Obscure reading suggestions

[Leo The Lion]

Alright! You all have been very helpful in the past, and I actually strayed away from here because I got so many good reading suggestions, and needless to say, they kept me busy for quite a while.
I don't know how to accurately describe what i'm looking for, but will give it a try.

I'm very interested in the lives of writers..especially those who were a bit offbeat, or suffered from mental illness..though something a bit more rich than "the bell jar".
I'm not a big fan of sci-fi, or horror..
but moreso books that are a bit more realistic or deal with depressing, love lost, pain, madness.

I'm a little bit more interested in things that are a bit older, more than recent authors.
I'm looking for the hidden treasures.

Hope this helps,
and I hope you may help me.

[stlukesguild]

Gerard de Nerval- Selected Writings... especially Aurelia.

Thomas de Quincey- Confessions of an English Opium Eater

[AuntShecky]

If you're interested in American Literature in the first half of the
twentieth century, you might want to take a look at F. Scott Fitzgerald. His novels are extremely evocative of the culture of the time (called "The Roaring Twenties") but if you read between the lines of his novels -- especially The Great Gatsby -- you will see a comprehensive look at the social structure of America. Some, if not all the themes that Fitzgerald brings up are quite acute at the present time, namely the disparity between the classes. This is a subject that intrigued and bothered Fitzgerald both artistically and emotionally. Setting aside the much-discussed relationship between Scott and his wife (evidently Zelda spent years in treatment for mental illness), and even ignoring the alcoholism which plagued them both, the reader will STILL see psychological conflict, not only among the members of various economic classes but also within Fitzgerald himself. Just as his male protagonists struggle with questions: am I good enough? do I measure up? do I have what it takes to be successful? -- so does Fitzgerald himself.

Exploring this topic -- Fitzgerald's life reflected in his fiction -- may prove interesting and exciting to you. His prose, while elegant and beautiful, is not at all inaccessible and the stories move along nicely. You won't be bored.

I see that you specifically asked for an "obscure" author, but if you read Fitzgerald, I believe you'll find out something that you've never known or thought about before.

[Bitterfly]

Maupassant, Le Horlà, semi-autobiographical if my memory serves me, and definitely mad!!

I love Stephen Zweig's biographies. He did some of authors: Balzac, Erasmus, Nietzsche (mad), Verhaeren. Even if what he says about them is to be taken with a pinch of salt, his style is worth reading (and his own autobiography, The World of Yesterday, is really wonderful).

Funny, I didn't like The Bell jar either. It disappointed me very much.

[Niamh]

Try The Third Policeman by Flann O' Brien. Thats obscure.

[Neely]

King Lear?

Sorry its just the "depressing, love lost, pain, madness" part.

[weltanschauung]

[mayneverhave]

James Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson"?

[capek]

Huysmans's Against the Grain is one that immediately comes to mind.

[Indicate]

Huysmans's Against the Grain is one that immediately comes to mind.

Extremely weird. Just what I was about to post. :|

[blp]

Blood and Guts in Highschool by Kathy Acker. Her Great Expectations is superb too. There's an old Picador paperback edition of Blood and Guts that contains them both, probably still available on Amazon, second-hand.

Summer Rain by Marguerite Duras.

[Jozanny]

Try The Third Policeman by Flann O' Brien. Thats obscure.

I am currently reading The Third Policeman, and although I dunno if it would intrigue Leo, I will echo Niamh by adding that this is one of the weirdest dystopian fictions I have ever laid eyes on.

[Niamh]

I am currently reading The Third Policeman, and although I dunno if it would intrigue Leo, I will echo Niamh by adding that this is one of the weirdest dystopian fictions I have ever laid eyes on.

It is by far one of the weirdest books i have ever read.

[kelby_lake]

If you're interested in American Literature in the first half of the
twentieth century, you might want to take a look at F. Scott Fitzgerald. His novels are extremely evocative of the culture of the time (called "The Roaring Twenties") but if you read between the lines of his novels -- especially The Great Gatsby -- you will see a comprehensive look at the social structure of America

That's exactly what I was going to suggest. It was different from any other book I've read.
If you like the despair/madness/lost love, go for Tennessee Williams' plays. People don't really read plays- they only bother to read them if they happen to be doing the production- but they're very rich in those kind of emotions.

If you want an interesting writer, read Long Day's Journey into Night. It's autobiographical, and there are only 4 characters- the father and two sons are alcoholics and the mother is a morphine addict. It's amazing.

[insidiousmonk]

If you want madness, read some Charles Bukowski. Ham On Rye and Factotum are both intensely disturbing.