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The Sweet Smell of Psychosis: A Novella
A brief and brilliant satire of magazine hacks and fashionistas, The Sweet Smell of Psychosis shows Will Self - a writer acclaimed as "a masterly prose-maker" by London's Sunday Times - at the top of his form. It looks as if it's going to be quite a Christmas for Richard Hermes, powdered with cocaine and whining with the white noise of urban derangement. Not so much enfolded as trapped in the bosom of the most venal media clique in London, Richard is losing it on all fronts: he's losing his heart to Ursula Bentley, a nubile and vacuous magazine columnist; he's in danger of losing his job at the pretentious listings magazine Rendezvous; he's losing his mind courtesy of Colombia's chief illegal export; and, worst of all, he's losing his soul ... to Bell. Bell is a newspaper columnist, radio host, television personality - but more than that, he is the kingpin guiding the ship of media scandal through the lower depths. From his headquarters in the Sealink Club he pulls the strings that control the disseminators of drek and gatherers of glib. And he has had Ursula Bentley and just about everyone else, female and male. As Richard pursues the Jicki perfume wafting from Ursula, he is in fact being drawn into a much more sinister web. Murky, paranoid, and hilarious, The Sweet Smell of Psychosis is Will Self at his best.
89 pages, Paperback
First published November 21, 1996
About the author
Will Self
144 books961 followersWilliam Self is an English novelist, reviewer and columnist. He received his education at University College School, Christ's College Finchley, and Exeter College, Oxford. He was married to the late journalist Deborah Orr.
Self is known for his satirical, grotesque and fantastic novels and short stories set in seemingly parallel universes.
Self is known for his satirical, grotesque and fantastic novels and short stories set in seemingly parallel universes.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
May 8, 2018
A representative dose of queasy verbal pyrotechnics from the morose sesquipedalian, this time animated by a loathing of the London media scene. Our protagonist – fractionally less dislikable than the rest of the cast – is a third-rate hack called Richard Hermes who, like his divine namesake, moves between the worlds of the living and the dead, though in this case (unlike other Self novels) only metaphorically. Hermes is drawn to a depressing coterie of media hangers-on and general Popbitch pundits that gather around the orbit of a minor celebrity; he is also driven by a futile desire for Ursula Bentley, a flighty, sexy it-girl of the sort that characterised West London nightlife in the noughties, and for all I know still does. The slim, bilious text is complemented by several vicious, inky sketches from political cartoonist Martin Rowson:
(click to embiggen)
Many of Self's habitual themes are here – madness, hallucination, sexual fluidity, narcotics – and they fit the milieu rather well, though one always wonders why he devotes so much attention to a subculture for which he feels such obvious contempt. As so often with his books, there is a raw, frazzled sense of nausea to the writing, and a note of nastiness to many of the characterisations. But watching how Will Self puts a sentence together – which, for better or worse, he does like no one else – is always instructive, always a thrill.
(click to embiggen)
Many of Self's habitual themes are here – madness, hallucination, sexual fluidity, narcotics – and they fit the milieu rather well, though one always wonders why he devotes so much attention to a subculture for which he feels such obvious contempt. As so often with his books, there is a raw, frazzled sense of nausea to the writing, and a note of nastiness to many of the characterisations. But watching how Will Self puts a sentence together – which, for better or worse, he does like no one else – is always instructive, always a thrill.
July 24, 2014
Will Self's nasty little novella puns its title off of the American noir classic The Sweet Smell of Success (which, to my noir-loving shame, I have yet to watch), but goes down a much sleazier and anatomically repulsive rabbit hole (I assume) than any that Burt Lancaster or Tony Curtis went down in that flick.
Richard Hermes is a young reporter who falls under the thrall of Bell, a real villain of a media personality, and his cabal of sycophantic hack newsmen, all of who do double duty as his personal henchmen and fellow revelers in debauchery. Richard seems like a decent-enough bloke, but like all men, will turn into a cartoon wolf and sell his soul for a piece of ass. Doing piece of ass duty is Ursula Bentley, a ghoul of a male sex fantasy that Richard has convinced himself is actually a good person, even though she hangs out with a bunch of cruel, decadent, drug-fueled human slugs. Soon Richard is forced to make the hard choice between getting laid or retaining some piece of his humanity.
Self tells a fairly condensed and Faustian cautionary tale that serves as a machine-gun volley of potshots at the journalism biz, all the while writing with his usual pizazz for learned diction and alliteration.
