What makes a cult novel? It’s subjective and the lines blur as they often do with literature. Sometimes cult is something the critics panned but the fans loved, or a novel a small sector of readers gets totally besotted with.
Often cult novels come from the fringes, representing a perspective not often seen, but you can guarantee that any cult novel will have a legion of fans claiming the book changed their lives. I’m quite a fan of cult novels and recently created by own top 5 cult novels, and at the same time we asked you what your favourites were.
From your replies, we have 20 of your favourite cult novels and they make a pretty interesting reading list.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
In first place, by an absolutely huge margin (not quite 42 but close) is the ultimate cult book, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Comedic sci-fi with a legion of fans, it’s a well deserved first place.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy US
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy UK
Dune – Frank Herbet
The epic science fiction novel, Dune isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it has enough of a cult following to put it in second place in your top twenty!
Geek Love – Katherine Dunn
I have to confess I hadn’t even heard of this until Katherine Dunn passed away recently, but it’s now on my TBR and it’s in third place in your favourite cult novels.
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
As required school reading I’m not sure I’d have put Lee’s novel on a cult list, but the book still causes controversy in the US, and it does have a huge fan base. Plus enough of you mentioned it to put it in fourth place!
The Princess Bride – William Golden
The Princess Bride is a fantasy romance novel by William Golden and has a small but dedicated following, enough to put it in fifth place in our top twenty.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
Chbosky’s nerdy, unconventional characters put The Perks of Being a Wallflower straight into the cult novel camp, but the movie has really increased the story’s popularity throwing it into mainstream culture too!
The Perks of Being a Wallflower US
The Perks of Being a Wallflower UK
The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger
When it was reported that Mark Chapman was in possession of a copy of Catcher when he murdered John Lennon the book immediately took cult status. There’s no connection to the story but it’s given the novel a rap that the author really never deserved.
Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut’s semi biographical satirical novel is non-linear and frankly weird. You either love it or you hate it, the essential ingredients for any cult novel.
The Dice Man – Luke Rhinehart
Have you tried the dice life? You really don’t know what you’re missing, and if you have read The Dice Man, and you’ve thrown a few dice because of it, then you’ll know exactly why it’s on our cult list!
IT – Stephen King
Another that I’m not sure I’d have put on the cult list, but you did and we guess it’s garnered its fair bit of controversy, and is now completing our top ten!
11. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury (Review)
12. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
13. On the Road – Jack Kerouac
14. A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
15. The Outsiders – S. E. Hinton
16. Infinite Jest – David Foster Wallace
17. American Psycho – Brett Easton Ellis (Review)
18. A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
19. Fight Club – Chuck Palahniuk
20. Rosemary’s Baby – Ira Levin
So that’s it, the top twenty cult novels, according to you (excluding the four votes for Harry Potter, which I threw out due to the book’s worldwide appeal)!
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I think some people would vote for Harry Potter if you asked us for our favourite telephone directories.
How about the Illuminatus! trilogy? Bet that would have got a place if you’d asked this question maybe 25 years ago…