Obsession Novel List

[Charo Lemucchi]

Readingabout obsessive love can be at the same time uncomfortable and addictive. The characters are always fascinating and their actions wildly unpredictable; they can be simultaneously funny, self-pitying, self-righteous, frightening and convincing. Here's our pick of the best books about obsession, from Elizabeth Macneal's The Doll Factory to Emily Bront's classic tale of destructive romance, Wuthering Heights.

In London 1850, dollmaker and aspiring artist Iris Whittle meets Pre-Raphaelite artist Louis Frost. Louis asks Iris to model for him, and she agrees on one condition: that in return he teaches her to paint. Iris throws herself into a new world of art and love, unaware that a chance meeting with another man has triggered a dangerous obsession. Silas Reed is a collector of curiosities, enchanted by the strange and beautiful. After seeing Iris at the site of the Great Exhibition he can't forget her, and soon she's all he can think about . . .

Mr. M. is being watched. As a famous writer, he is no stranger to the limelight, although interest in his work has been dwindling of late. Our narrator clearly takes a keen interest in M.'s work, and indeed in every aspect of his life. But what exactly are his intentions? And to what does Mr. M. owe the honour of his undivided attention?

Our narrator seems to be no stranger to murder either and his story seems to bear more than a passing resemblance to the plot of Mr. M.'s most famous novel.

But while Catherine's horizons are expanding, James's own life is becoming a prison: as changed as the new Ireland may be, it is still not a place in which he feels able to be himself. Catherine desperately wants to help, but as life begins to take the friends in different directions, she discovers that there is a perilously fine line between helping someone and hurting them further.

The idea behind the move is to escape love, but when he bumps into an ex-girlfriend, now married, he undertakes to destroy her new relationship. The lack of control that any victim of obsession has is always disturbing, and this book is no exception.

One of the great novels of the nineteenth century, this haunting tale of passion and obsession is a tragic depiction of destructive love. When one snowy night a man asks the story behind a remote farmhouse on the moors, he learns of the tragic romance between beautiful headstrong Cathy and the orphan Heathcliffe, who Cathy rejects in favour of a rich suitor. But Cathy cannot forget her first love, and Heathcliffe is overcome with the need for revenge.

A poignant and sad story of a writer who, in old age, travels to Venice. Gustave von Aschenbach's days are slow but full, all the more so when he notices a beautiful young boy also staying at the hotel. von Aschenbach becomes transfixed, unable to think of anything else, so much so that he is oblivious to the disease making its way through the hot, crowded city.

Narrated by academic Charles Kinbote, we follow him as he (mis)interprets the work of American poet John Shade, for whose posthumous book Kinbote is the self-appointed editor. But Kinbote isn't your usual bookish man and as he takes you further into his own uncertain identity, his relationship with Shade begins to look slightly different, as does the reader's understanding of Shade's death.

It follows MS, who interviews the mysterious XX for a job and hires him because she fancies him. As their relationship develops, and then collapses, MS lays bare her feelings in emails, text messages, photographs that show the tragedy and the comedy of her obsession.

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born in a gutter in 18th century Paris. His start in life is not a good one, but he has a talent: his nose. Working in the perfume business, he wants to create the best smells in the world, smells whose origins you can't quite put your finger on.

As well as perfume, Grenouille also likes women. Or, more specifically, he likes the smell of women. He follows them through the street, led helplessly by their odour which, perhaps, could be the smell he is looking for for his perfume . . .

Defining a cult book is not easy. Let's start with the more obvious aspects of cult lit. To begin, a cult book should have a passionate following. Buckets of books fall into this category, including classics like J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and On the Road by Jack Kerouac. But even megasellers Harry Potter and 50 Shades of Grey can be considered cult lit by that definition. A cult book should have the ability to alter a reader's life or influence great change, and for the purpose of this list, it should also be a bit odd and a tad obscure.

Many of the titles we've selected have barely seen the light of day beyond their incredibly dedicated and perhaps obsessive following. Only five copies of Leon Genonceaux's 1891 novel The Tutu existed until the 1990s because Genonceaux was already in trouble for immoral publishing when he wrote it and feared a life in prison if he distributed the book to the public. Similarly, The Red Book by Carl Jung was reserved for Jung's heirs for decades before it was made available to a wider audience.

