Self, Will

(British, 1961– )

Controversial newspaper columnist, Self is at the jagged cutting edge of contemporary fiction. His witty and highly articulate style presents a gritty and detailed vision of contemporary society and language. His realism includes violence and sexuality—the content of his books is correspondingly strong and explicit, embracing torture, rape, mutilation, necrophilia, paedophilia, and bestiality, and dwelling in intimate detail on sexual and bodily functions. Great Apes (1997), a biting satire of a man who wakes in a world dominated by chimpanzees and is studied by an ape scientist, abounds in startling reversals which question our preconceptions of humanity. Tough Tough Toys for Tough Tough Boys (1998) is a collection of short stories connected by the twin themes—frequent in Self's writing—of drug use and the confusion, or subversion, of identity.

Bret Easton Ellis, Irvine Welsh, Martin Amis  EC