The easily offended and grossed-out need not apply, but fans of mordant laughs and clever wordplay should check out the knowingly pulpy The Sweet Smell Of Psychosis, along with Self's other unpleasant entertainments, such as the two tales of hermaphroditic horror, Cock and Bull
Bonus Features:Political Satirist Martin Rowson litters the pages with grotesque renderings of all the worst scenes in the book.
Richard Hermes is a young reporter who falls under the thrall of Bell, a real villain of a media personality, and his cabal of sycophantic hack newsmen, all of who do double duty as his personal henchmen and fellow revelers in debauchery. Richard seems like a decent-enough bloke, but like all men, will turn into a cartoon wolf and sell his soul for a piece of ass. Doing piece of ass duty is Ursula Bentley, a ghoul of a male sex fantasy that Richard has convinced himself is actually a good person, even though she hangs out with a bunch of cruel, decadent, drug-fueled human slugs. Soon Richard is forced to make the hard choice between getting laid or retaining some piece of his humanity.
Self tells a fairly condensed and Faustian cautionary tale that serves as a machine-gun volley of potshots at the journalism biz, all the while writing with his usual pizazz for learned diction and alliteration.
The easily offended and grossed-out need not apply, but fans of mordant laughs and clever wordplay should check out the knowingly pulpy The Sweet Smell Of Psychosis, along with Self's other unpleasant entertainments, such as the two tales of hermaphroditic horror, Cock and Bull
Bonus Features:Political Satirist Martin Rowson litters the pages with grotesque renderings of all the worst scenes in the book.
June 5, 2009
This is the most physically disturbing work by Will Self I've read (it actually made me semi-gag in places). Does that grab your attention?
Written in collaboration with tip-top cartoonist Martin Rowson, who provided a dozen or so ghoulish drawings, this is one of the most interesting little finds in Self's burgeoning oeuvre.
The story is almost atypically Self-ish, centring around a weedy hack desperate to claw his way into a subcultural journalistic elite in London (of course), and equally desperate to bed the staggeringly beautiful social parasite who frequents with them.
The protagonist persists in his attempts to bed this woman (whose name escapes me now) until the novella ends with another atypically Self-ish twist (readers of "Cock & Bull" will have a head start).
What sets this apart from other Self novellas is the sheer frenetic bile of the narrative. One gets the impression Self is venting his well-greased spleen about his colleagues in the grubby world of London's rags and tabloids, and holds nothing back.
As several reviewers have commented, the characters in this book are remarkably beastly (there's one particular reference to a Down's syndrome sufferer which left me mentally puking) and Self surely knows his way around contemptible bastards. Those weak-stomached readers might wish to peruse Self's more academic works!
I recommend this for all Self devotees looking for some of his momentously splenetic cocaine-fuelled fiction. The combo of Self & Rowson is terrific. I would love to see a reunion.
Written in collaboration with tip-top cartoonist Martin Rowson, who provided a dozen or so ghoulish drawings, this is one of the most interesting little finds in Self's burgeoning oeuvre.
The story is almost atypically Self-ish, centring around a weedy hack desperate to claw his way into a subcultural journalistic elite in London (of course), and equally desperate to bed the staggeringly beautiful social parasite who frequents with them.
The protagonist persists in his attempts to bed this woman (whose name escapes me now) until the novella ends with another atypically Self-ish twist (readers of "Cock & Bull" will have a head start).
What sets this apart from other Self novellas is the sheer frenetic bile of the narrative. One gets the impression Self is venting his well-greased spleen about his colleagues in the grubby world of London's rags and tabloids, and holds nothing back.
As several reviewers have commented, the characters in this book are remarkably beastly (there's one particular reference to a Down's syndrome sufferer which left me mentally puking) and Self surely knows his way around contemptible bastards. Those weak-stomached readers might wish to peruse Self's more academic works!
I recommend this for all Self devotees looking for some of his momentously splenetic cocaine-fuelled fiction. The combo of Self & Rowson is terrific. I would love to see a reunion.
March 15, 2013
I loved Great Apes so I wanted to read more by Will Self. The Sweet Smell of Psychosis is a short read. It's about a journalist who becomes obsessed with the hub of a clique, a huge man called Bell. The novella has many funny moments and it is as confusing to read as it is to experience psychosis. Will Self is a master of prose. The reason I ranked it on the low scale was perhaps that I simply didn't get it. The story is about men. The only female character is merely an object of lust for the protagonist who even dreams of her as an amputee simply to allow for deeper penetration. Perhaps because the protagonist is muddled I felt we never knew any of the characters, even Bell, deeper than this. It's an interesting read, but I wouldn't recommend it.