Some of the books on our list are more widely known (though not necessarily widely understood). Robert M. Pirsig introduced the Metaphysics of Quality, his own theory of reality, in his philosophical novel Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The book was rejected by more than 100 publishers before it was finally published by William Morrow & Company in 1974 and today it's regarded as one the most influential texts in American culture.

In terms of fiction, I am seeking voice-driven commercial and upmarket titles, contemporary fiction with fabulist elements, speculative fiction, edgy psychological thrillers, as well as mysteries, light horror and rom-coms featuring underrepresented characters of any background. I am always drawn to characters who are haunted by something, whether figuratively (a secret, a past, an obsession) or literally (a ghost, a demon, etc.). I am also actively seeking character-driven stories featuring women in power, unhinged women, and female rage. I have a soft spot for unreliable narrators, family sagas with dysfunctional families silently navigating trauma, protagonists in their 20s-30s navigating adulthood, protagonists on the cusp of major life changes, and stories that focus on friendship dynamics.

I am actively seeking projects that feature complex and nuanced histories and power dynamics, address social and political issues, or center BIPOC characters. I am drawn to titles that explore the diverse experiences of underrepresented groups and challenge our understanding of diasporic experiences and/or cultures. Bonus points if the stories are also *fun* and celebrate joy alongside acknowledging trauma.

I welcome fresh and accessible perspectives on big ideas or industry deep dives as well as narrative nonfiction on pop culture, art, and nature. I also appreciate books that offer incisive commentary on culture, socio-economic structures, corporate underbellies, health and wellness, and lifestyle. My taste in non-fiction gravitates towards books that generally challenge what we know or explain what we might not know.

When I first started this blog, I made a post of books like The Feather Thief that mostly features books about heists, theft, things like that, but this list will be a little broader as far as non-violent true crime goes.

He was headed to the Tring museum, a suburban outpost of the British Museum of Natural History, which happens to be home to thousands of rare bird specimens with plumes worth staggering amounts of money to people like Edwin: Victorian salmon fly-tyers.

FBI Special Agent Steven Carr received a package of coded letters in December 2000 from the New York FBI office. They were from an anonymous sender to the Libyan Consulate offering to sell classified US intelligence.

A fire alarm sounded at the Los Angeles Public Library the morning of April 29, 1986. This was no ordinary fire. It reached 2,000 degrees, burned for more than seven hours, consumed 400,000 books, and damaged 700,000 more.

Attila Ambrus took up robbery to make ends meet in the 1990s while he played hockey for the biggest team in Budapest. He was up against the most incompetent team of investigators the Eastern Bloc had ever seen.

Even after thousands of leads, hundreds of interviews, and a $5 million reward, nothing has been recovered. The missing pieces, worth as much as $500 million, have become the holy grail of the art world while remaining one of the most extraordinary unsolved mysteries in the country.

He worked out a new payment processing method that had online poker companies running to him for help to grow their businesses and soon, he was living the dream, raking in $3 million a week with fast cars, luxury yachts, and VIP nightclubs.

The number of art scams and lawsuits around misattribution has scared away a number of experts from the world of authentication and forgery. They are ever more convincing and involve unbelievable sums of money.

Rachel Love Nuwer takes us into the dark world of wildlife trafficking for jewelry, pets, medicine, meat, trophies, and fur. Our demand for these products is driving a worldwide poaching epidemic threatening countless endangered species.

A young man is murdered for his pet fish. An Asian tycoon buys one for $150,000. A pet detective chases smugglers through the streets of New York. This takes us into the outlandish world of obsession, paranoia, and criminality.

The Asian Arowana is the perfect example of a modern paradox: a mass-produced endangered species. Hundreds of thousands are bred in captivity, but a wild Arowana has become a near-mythical creature and Voigt is following its trail to learn its fate in nature.

Here are 100 books that The Obsession fans have personally recommended if you likeThe Obsession.Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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