Harsh Realism discussion

Recommend any books that you think will suit this group here.

I think Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez may fit.

I had a quick look at the blurb. I agree, it looks like it would fit this group.

Irvine Welsh is good for confronting you. Trainspotting, If You Liked School You'll Love Work and Acid House to name but a few. Chuck Palaniuk is constantly good. Choke, Fightclub, Haunted... and endless amount of good work. Bret Easton Ellis and Will Self if like it with the obscure.
Paul Neilan's 'Apathy and Other Small Victories' is brilliantly funny, dark and bleak. If you want to laugh at how shitty life can be this is the one... (or mine lol)

My recommendations:

Behind the Hood
Nicholas Dane

Both 5 stars in my opinion,and both fit the criteria of the group.

I think many of my books fit, though they're not all harsh and contain dark humour. The ones that most fit would be:

Down The Tubes
Suckers n Scallies
Seaview Terrace

Mmm. The thing with the covers has gone bosoms up. Hah well...

Hi there!

I recommend Trainspotting. A couple of Martina Cole's earlier works might even fit, depicting violent relationships, street violence and control.

I'll look Martina Cole up. Thanks.

I just finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks--not fiction, but a serious U.S. dose of reality that literally went viral as far as genetic science is concerned. Highly recommend it!

How about Q&A / Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup?
Or, for non-fiction, Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.

Ruby wrote: "How about Q&A / Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup?
Or, for non-fiction, Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich."

I was thinking of Slumdog Millionaire when I started the group. I haven't seen the movie or read the book yet. My mother will bring both to Singapore when she visits in March, so I'm waiting until then.

I have seen Slum...movie, it is awesome. A good portrayal of Mumbai slums, as I have seen it from my eyes when I was in India! Do watch it!

Once Were Warriors is confronting and eye opening. I've just read Infidel which is a memoir but is also really confronting. And an oldie The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall is a very early representation of domestic violence in the 1800s and how little power women had. Also, almost anything by Emile Zola, whose books depict the grim life of the French working class in the 1800s.

Some of the 80's Andrew Vachss books deal with very strong themes and are very entertaining. Here he is on goodreads: Andrew Vachss

Sue wrote: "Once Were Warriors is confronting and eye opening. I've just read Infidel which is a memoir but is also really confronting. And an oldie The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall..."</i>

[book:Behind the Hood is like Once Were Warriors in some ways, mainly the themes and how it focuses on Maori. Although it's written very differently and I think what happens is even nastier. But, I liked Behind the Hood better, because it was the type of book that is very hard to put down, plus it definitely had that wow factor. With Once Were Warriors I just found the mixture of dialogue, action and thought all rolled in together not really to my taste. But, I'm not referring to the movie version of Once Were Warriors, now that was powerful. Very well done.

Angela wrote: "Sue wrote: "Once Were Warriors is confronting and eye opening. I've just read Infidel which is a memoir but is also really confronting. And an oldie [book:The Tenant Of W..."

Did I just say that? What happens in Once Were Warriors is really nasty too. Percentage, percentage. There was so much nasty going down in Behind the Hood I lost count. I guess it was because the book involved more characters.

I keep changing my mind on these, since I'm not sure about the realism of them, but I recommend Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream or anything by Hunter S Thompson.

I shamelessly recommend my own memoir FREAK: The True Story of an Insecurity Addict. My favorite review called it "a cross between Running With Scissors, The Glass Castle and an Eminem song." I spare the reader and myself nothing. I want others to learn from my own dumbass mistakes. I want my brothers and sisters of circumstance to know it's possible to be happy. It just takes a lot of work.

Freak: The True Story of an Insecurity Addict|10469361]

Staying in that vain I will shamelessly recommend my own book based on my experience of working in the field of addictions

It's the late 1980s and mother of four, Cheryl West, lands herself a job at a drugs project in London. But memories of her old life are never far away, especially when her surly daughter, Elaine, makes her unwelcome visits.

Meanwhile, Cheryl's estranged son, Michael aka Dodo - is ironically having his life destroyed by drug addiction in his attempt to avoid painful memories of abuse. He goes from one chaotic situation to another, ending up on the streets and reaching rock bottom, until he is referred to a drug rehabilitation centre, Chrysalis, in rural Hampshire.

The lives of mother and son nearly coincide, as Cheryl uncovers some dark family secrets. They're each on a journey, but can there be reconciliation as well as rehabilitation?

Down The Tubes

Hey Folks!

this Saturday & Sunday, April 21st & 22nd, I'm offering free download of my memoir & creative workbook, Great Space of Desire: Writing for Personal Evolution, will be available for free downloads on Saturday, April 21st & Sunday April 22nd.

The story begins in a Carnegie Hall penthouse in the 1960's, moves to Vassar College in the early 80's and lands in Berlin before, during and after the Berlin Wall.

It's a story of race, dance, emotional dysfunction and discovering authentic identity through creativity.

According to many, it's a very compelling read ~ and there is definitely humor, my own brand.

So, I hope you'll give it a read and, if you enjoy, please offer a review!

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Space-Des......

