Heteronym
Reader
I'd recommend G?za Cs?th: he is virtually unknown here in Portugal, where he's only recently been graced with a short-story collection translation. From what I understand, Cs?th belongs to that delightful tradition of drug-addicted writers who write a handful of works and then commit suicide. He also predated William Burroughs in the whole kill-my-wife-with-a-revolver shtick. No one's original anymore.
His drug of choice was morphine, which he acquired easily in the asylums where he worked as a psychiatrist. His knowledge of mental illness and psychology helped him compose wonderfully dark stories. One of my favorites is 'The Matricide', the story of two fatherless brothers who grow detatched from their mother and entertain themselves torturing small animals before proceeding to people. Cs?th mapped out with precision the pathology of psychopaths - cruelty to animals, objectifying people, juvenile delinquency - decades before forensics started studying serial killers.
His drug condition seems to have lead him to paranoia, which caused him to shoot his wife and commit suicide. He also left a diary and a novel based on his experience in asylums, both of which I'd love to read one day. I believe the diary is available in English.
His drug of choice was morphine, which he acquired easily in the asylums where he worked as a psychiatrist. His knowledge of mental illness and psychology helped him compose wonderfully dark stories. One of my favorites is 'The Matricide', the story of two fatherless brothers who grow detatched from their mother and entertain themselves torturing small animals before proceeding to people. Cs?th mapped out with precision the pathology of psychopaths - cruelty to animals, objectifying people, juvenile delinquency - decades before forensics started studying serial killers.
His drug condition seems to have lead him to paranoia, which caused him to shoot his wife and commit suicide. He also left a diary and a novel based on his experience in asylums, both of which I'd love to read one day. I believe the diary is available in English.