June 18, 2018
Completely sealed in a lightless world of formed entirely of the compressed ichor and ennui of the London tabloid news circuit. This is a novella in the sense of everything-not-purely-of-the-primary-bludgeoning-black-satiric-center-has-been-expunged, and generally benefits from it: compressed, punchy, horrible. Even the grotesqueries of the illustrations point right back into the grimy decaying heart. Obviously it's single-minded, but quite successfully so.
August 15, 2012
Seedy satire. Not a pleasant read. Although the language is playful and poetic. (But Mr. Self’s writing usually is, even if that playfulness is sometimes overwhelmed by the implosive cynicism he’s having fun with.) Occasionally it’s maybe a bit too much (a typical sentence: “The apex of this pyramid of ephemera, ministered to by a pretentious priesthood, was the morning editorial meeting.”) Rarely is it too little (but: “The trip-hop tripped and hopped.”)
His cynicism can make for a tough read over a full novel, for certain, but it made even these scant pages feel a tad oppressive. 2.5 stars.
His cynicism can make for a tough read over a full novel, for certain, but it made even these scant pages feel a tad oppressive. 2.5 stars.
September 23, 2013
Fans of Will Self’s characteristically very wordy and darkly comic writing style will enjoy this work. I enjoyed the quality of word-play and observational wit (reminiscent of Tom Sharpe) but didn’t find any of the characters sympathetic enough to feel strongly about this work. It’s a short and cleverly written and I would recommend it to readers who are not of a prudish constitution.
November 1, 2020
Our library randomly acquired an entire back catalog of Will Self and the best way to easy into that sort of thing is usually with a novella, so I checked it out. And…ok, interesting. Definitely different. Originally published in 1996, it is actually dated as such, just very reminiscent of the glitzy, overindulgent, coke binged fiction of the era, from late 80s to 90s. The story follows a young(ish) journalist as he climbs both social and career ladders in the business rife with…well, glitz, overindulgences and coke. The media scene is presided by a genuinely repulsing creature, the man to know, the famous and infamous Bell, a man who comes to haunt the protagonist’s dreams and nightmares. Then there’s Ursula, the curvaceous, vapid, over perfumed object of everyone’s (including the main character) affections, whom he pursues with obsessive desperation. And so on and on, the climb to the top or just the center of the web progresses, through the smoky cynical glibness of the denizens of Sealink Club, through the snow white blitz of addiction, through the endless pursuit of status, connections, recognition, all done at the cost of one’s soul in a genuinely Mephistophelian sort of deal. It’s a bleak and nasty tale about bleak and nasty characters with absolutely perfectly suited to it black and white art by Martin Rowson. Very stylish, the author’s writing has a singular panache to it. Self is very clever with his wordplay and seems to be in possession of an excellent vocabulary from which to choose…a sentence I very much enjoyed writing just now. This may not be a sort of book you’d love, but it’s easy enough to appreciate its glib charms. And it’s such a quick read. Recommended for readers in search of variety.
November 26, 2018
I've been a big Will Self fan since I was in high school (in America), but EVERY single British person I've ever met who knows him can't stand him for some reason. I'm so glad I don't know what they apparently do.
This short book was a look at this totally awful world of celebrity journalists and drugs and clubs, revolving mainly around the protagonist and him being in love with this super hot chick who by turns tells him she likes him and then ignores him. Lurking in the background is this powerful journalist celeb asshole, a pansexual dude so powerful everyone has to fuck him at least once.
The ending was a little confusing to me, the main character either finally gets to have sex with the girl of his dreams, or he was just thinking he was when he was actually having sex with that guy who gets to fuck everyone. Either way, the book gives you a rush with its language (which is sometimes a little too good for its own... good) and makes you hate just every single character in the book, something Will Self has always been pretty good at, haha.
May Will Self live to be 1,000 years old!
This short book was a look at this totally awful world of celebrity journalists and drugs and clubs, revolving mainly around the protagonist and him being in love with this super hot chick who by turns tells him she likes him and then ignores him. Lurking in the background is this powerful journalist celeb asshole, a pansexual dude so powerful everyone has to fuck him at least once.
The ending was a little confusing to me, the main character either finally gets to have sex with the girl of his dreams, or he was just thinking he was when he was actually having sex with that guy who gets to fuck everyone. Either way, the book gives you a rush with its language (which is sometimes a little too good for its own... good) and makes you hate just every single character in the book, something Will Self has always been pretty good at, haha.
May Will Self live to be 1,000 years old!
