Can't get enough of Wild Wild Country? Anbara Salam, the author of Things Bright and Beautiful, selects five works of fiction that focus on elusive and mysterious cults.
Recommendations
5 books about cults
The Girls
Emma Cline
A dreamy, well-observed and languid story that reflects on a coming-of-age summer. Except that our protagonist, Evie, is trying to join a cult. Cline’s fictional cult is based on the Manson family and the events leading up to the infamous Tate/LaBianca murders. The Girls deftly explores the emotional pull for those on the fringe of cult groups vying for acceptance.
The Water Cure
Sophie Mackintosh
A hypnotic and evocative read that explores the restrictive lives of three young women on a remote island who must abide by the disturbing regimes of their father, King. The fractures in his mythological power are subtly invoked as the novel progresses, generating a haunting sense of dread and claustrophobia. This book is thought-provoking and beautifully composed - best enjoyed as a slow read to savour Mackintosh's gorgeous language.
The Power
Naomi Alderman
All over the world, women are discovering an incipient power slumbering in their bodies - the ability to produce an electric charge. This satirical and apocalyptic novel follows four characters adjusting to their new roles through political turmoil and social upheaval. Allie, a savvy young prophet refocuses herself in the cult of the Mother and precipitates the destruction of the old world order.
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
This is a classic novel that deserves a place on every reading list. Dystopian yet frighteningly familiar, the book takes place in a world where handmaids act as fertility proxies for prestigious families; becoming arguably the most valued and yet most depersonalised members of society. Offred has been stripped of her former identity and her agency, but her desperate hopes in the face of systematic oppression are at the heart of this disturbing and addictive read.
IQ84
Haruki Murakami
Leave 1Q84 by your bed and take your time with this read. A slow and strange novel that reveals how the investigation of the fictional Sakigake cult intertwines the lives of the two main protagonists, Aomame and Tengo. Murakami’s uncanny and hypnotic world-building offers a mesmerizing journey of parallel universes, strange coincidences and romantic possibilities.
