Contemporary fiction is filled with bad guys, but how many stories put you firmly in the head of the nasty perpetrator and present their side of the story as a fait accompli? Here are five novels that come to mind, all of which feature characters with skewed moral compasses. They have been arranged in alphabetical order by author's surname (hyperlinks take you to my reviews):
The Book of Evidence by John Banville
The wicked protagonist in this 1989 Booker shortlisted novel is Freddie Montgomery, a scientist, who steals a painting from a neighbour and accidentally kills a servant girl in the process. He then goes on the run to avoid detection. This dark and disturbing tale, which is told from Freddie's point of view, recounts events leading up to his arrest — and it soon becomes clear he does not believe he has done anything wrong. The story is all the more disturbing given it is based on a real-life case, about a nurse murdered in Dublin, from 1982.
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The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy
The Ginger Man, first published in 1955, recounts the adventures of Sebastian Dangerfield, an American Protestant of Irish descent, who does everything a married man should not do: he spends the couple's rent money on alcohol; staggers home drunk and acts violently towards his wife; and conducts numerous adulterous affairs. He's thoroughly unlikable and completely selfish, and everything he does is outrageous. The book treads a whisper-thin line between comedy and tragedy, and while you don't exactly cheer on Dangerfield's exploits, you do keep reading in order to see what amoral thing he will do next!
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The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Tom Ripley, the talented one of the title, is a truly wonderful creation. A 23-year-old loner, he wants the finest things in life but cannot afford them — well, not until he bumps off a rich friend and acquires access to his monthly trust fund cheque first. While Tom's actions are far from moral, or legal, you can't help but cheer him on, as he moves from one Italian city to another in order to avoid the law which is breathing down his neck. The fast-paced narrative means you keep turning the pages to see whether our anti-hero gets away with his dastardly crimes! The ending may just surprise you.
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The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe
Francis 'Francie' Brady is the meanest and most deranged schoolboy you're ever likely to meet in modern fiction. He comes from a dysfunctional family — his mother is beaten up by her husband, his father is an alcoholic — and when a neighbour calls his family "pigs" he takes it to heart and wages a campaign of abuse and retaliation that does not end well. The story, which is told stream of consciousness style with no punctuation, follows Francie's exploits, which include running away from home, going to a special school for boys where he is sexually abused and later committing a quite atrocious murder of his own. This incredibly dark and hard-hitting novel earned McCabe a place on the Booker shortlist in 1992 and still remains one of the most disturbing books I've ever read.
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Get Me Out of Here by Henry Sutton
Matt, the 30-something narrator of this novel, seems harmless enough to begin with. He's a brand-obsessed businessman with a penchant for shopping, and while it's clear that he's obnoxious and self-centred, the further you get into the story the more you realise he is losing his grip on reality and is quite a dangerous and manipulative character. As he becomes more and more troubled, he begins committing more and more offences which will land him in serious trouble should he ever get caught. But because he is delusional, Matt cannot see that he is doing anything wrong, which makes for some incredibly funny set pieces. While I can't say I cheered Matt on while I read this book — I felt far too worried for his sanity — I did get some good laughs out of his exploits and just hoped he'd get the medical help he so clearly needed!
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Have you read any of these books? Or can you recommend some other reads that place the bad guy (or girl) at the heart of the story?