March 19, 2018
If you enjoy British satire that's almost too awful/gross/disturbing to read, then The Sweet Smell of Psychosis will be right up your street. This seedy little novella takes the reader on a depraved journey into the murky underbelly of London's most notorious news hacks, as it centres around a young reporter named Richard who is trying to make a name for himself.
You'll hate all of the characters and their exaggerated stereotypes, you'll despise the crude language and you may feel physically sick reading some of the paragraphs, but you'll most likely continue to read it until the very last page, like a rubbernecking passenger who can't get enough of a grisly car crash. Don't say I didn't warn you though!
You'll hate all of the characters and their exaggerated stereotypes, you'll despise the crude language and you may feel physically sick reading some of the paragraphs, but you'll most likely continue to read it until the very last page, like a rubbernecking passenger who can't get enough of a grisly car crash. Don't say I didn't warn you though!
December 2, 2020
Tepid story and overwritten
December 2, 2013
a less imaginative Martin Amis book with a lot more alliteration. the fish in the barrel meet the expected fate.
"Self is sometimes presented as a bad-boy outsider, writing, like the Americans William S Burroughs and Hubert Selby Jr, about sex, drugs and violence in a very direct way. Yet he is not some class warrior storming the citadels of the literary establishment from the outside, but an Oxford educated, middle-class metropolitan who, despite his protestations to the contrary in interviews, is about as much at the heart of the establishment as you can get, a place he has occupied almost from the start of his career." --Nick Rennison
"Self is sometimes presented as a bad-boy outsider, writing, like the Americans William S Burroughs and Hubert Selby Jr, about sex, drugs and violence in a very direct way. Yet he is not some class warrior storming the citadels of the literary establishment from the outside, but an Oxford educated, middle-class metropolitan who, despite his protestations to the contrary in interviews, is about as much at the heart of the establishment as you can get, a place he has occupied almost from the start of his career." --Nick Rennison
July 14, 2012
I'm not sure the term novella even applies here: it feels like a shaggy dog story or even just a 90 page set up to a vulgar joke.
It manages to be playful (in a grim and utterly sardonic way) as well as obscene at the same time. The people, events and even the vocabulary itself seem to revel in their own gratuity. I just didn't see the worth in delving into such a seedy and mean-spirited world.
It manages to be playful (in a grim and utterly sardonic way) as well as obscene at the same time. The people, events and even the vocabulary itself seem to revel in their own gratuity. I just didn't see the worth in delving into such a seedy and mean-spirited world.
March 24, 2014
Starts well but gets mundane. Feels like an interesting satirical insight at first but loses its cutting edge quickly even though it's the slimmest volume I've read since Jean Rhys. Slightly reminiscent of Tom Sharpe except Tom Sharpe is more entertaining. I always feel like Will Self has something to say about the comedy and bitterness of life but it sometimes outsatirises itself.
April 14, 2024
Easy to read compared to some of Self's more flowery work. It was predictable but fast-paced and fun. Made I chuckle. Would recommend to anyone who has taken illicit drugs at work. And would not recommend taking illicit drugs at work.
January 6, 2008
The writing, as much as the story, is what makes this book perhaps worth reading. The author has a strong command of vocabulary.
July 13, 2009
A near-perfect novella, and a great one for a commute to work. Minor man of letters in a drug-fuelled descent into contemporary London Hell. Beautifully written.
August 7, 2012
It is amazing how much fucked up-ness one can fit in so few pages. Great writing...fucked up characters...good times.
August 3, 2018
I mean wtf did I just read
October 19, 2020
TOTALLY enjoyed this. Listen, do not bother reading it if you find revolting descriptions off putting. Because this book is the epitome of depraved. Richard is a pathetic little man with lacking self esteem and poor self control.
We see how he begins as a man who wants to save his job and climb up the societal and occupational ladder but ends up getting too envolved with 'rungs' so to speak and essentially falls through.
We follow this with ease not because it is lovely and easy to read but because the auther has a brilliant way with words that paints the most horrendously vivid images that we, the reader, have no choice but to follow along with clear images burned into our minds. It was absolutely hilarious and shocking with an exceptionally disturbing end.
It had me reeling for days and recommending to others straight away.
Not for the sensitive readers among us and to be clear there is no shame in that because after reading this book you will feel just as repulsive as Richard. ENJOY!
We see how he begins as a man who wants to save his job and climb up the societal and occupational ladder but ends up getting too envolved with 'rungs' so to speak and essentially falls through.
