The novel follows the Binewskis, a third-generation carnival family whose mother and father have bred their own freakshow with the help of stimulants, barbiturates, and radiation, among other toxic tinctures. This cult classic (pun intended) by the late Katherine Dunn was originally published in 1989, becoming a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Bram Stoker Award. Painstakingly chronicling the brutal violence that marked the end of the hippie counterculture movement, a bungled investigation, the arrests, and ultimately the convictions of the Manson Family, Helter Skelter will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page. During the trial, Charles Manson expressed his great respect for Bugliosi, even while threatening to kill him, and Bugliosi writes with a prosecutor’s eye for detail. Helter Skelter was first published in 1974 and written by the Deputy District Attorney who prosecuted and convicted Charles Manson and “the Family” for the gruesome 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders. No list is complete without this true crime mainstay. Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry With only an old address to go on, Toru discovers that she was involved with a secretive and dangerous cult led by a charismatic guru with extreme perspectives on life, death, and social progress. Inspired in part by the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack by members of doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, Cult X follows Toru Narazaki as he searches Tokyo for his missing girlfriend, Ryoko. Below, we’ve got our top 10 favorite books about cults and the charming narcissists who lead them. There is something so compelling about the idea of losing one’s self to groupthink, and Nakamura joins other literary luminaries in probing what makes individuals submit themselves entirely to an ideologue, and how that devotion can quickly turn into violent fanaticism.
Japanese literary superstar Fuminori Nakamura’s latest novel in translation, Cult X, dives into the psychology of fringe religion, obsession, and social disaffection. Nakamura is far from the first author to explore the fascinating, labyrinthine worlds of personality cults.
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