OK so most of the books featured in Bizarre Book Club shouldn’t be read by children, but it probably goes double for the ones featured here as parents don’t like their kids reading about full on rudeness or icky bits. I can understand it, that would be weird.
1. Wetlands by Charlotte Roche. This book is famous apparently, or rather infamous. Some say it’s feminist writing, others that it touches on mental illness. Whether it’s both, one or neither it did fascinate me and raised some interesting questions on our obsession with hygiene, especially feminine.
I agree with whoever said the anger was similar to JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, and I also agree with the South Park episode in which they write a book called Scrotie Mcboogerballs. It is relentlessly and childishly disgusting and I rolled my eyes at several points, but I can’t pretend I didn’t read it very quickly.
2. House of Holes by Nicholson Baker. I dipped into this book rather than reading it straight through. I found it quite entertaining (and very daft) but wished it was even more surreal. I felt (and this is only personal opinion) that as it was in another world it could have been a lot more ‘out there.’
It’s set in a fantastical sexual holiday camp in which people can remove limbs or get friendly with trees, which was quite fun, however as it’s written by a man it’s very male focused. The descriptions for parts are quite amusing, but I won’t spoil it for you (I know I’m a tease).
3. The Juliette Society by Sasha Grey. I’m a fan of Sasha Grey, I think she’s an interesting lady. I enjoyed her novel despite the story line being a familiar one (a mysterious high society sex club). She mentions inspiration from Bunuel (Belle De Jour) and Kubrick among others and a lot of the fantasies, particularly one about a wardrobe, are very Lynchian. The title also comes from De Sade’s Juliette. I say stop worrying about where the story is going and just read it, it’s pretty.
Madeleine Swann 