845. The Butcher Boy

The Butcher Boy
Patrick McCabe
1992

Around 230 pages

Ick. The authors can't resist trying to make us vomit a few more times before we shed this List coil. This struck me as particularly in poor taste, because of the Manson family murders, but you know. Good taste wasn't the goal of this narrative.

Francie Brady is a violent schoolboy with a troubled home life. And I can handle disturbing stories, I even loved The Wasp Factory. But it was very clear from the onset what we were getting here. A surreal and disgusting journey of a mentally ill person going off the deep end. And didn't we just have to suffer through that with American Psycho? 

Francie is like the anti-Jude the Obscure. Just way too eager to kill piglets. Having such a singularly obsessed crazy guy at the helm of this story was exhausting. Just go write a Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel, weirdo.

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

Shortlisted for 1992 Booker Prize.

Adapted into film in 1997.

UP NEXT: Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg