Novels that pull back the curtain

[divideandconquer]

Every once in a while I come across a propaganda-less novel that really pulls back the curtain on the unseemly and nefarious elements that exist and thrive in secrecy...particularly those components of a, more or less, organized evil that underpins our society and culture. Of course, you normally won't find these books on the NY Times best seller list.

Morning, Come Quickly by Wanda Karriker is a novel that exposes transgenerational trauma and government sponsored torture and terrorization of children.

The Beothuk Saga by Bernard Assiniwi, is a novel, but at the same time a convincing and unflinching account of the Beothuk people through the ages who supposedly disappeared off the face of the earth. Unfortunately, this sad tale exposed the truth of many victims of European conquest throughout history.

Flicker by Theodore Roszak is a novel that includes cinematic fact and "fantasy" and metaphysical mysteries that one could argue reveals more truth about the movie industry than most non-fiction.

That's all I have time for right now. Anyone else?

[82_28]

White Noise by Don Delillo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Noise_%28novel%29

[82_28]

White Noise explores several themes that emerged during the mid-to-late twentieth century, e.g., rampant consumerism, media saturation, novelty academic intellectualism, underground conspiracies, the disintegration and reintegration of the family, human-made disasters, and the potentially regenerative nature of human violence. The novel's style is characterized by a heterogeneity that utilizes "montages of tones, styles, and voices that have the effect of yoking together terror and wild humor as the essential tone of contemporary America."[5]

Ecocritic Cynthia Deitering had described the novel as central to the rise of "toxic consciousness" in American fiction in the 1980s, arguing that the novel "offers insight into a culture's shifting relation to nature and to the environment at a time when the imminence of ecological collapse was, and is, part of the public mind and of individual imagination".[6]

[82_28]

Anything at all by Margaret Atwood.

[Agent Orange Cooper]

Roberto Bolano's 2666 most aptly fits the OP's description

[identity]

Speaking of Roszak, most of his novels would seem to be ideal "light reading" material for the RI set, including Bugs: A Novel of Terror in the Computer Age (1981):

Nobody could have imagined that information technology, the towering colossus that dominates our world, would meet its match in an innocent, six-year-old girl named Daphne. Yet the vengeful horror that this psychically gifted child lures out of the secret recesses of the world's computers rapidly grows into a global calamity. As the crisis deepens, powers darker and more mysterious than modern science can understand must be invoked in order to defend a threatened humanity. In Bugs, Theodore Roszak offers a tour de force exercise in science fiction. He ingeniously combines the divergent worlds of high tech, the occult, and feminist psychology. With admirable ambiguity, he leaves us to wonder if Daphne's "bugs"-these arcane forces that stubbornly resist the advance of technology-are mankind's enemies or allies.

Oh, and Dreamwatcher (1985):

Imagine having the power to observe the dreams of others-to have intimate knowledge of the most secret desires, the most dreaded terrors, the childish delights, the sexual fantasies of anyone you might choose. Then imagine having the power to enter those dreams and reshape them. Deirdre Vale is a dreamwatcher, one of a select group whose extraordinary talent could be a boon to medical science. But as she discovers to her horror, her powers have become the focus of malicious intrigue whose purpose is not to heal the soul, but to torment it with lethal nightmares. Theodore Roszak's Dreamwatcher is a haunting psychological thriller, a story that finds both terror and heroism in the depths of the dreaming mind.

An Amazon review of same:

Deirdre Vale, formerly a patient at the respected Devane Clinic, and now an unofficial assistant to Dr. Aaron Devane himself, is a dreamwatcher. While not dreaming herself, she can enter into the dreams of others, either to observe their dreams, or to actually reshape & redirect them. What she doesn't suspect is that Dr. Devane long ago made a Faustian bargain with government intelligence, which funds the clinic & uses other dreamwatchers to destroy its perceived enemies ...

Stop right there!

If this story sounds familiar, it's because you may have seen the Dennis Quaid movie "Dreamscape," released in 1984. Granted, entering the dreams of others is a time-honored science-fiction trope; but the fact that this novel was published 3 years before the film appeared and includes so many of the same elements, right down to the sadistic, psychopathic psychic assassin, makes me wonder if the screenwriters were (ahem) "inspired" by Roszak's work.

Never mind. While "Dreamscape" is an enjoyable romp, this novel has much more ambition & depth. Roszak's breadth of knowledge, from politics & social-cultural critique to art & transcendence, is all put to excellent use in these pages. Using the form of the psychological science-fiction thriller, he delves into the use & abuse of science, the nature of dreams, the complexities of human sexuality, and the corruption of official power -- political & religious. The result is a gripping story that works both as exciting thriller & rich food for thought.

