# Recommend some books on the dark side of human nature **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2002, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880 "2002-03-24T19:09:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/21 "2002-03-25T01:19:48Z")
“Cat’s Eye” by Margaret Atwood. The cruelty of little girls. Actually, “A Handmaids Tale” (another by Atwood) would be another good choice. I can’t read books like that anymore. Too depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/22 "2002-03-25T01:21:36Z")
It’s been a while since I read it, but _Dangerous Liasons_ (or Les Liasons Dangeruses) certainly qualifies. The two main characters, one male and one female, carefully plan a series of sexual conquests merely to get their jollies. The fact that their behavior ruins the lives of other people doesn’t faze them. If anything, it makes it more exciting for them. ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/23 "2002-03-25T01:28:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ResIpsaLoquitor \* > \*\*“Cat’s Eye” by Margaret Atwood. The cruelty of little girls. > > Actually, “A Handmaids Tale” (another by Atwood) would be another good choice. > > I can’t read books like that anymore. Too depressing. \*\* Now I’m severely confused, because this last posting was NOT by me. Should I contact a mod? ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Goo\_Fee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Doctor\_Goo\_Fee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Goo_Fee)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/24 "2002-03-25T01:57:00Z")
Shirley Jackson’s _The Lottery_ ---
**Author:** ![hardygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@hardygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hardygrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/25 "2002-03-25T02:06:08Z")
_American Psycho_ by Bret Easton Ellis _London Fields_ by Martin Amis ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/26 "2002-03-25T02:26:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ResIpsaLoquitor \* > \*\* > > Now I’m severely confused, because this last posting was NOT by me. Should I contact a mod? \*\* Res! So Sorry! My fault! I was posting from my computer without noticing whether it was ME signed in, or one of you from the Dopefest last night. That was MY post. The problem is now fixed, so no need to contact a mod unless it freaks you out to have everyone know you used to read fiction about little girls. Heh heh. Now, how many other things have I attributed to you today? Eeek! I’ll go check. Luckily I wasn’t in a crappy mood today, or everyone would be wondering when that Res guy got to be such an ass! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/27 "2002-03-25T02:30:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrankyAsAnOldMan \* > \*\* > > Res! So Sorry! My fault! I was posting from my computer without noticing whether it was ME signed in, or one of you from the Dopefest last night. That was MY post. > > The problem is now fixed, so no need to contact a mod unless it freaks you out to have everyone know you used to read fiction about little girls. Heh heh. > > Now, how many other things have I attributed to you today? Eeek! I’ll go check. Luckily I wasn’t in a crappy mood today, or everyone would be wondering when that Res guy got to be such an ass! \*\* Sorry, I already reported this to mods. There was a previous warning about some form of SMDB identity check. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/28 "2002-03-25T02:50:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yojimboguy \* > \*\*Sorry, I already reported this to mods. \*\* Registered and noted. **Res** and **Cranky** have been duly crushed beneath the Iron Fist of Order. [sub]How does THAT feel? HUH? And THAT…and THAT![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![foxfiregrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3da27b/32.png) [@foxfiregrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foxfiregrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/29 "2002-03-25T03:24:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by peepthis \* > Crime & Punishment, though it focuses a lot on redemption from that fall from innocence. Also by Dostoevsky is The Possessed. Creepy book about horrible people. Uh… Night, about the holocaust. I forget who wrote it. Someone please give me a hand? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/30 "2002-03-25T03:33:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by foxfiregrrl \* > \*\*Uh… Night, about the holocaust. I forget who wrote it. Someone please give me a hand? \*\* Elie Wiesel. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/31 "2002-03-25T04:32:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\* > > Registered and noted. **Res** and **Cranky** have been duly crushed beneath the Iron Fist of Order. > > [sub]How does THAT feel? HUH? And THAT…and THAT![/sub] \*\* Oooh, you’re so manly when you’re on a power trip! Crush my neck again beneath that boot, Ike! Again! Again! ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/32 "2002-03-25T04:51:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by \*\*hardygrrl \*\*\* > _London Fields_ by Martin Amis No way! I didn’t think anyone but me read Amis. Great book. _Other People_, also by Amis. This one still haunts me, and it’s a more accessible read than _London Fields_. _Things Fall Apart_, Chinua Achebe, classic by an African master. _Paris Trout_, Pete Dexter, in the thriller vein. _The Beach_, Alex Garland. Don’t laugh. Before this was a Leo Movie it was a great book about humanity’s corruption. _The Picture Of Dorian Gray_, Oscar Wilde. Classic. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/33 "2002-03-25T05:06:10Z")
It’s all well and good to read books in which authors imagine what the darker side of human nature is like, but non-fiction is better for a taste of the real thing. I recommend books by Harold Schechter or John E. Douglas (Harris’ model for his profiler, Jack Crawford). ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/34 "2002-03-25T06:02:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff \* > \*\*I’d suggest **Brave New World** Or anything by Huxley. If you really want to feel bad about the human species, Ape and Essence should do the trick (come to think of it, it meet all the requirments of the OP and then some.) Anything by Evelyn Waugh. Last Exit to Brooklyn (or probably anything by Selby, but LXTB is all I’ve read so far.) J.G. Ballard? Ummm…the Marquis de Sade is fairly corrupt… And I third Martin Amis. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/35 "2002-03-25T12:41:51Z")
I’d say pretty much any horror novel by the late Richard Layman would qualify as an exploration of the dark side of life. ---
**Author:** ![quarx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/50afbb/32.png) [@quarx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quarx)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/36 "2002-03-25T12:56:06Z")
“Bringing Out The Dead” by Michael Connelly ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/37 "2002-03-25T13:28:46Z")
_The Stranger_ and _The Fall_ by Albert Camus I second **Jabba** with _Blood Meridan_. Another Cormac McCarthy fan? ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/38 "2002-03-25T13:36:57Z")
In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/39 "2002-03-25T17:11:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by widdershins \* > I second **Jabba** with _Blood Meridan_. > > Another Cormac McCarthy fan? Could be ( that’s the only one I’ve read so far; _All The Pretty Horses_ sits on my bookshelf beckoning me). ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2002, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880/40 "2002-03-25T18:02:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\* > > Registered and noted. **Res** and **Cranky** have been duly crushed beneath the Iron Fist of Order. > > [sub]How does THAT feel? HUH? And THAT…and THAT![/sub] \*\* This is what happens when you raise your voice about anything. Chaos ensues. :eek: “The lesson is, never try.” --Homer Simpson [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-books-on-the-dark-side-of-human-nature/99880.md?page=3)