Transgressive fiction : rebels with a cause

Often beheld as sensationalist, transgressive fiction is a sophisticated movement with roots in Menippean satire. With fiction often dealing in taboo concepts, such as sex, drugs, violence, and crime, transgressive fiction is a literary genre devoted to characters that feel confined by the norms and expectations of society, and who ultimately break free of those confines in unusual or illicit ways. Cynical and critical of the myths inherited from tradition, the fiction here rings true for many. This investigation provides a detailed literary background and analysis of key transgressive authors such as Bret Easton Ellis, Ash Lieb, Chuck Palahniuk, Hubert Selby Jr and Irvine Welsh, and includes a thorough examination of their pivotal stories, including American Psycho, Bleach, Fight club, Requiem for a dream, The Technicolor transgressions of the blue rose, and Trainspotting.