EyebrarianPrize winnersGet the app

Books › Bad behavior

Cover of Bad behavior

Bad behavior

First published 1988 · 222 pages

A raw, disenchanted plunge into the longing and angst of an urban fringe generation desperate for connection.

What it feels like

Reading this collection feels like wandering through the gritty streets of the Lower East Side alongside a disenchanted generation. The mood is steeped in the heavy, restless angst of an urban fringe culture, capturing a profound sense of dislocation. It moves at a steady, deliberate pace, allowing the raw ache of longing and desire to fully settle into the reader's bones. The prose is powerful and unflinching, stripping away romantic illusions to reveal the messy, rebellious reality of individuals groping for genuine human connection. It is a deeply atmospheric experience, perfect for readers who are drawn to dark, character-driven explorations of city life, emotional isolation, and the desperate struggle to find meaning in the shadows.

Mood
  • gritty
  • melancholic
  • yearning
  • shadowy
Tone
  • disenchanted
  • rebellious
  • raw
  • angsty
Pace
steady
Themes
urban dislocation · longing and desire · the search for connection · generational angst
The writing
Powerful and unflinching, capturing the gritty reality of city life and internal angst without romanticizing the pain.
The arc
A journey through the raw ache of urban isolation toward desperate, fleeting attempts at human connection.
Who it's for
Readers who crave raw, character-driven stories about the messy, disenchanted realities of urban life and human desire.
Content notes
  • emotional isolation
  • angst

About the book

Powerful stories of dislocation, longing and desire which depict a disenchanted and rebellious urban fringe generation that is groping for human connection. (Or, more simply put, the angst of people-who-wear-black.)

Description from Open Library.

Books like Bad behavior

See why they match