While the specifics of the plot reflect the political background of 1981, the struggle it depicts is all too timeless & contemporary. And it goes beyond politics to examine the deeper, eternal struggle each of us confronts within the universe of the psyche: hope & despair, destruction or healing. It's occasionally disturbing to read, as Roszak shows us just how vile & twisted the human soul can become in the pursuit of power. But it's never gratuitous shock for shock's sake.

As a novelist, Roszak is justly acclaimed for "Flicker" -- yes, soon to be a major motion picture (or so they keep saying), and a powerful one if done right. But he deserves to be equally acclaimed for this earlier novel, which I'm pleased to see in print once more. Most highly recommended!

[brekin]

Every once in a while I come across a propaganda-less novel...

No such thing. As Orwell said "All art is propaganda." But here is some damn fine propaganda:

In the name of sociological research, two scientists infiltrate the ranks of the Truth Seekers--a rather ridiculous small-town cult whose credo involves sex, spiritualism, and a flying saucer messiah. Exposed to the persuasive energies of a sensuous high priestess, the men of science are forced to question seriously their superstitious belief that they can chart, understand, and control the workings of the human mind.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8904 ... ry_Friends

[Harvey]

Every once in a while I come across a propaganda-less novel...

No such thing. As Orwell said "All art is propaganda." But here is some damn fine propaganda

Bingo. Splendidly lurid cover...

[Project Willow]

Love seeing Morning Come Quickly at the top of the list, thank you!

I'll add Mad Dog by Kelly Watt. http://www.amazon.com/Mad-Dog-Kelly-Watt/dp/0385257686

[Harvey]

Once in a House on Fire by Andrea Ashworth, but probably not in the sense of the OP. It lifts the curtain on family/domestic violence, illuminating the kind of acceptance of it which has yet to disappear. Andrea describes her childhood with grace, humour and considerable style. She grew up literally a few streets away from me at around the same time. While I was beaten unconscious for the first time, I was four years old I think, she was living not very far away the extended nightmare she describes. The family is where much of what we are concerned with begins and ends.

[82_28]

Billy Bathgate and Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow come to mind as well.

[minime]

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

[kelley]

James Ellroy's Underworld Trilogy

And more recently Don Winslow's Cartel books

[divideandconquer]

Every once in a while I come across a propaganda-less novel...

No such thing. As Orwell said "All art is propaganda."

True. I wasn't clear. I meant ostensibly free from orchestrated propaganda. Literature is an important weapon of propaganda. Stalin once described writers as “the engineers of the human soul,” and when those engineers come from the intelligence community or military industrial complex, it seems fairly obvious to some, but most Americans don't think that way.

From a former chief of the CIA's covert action:

“Books differ from all other propaganda media primarily because one single book can significantly change the reader’s attitude and action to an extent unmatched by the impact of any other single medium.” ...“the most important weapon of strategic propaganda.”

Prolific authors--with a full staff of writers-- come to mind, those who release several books per month. Then there are the gatekeepers, the publishers, who I'm sure act on behalf of the establishment, filtering out manuscripts that might undermine the efforts to shape the opinions of ordinary people. In other words, diminish government efforts at cultural engineering. As everyone here knows, relying on art and ideas is much more effective than force to advance an agenda.

For instance, good luck finding Morning, Come Quickly at any public library, Barnes and Noble, etc.

[PufPuf93]

I could find Morning Come Quickly (a book new to me) at amazon as a kindle, hc, or sc or abebooks.com or as an ebook.

http://www.amazon.com/Morning-Come-Quic ... me+Quickly

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchR ... me+Quickly

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook ... me-quickly

A love story. A spiritual journey. A psychological thriller. Where are they now: victims of child pornography and other forms of extreme abuse? Ask Emily Klein, who could've been a Bible Belt socialite but chose to become a therapist instead, and she'll tell you that some ended up in her office trying to recover from the aftereffects of having been used in organized evil. Ask Jeff Klein, who could've lived off the wealth and reputation of his ancestors, but chose to become a history professor instead, and he'll tell you that some turned out just fine. That they grew up to become stable, contributing members of their communities. The couple had been living enviable, almost perfect, lives until one September day in 1989 when Emily, standing at the bedside of a dying client, heard the words that split their lives to Before and After. Sometime later, in the church where she had been baptized, confirmed, and married, Dr. Emily Lentz Klein - good wife, mother and daughter, successful psychologist - bowed her head and began a spiritual journey the unenlightened would have called mental illness. What a voyage it was for both of the Kleins! To a world of murder, transgenerational trauma, and government-sponsored torture and terrorization of children. To the front lines of the war over "false memories." And back to the home front. To their sanctuary by the sea where the aging lovers learned, unambiguously, that they had been more than childhood sweethearts.