readers advisory for all discussion

ok so i am looking for a book like Jesus' Son or The Motel Life or Junky. something gritty, maybe disturbing, well-written.

there are plenty of authors that do this; have you tired Hubert Selby Jr., or Dennis Cooper, or Matthew Stokoe or Irvine Welsh?? all of those authors have several books - is there maybe a way you want to narrow down your request, or is it the broader the better?

it's hard to be specific, as that can steer the conversation in too focused a direction. i like bukowski and japanese authors (just recommended dasai to someone looking for nihilist books). i own trainspotting but can't seem to finish it. i've picked up Last Exit To Brooklyn but never got into it. hunter s. thompson, but also raymond chandler. i don't tend to like purple prose of the past. this may not be helpful. don't know. just looking for something new.

i will continue to think.

Like Being Killed. I loved this book and read it around the same time I was reading everything by Bukowski.
The Story of Junk, I read this actually during the same time, and these are both really good heroin novels.

I will go ahead and pimp my favorite novel of all time here, How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman. Set in the hardscrabble streets of Glasgow through the eyes of a man who was blinded in a drunken fight with the police. It's highly avant garde, though, so if you are looking for a linear narrative, this is not for you. Also, it's written in dialect. But I swear it's awesome.

it doesnt have to be about drugs

I'm a little unclear as to what you mean by "urban." Do you just want something with a slightly grittier/more contemporary feel? Is it important to you that the city itself be somehow a focal point of the novel, the way that Edinburgh is developed in Trainspotting?

I see that you have Bukowski and Hunter S. Thompson down as authors you enjoy. From that, I'm sort of thinking you might go for a slightly more surreal-feeling book. For instance, is Paul Auster's City of Glass something that would fit your requirements? In that case, The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon will blow you away.

In a more gonzo vein, you might enjoy Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff. Also, I hear Chuck Pahlaniuk's Survivor is supposed to be even better than Fight Club.

the city doesn't have to be a focal point. it doesn't actually have to be urban at all. but i think i've always associated gritty with urban.
i liked City of Glass but i don't like auster as a "gritty" author. i don't tend to believe his stories once they become violent. and they all tend to become violent. i think i've picked up the crying of lot 49 before and wasn't particularly compelled to finish it even though the synopsis sounded like i would want to.
i just finished
American Salvage which i really enjoyed.

oohh pearce hansen has an excellent book set in oakland ca. print is from 2006, but try to get the 2011 eversion if pos. supposed to be updated, but anyway the 2006 is pretty incredible Street Raised

Alexis wrote: "I will go ahead and pimp my favorite novel of all time here, How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman. Set in the hardscrabble streets of Glasgow through the eyes of a man who was bli..."

i wholeheartedly second this KELMAN, it is great. also from scotland, a multi-city urban/anarcho, funny and eyeopening

Peace, Love & Petrol Bombs

nothing says gritty urban like dystopic cape town, with a plot brought to you by coca cola/pizza hut! Moxyland

Tuck wrote: "i wholeheartedly second this KELMAN, it is great. also from scotland, a multi-city urban/anarcho, funny and eyeopening"

Man, I love when someone else has read Kelman. That book rocks my world.

I do think that you might enjoy Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff. It's grotesque, violent and humorous in the best possible sort of way.

I haven't read Jesus' Son, but I do know that Denis Johnson has said that Leonard Gardner's Fat City is his favorite book and biggest influence. http://www1.salon.com/weekly/gardner9...

I'm currently reading Don Carpenter's Hard Rain Falling, and I think that would fit the bill also.

Have you maybe looked at Lush Life or others by Richard Price? DeLillo's Cosmopolis might work too - maybe...

Some Patricia Highsmith might be fun, I really liked A Suspension of Mercyits a gritty noir with some deliciously despicable characters.

Oh, I forgot something I think you might like, You Can't Win, by Jack Black--William Burroughs' favorite book and a big influence on Junky. It's not a novel, but a memoir, and it's great.

Wake in Fright: Filmed as The Outback
is gritty, disturbing and well written

i've been getting into akashic's new ones of dewey decimal. he's camped out in nypl, doing some post apocalyptic cataloging and working for the mayor as a no questions asked hit man. there are 2 titles now, and pretty entertaining, if you don't mind grit, drugs, sex, brutality, and muurrder The Nervous System