Cheers,
Dara

Just got a message from someone who told me my blog helped them and they've ordered my memoir FREAK: The True Story of an Insecurity Addict. Thank you, All! I so want to help as many as I can and here you've done this for me. Incredible. Very grateful.

Freak: The True Story of an Insecurity Addict

Hey Folks,

This past weekend, I offered free downloads of my book, Great Space of Desire: Writing for Personal Evolution."

If any of you were among the approximately 200 people who took advantage of the offer, I'd love to hear from you. I want to figure out where my 'traffic' is coming from.

And, of course, I'm interested to get your feedback on the book itself.


Thanks!
Dara

I really think that any of Chris Crutcher's books would fit for this. I know that most of them are YA, but he is one of the most commonly challenged/banned authors in the US because of the harshness portrayed in his books. Particularly, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes.

All of his books are great!

I want to say thanks to everyone who has read The Survival of Thomas Ford here in the past 5 months!
1052 paid downloads now of this, my first ebook.
Plus another 18500 free downloads, so nearly 20000 people now have a copy of the book.

Thank-you to Maureen(Mews)for a recent FIVE STAR rating here on Goodreads!

Thank-you to Patti for this review on Goodreads:
:
Patti (Stir Crazy) rated it FIVE STARS
Wonderful characters who have haunted me throughout the reading, even to the point that one invaded my dreams.
I found myself frequently thinking of the story and wondering what would happen next when I wasn't reading it.
A book I spent my days so looking forward to pick up again.
A treasure for thriller fans.


And thank-you to Roz Morris, author of MY MEMORIES OF A FUTURE LIFE, for this review on Amazon:

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars If someone died beside you, how do you survive?, 21 May 2012
By roz morris "Roz Morris, author: Nail Your Nov... - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What is this?)
This review is from: The Survival of Thomas Ford (Kindle Edition)
A story about a man who survives a crash in which his wife dies. But the driver who caused the collision is hunting him down because he is worried about being identified.
From this apparently straightforward premise comes a story that is tense and gripping - but far from simple. The characters Thomas must outwit are unhinged, amoral lowlifes, from a milieu that gentle Thomas has never before had to encounter - like most of us who live normally and quietly. This gives the novel a universal, mythical quality. This is a story of survival, but not just physical escape. It is a crawl back to life after a clash with barbarous, feral forces. It is also a clash with conscience - if someone died beside you, and you feel responsible, how do you survive? Do you even deserve to? How can you ever redeem yourself to live a normal life? Thomas finds himself in a world where men have no consciences as he does battle with his own.
But this is no story of navel gazing. The plot works on a literal level as well as a symbolic one and the characters are solid as much as they are embodiments of forces. The prose is bold and unfancy, yet supple enough to connect with the vast and elemental. Although there is a good deal of violence, which Logan doesn't shy away from, he has a knack of not showing it to you, but still giving you the impact of the experience. So a cat watches mesmerised as something horrid and bloody goes on in a family's living room (itself another level of irony only visible when you step back and analyse). I frequently found myself rereading pages - not because of any problem with clarity, but because a phrase drummed in my head long after the plot had dragged me past, demanding a second look to enjoy it again. The storytelling is effortless, the echoes are long lasting. Do read it.


29 five-star reviews now on Amazon UK!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Survival-...

18 five-star reviews on Amazon US!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Survival-Th...

Diversify you portfolio add some Urban/Street Fiction to your portfolio. Free on kindle 8/26-27. Reviews appreciated.


http://www.amazon.com/​Corrupt-Injust...


Corrupt Injustice: Art of Deception
www.amazon.com
CORRUPT INJUSTICE is an Urban Genre series revolving around Sean ‘S-Dot’ Williams, a charismatic street savvy African American male. The series follows Sean as he balances between his ambitious power and money hungry street life and his perceived role of an undercover cop. He encounters a slew of colorful characters along the way to his unavoidable destiny.

ART OF DECEPTION, first book in the series, begins with Sean convincing Hector ’Loco’ Rodriguez to join the police force. Lieutenant Vinci their professor by day, Rochester City Head Lieutenant of homicide by night, is convinced that they will make great cops because of their knowledge of the streets. But not everyone is so sure. After living a life of crime on the streets, Sean and Loco scheme to outsmart the cops. No one on the streets nor in the department except Lieutenant Richard ’Dick’ Head, could foresee Sean’s level of duplicity. With his strong status on the streets secured, Sean thinks he is being shielded by the power of the badge and a close relationship with the top brass.

Love this group and some of the recommendations have been fantastic! I'd add anything by Elie Wiesel, who I had the privilege to hear speak recently.

I'd also like to recommend my new book, My Grandfather's War. It's the true story of my grandfather's capture at the Battle of the Bulge and imprisonment in a Nazi POW camp. In his 103 days of captivity he lost nearly 60 pounds before being liberated by General Patton.

After he came home, he didn't talk about his time as a POW for nearly 50 years, until he had open-heart surgery and came to live with me in the last few months of his life. I hope you'll check it out!
My Grandfather's War: A Young Man's Lessons from the Greatest Generation

In Praise of Motherhood by Phil Jordan.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...

Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50...

Leaving Las Vegas by John Obrien
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/82...

Some Are Sicker Than Others by Me (sorry, a little shameless self promotion)
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...