work, especially when it's queer. :/ (Ask me how I know lol.) I have a lot of favorite women authors who write fucked up, complex female characters, but the ones who come to mind aren't queer or writing queer stories (Megan Abbott, Ottessa Moshfegh, Mary Gaitskill, Gillian Flynn, etc.) so if anyone has some favorite women to add, please do!