A list of 16 Novels about Addiction

  1. Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr.

    Selby’s novel captures the destructive effects of addiction through intertwined stories where dependencies on drugs, diet pills, and television erode hope and dignity with brutal realism.

  2. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

    David Foster Wallace’s landmark novel uses a complex narrative set in a tennis academy and a halfway house to explore the nature of compulsion—from substance abuse to entertainment—and society's role in fueling addiction.

  3. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

    In “Trainspotting,” Welsh plunges readers into Edinburgh’s heroin scene through distinctive Scottish dialect and interwoven character narratives, exposing the brutal highs, desperate lows, and dark humor of addiction.

  4. Junky by William S. Burroughs

    Burroughs’ semi-autobiographical novel offers a raw, detached look at heroin addiction in post-World War II America, portraying the gritty, everyday realities of a life ensnared by dependency without moralizing or glamorization.

  5. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry

    Set over a single day in Mexico, “Under the Volcano” portrays the tragic final hours of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic former consul. His internal torment and profound loneliness are masterfully woven into a dense, poetic narrative about addiction's all-consuming force.

  6. The Man with the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren

    A groundbreaking post-war novel that humanizes its protagonist, Frankie Machine, a gifted card dealer and morphine addict struggling in the slums of Chicago. Algren’s compassionate yet unflinching narrative was one of the first to tackle drug dependency with such literary depth and empathy.

  7. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

    Ellis’s debut novel presents a detached, stark portrayal of youthful excess among the wealthy in 1980s Los Angeles, where drugs and nihilism serve as a hollow escape from emotional emptiness and a superficial world.

  8. Candy by Luke Davies

    Written in prose that mirrors the rush and crash of its subject, Luke Davies’s “Candy” intertwines a passionate love story with a harrowing journey through heroin addiction, highlighting how a shared desire for connection blurs into the agony of dependency.

  9. Leaving Las Vegas by John O'Brien

    “Leaving Las Vegas” is a bleak and powerful account of a man who travels to the city with the sole intention of drinking himself to death. The novel chronicles his fatal plunge into alcoholism and the profound loneliness that accompanies addiction.

  10. Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney

    McInerney’s iconic novel uses a second-person narrative to immerse readers in the cocaine-fueled nightlife of 1980s Manhattan, exposing the frenetic escapism and deep-seated grief underlying a fact-checker's urban excess.

  11. Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson

    This collection of interconnected short stories weaves a series of hallucinatory, poetic tales centered on a heroin-addicted narrator known only as "Fuckhead." Johnson captures the chaos, grace, and cyclical nature of addiction with stark and unforgettable clarity.

  12. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

    Set in a dystopian near-future, this semi-autobiographical science fiction novel follows an undercover narcotics agent who succumbs to the paranoid, identity-fracturing effects of the powerful "Substance D." It's a heartbreaking exploration of addiction's power to sever a person from reality and self.

  13. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

    This Booker Prize-winning novel provides a devastating portrait of a family shattered by alcoholism in 1980s Glasgow. Told through the eyes of a young boy, Shuggie, as he tries to care for his mother, the story is an unforgettable exploration of poverty, unconditional love, and the wreckage of addiction.

  14. Choke by Chuck Palahniuk

    Palahniuk follows Victor Mancini, a sex-addicted con artist whose self-destructive compulsions and darkly humorous schemes reveal deeper emotional scars and confront the complexities of addiction rooted in trauma.

  15. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

    Originally published as the authentic diary of an anonymous teenager, this book chronicles a young girl's harrowing descent into the 1960s drug culture. Now widely considered a fictional cautionary tale written by its editor, Beatrice Sparks, its stark portrayal of adolescent addiction remains a powerful and controversial work.

  16. Smack by Melvin Burgess

    This unflinching young adult novel tells the story of two teen runaways, Gemma and Tar, who are ensnared by heroin addiction in Bristol. Burgess vividly illustrates the strain on relationships, the loss of self, and the risky choices forced by dependency.