10 Cult Books You Haven't Heard Of... Yet

Boxiana by Pierce Egan
A curious work to begin with – Egan was a journalist and a fight fan in the early nineteenth century who became a pioneering sportswriter by publishing these volumes, which contain portraits of boxers of the day. They were extremely successful, and Egan’s prose style, which can be appropriately described as ‘muscular,’ is brilliantly memorable – and he coined the term ‘The Sweet Science.’

Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy
This one’s well known in Australia. It depicts the rise, mainly in the first half of the twentieth century, of an Australian media mogul called John West, who bears some resemblance to a real media mogul of the time called John Wren. Because it could be seen as an expose, the book became a sensation, and Hardy was sued – but miraculously, he won. The book is well written, and the shady dealings of Australian media moguls are, sadly, still relevant.

Memoir From Antproof Case by Mark Helprin
An American writes a memoir of his ridiculously full life, as a millionaire, a thief, a flying ace, a hero and a villain several times over. This is a comic picaresque, told with some flair, and most amusing when exploring its heroes’ ridiculous, irrational, and complete hatred, utter hatred, of coffee. Which proves pretty inconvenient during his journey through life…

Under the Glacier by Halldor Laxness
A strange novel from a Nobel Literature Prize winner, about the Icelandic church investigating weird events in a remote parish, critic Susan Sontag said that this book was the only one she knew that could fit the categories of: sci-fi, fantasy, allegory, philosophical novel, dream novel, visionary novel, wisdom lit, spoof and sexual turn-on. Which should be all we have to say here.

The Octopus by Frank Norris.
Frank Norris died aged 32 in 1902, otherwise he would almost certainly be better known. He’d conceived an epic, realist, ‘trilogy of wheat’ showing first its production, then the distribution and consumption, but only this first third was written. The title refers to the new railroads, stretching like tentacles across California, stripping its resources. Norris’s understanding of this new century makes it all the sadder he died so early.

Once a Runner by John L Parker Jr.
The author was a track star who almost made the U.S Olympic team, and the book is about a runner training intensely to do so himself. Almost the definition of cult, the author sold the book out of his car at track meetings, and it regularly featured in ‘most requested out of print book’ lists until finally reprinted in 2010. Regular reviews weren’t forthcoming, but athletics magazines loved it.

Locus Solus by Raymond Roussel
Locus Solus isn’t for those who like lots of plot. Lovers of language, however, will love this, even if it’s almost certainly best in the original French. A group of people are shown an eccentrics’ estate, and the inventions on it, each seeming bizarre and being explained as more bizarre, with the compositional method of the book as bizarre again to match. You really need to read this to get the full idea here...

What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg
You’ll occasionally see mentions of 'Sammy Glick' figures in old artilces or books. This book is the source, following relentless social climber Glick, who works his way up in Hollywood by working through every trick in the book, then writing his own book of tricks as he rises and rises. Though it’s not widely available, legend has it it’s been used by Hollywood executives for years as a manual for getting ahead.

Dimension of Miracles by Robert Sheckley
A comedy science fiction story. Earthling Thomas Carmody wins the Intergalactic Sweepstakes and is taken to Galactic Center to collect his prize. He’s left to his own devices to get back though, and his journey makes up most of the book. The style can be summed up by noting that Sheckley is often compared to Douglas Adams, and Adams himself thought there was a resemblance when he finally read Sheckley. That’s a good sign.

How Sweet the Sound by John Telford
An unusually neglected Scottish book. Billy Hart, a writer and an atheist, moves to a village outside Glasgow, and rents a house from the local vicar. The stage is set for conflict between them - but it doesn’t come. Instead, these two articulate men enjoy discussing religion and art, finding plenty common ground. The wider point is that different people often get along well, but the pleasure in the book is really the well-turned phrases that pass between the men in debate.

The Aerodrome by Rex Warner
Warner was a classicist, and although this book is set when it was written - 1941 - it also has a certain mythic quality to it. An Aerodrome is built near an English village, a shambles of a place with beer drinking, quaint traditions, sex in unkempt bushes, and so on. The Aerodrome will bring modernity, efficiency and order to the place… or will the village bring its ways to the Aerodrome? You’ll be pleased at the result.