We follow this with ease not because it is lovely and easy to read but because the auther has a brilliant way with words that paints the most horrendously vivid images that we, the reader, have no choice but to follow along with clear images burned into our minds. It was absolutely hilarious and shocking with an exceptionally disturbing end.
It had me reeling for days and recommending to others straight away.
Not for the sensitive readers among us and to be clear there is no shame in that because after reading this book you will feel just as repulsive as Richard. ENJOY!
June 27, 2023
8.5 / 10
What a treat! 89 pages of horrible characters and bizarre, dark situations, paired with an impossible to ignore love of language and craft. This is both genuinely funny and repulsive, not featuring a single likeable character, but the balance is impeccable. Self has a pretty remarkable way with words — so many of these lengthy descriptions could risk being too unpleasant to enjoy reading if he didn't have an almost Nabokovian way of putting down perfect sentence after perfect sentence.
It'd be wonderful as is, but Martin Rowson's illustrations are such an excellent complement to the nastiness. They suit the writing perfectly, each being wildly exaggerated and gross in its own way, and all of them contain a fascinating level of detail despite being dark enough to accurately capture the dimness and bleakness of the world we're in. This left me with a big dumb smile on my face, cannot wait to read more by Self.
What a treat! 89 pages of horrible characters and bizarre, dark situations, paired with an impossible to ignore love of language and craft. This is both genuinely funny and repulsive, not featuring a single likeable character, but the balance is impeccable. Self has a pretty remarkable way with words — so many of these lengthy descriptions could risk being too unpleasant to enjoy reading if he didn't have an almost Nabokovian way of putting down perfect sentence after perfect sentence.
It'd be wonderful as is, but Martin Rowson's illustrations are such an excellent complement to the nastiness. They suit the writing perfectly, each being wildly exaggerated and gross in its own way, and all of them contain a fascinating level of detail despite being dark enough to accurately capture the dimness and bleakness of the world we're in. This left me with a big dumb smile on my face, cannot wait to read more by Self.
November 16, 2023
So that was a bit of a hard read.
For the most part, it paints a grotesque picture of coked up, bitchy writers scrambling to either discredit or suck up to one another. Literally everyone on this book is a little bit of a cretin. It does give the impression that Will Self may have a bone to pick with the industry and/or the people involved in it.
I feel like this could have been a great book if there hadn't been so much desperation to squeeze as much vulgarity and shock in as humanly possible, though I acknowledge that I would probably not have finished it if it hadn't been so liberally decorated with both those things. But still, it just felt a bit hollow as a story.
For the most part, it paints a grotesque picture of coked up, bitchy writers scrambling to either discredit or suck up to one another. Literally everyone on this book is a little bit of a cretin. It does give the impression that Will Self may have a bone to pick with the industry and/or the people involved in it.
I feel like this could have been a great book if there hadn't been so much desperation to squeeze as much vulgarity and shock in as humanly possible, though I acknowledge that I would probably not have finished it if it hadn't been so liberally decorated with both those things. But still, it just felt a bit hollow as a story.
June 2, 2017
Self can definitely (over)write.
But, you know, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated.
But, you know, he really is needless with the old, wordy words and that.
It was fine though and actually FUNNY.
Although I wasn't particularly grossed out until that ending which was really super gross.
It wasn't bad actually.
3.69
But, you know, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated.
But, you know, he really is needless with the old, wordy words and that.
It was fine though and actually FUNNY.
Although I wasn't particularly grossed out until that ending which was really super gross.
It wasn't bad actually.
3.69
July 24, 2020
First time reading Will Self. He said some good things about Alasdair Gray somewhere, sometime, so I sought him out. Not that great, though. The illustrations were good, but I don't like Self's writing style much. The subject matter doesn't in itself trouble me, and this kind of thing can be done quite well, but not here.
March 21, 2020
would give 0 stars if possible.
literally terrible.
i was so bored and the characters were SO unlikable, that even if they were SUPPOSED to be unlikeable, i still couldn't get through it and it is A NOVELLA.
literally terrible.
i was so bored and the characters were SO unlikable, that even if they were SUPPOSED to be unlikeable, i still couldn't get through it and it is A NOVELLA.
January 26, 2021
Self's mastery of the English language is in full force here. He effortlessly blends elegant prose with low-brow vulgarity. He also weaves the surreal and the supernatural into gritty reality in a way that catches you off-guard and leaves you shaken.
October 24, 2023
Satirical and in places unnerving. Thoroughly enjoyed watching Richard's descent into addiction and lust fueled psychosis. Shows the extents people can change and ruin themselves for a chance to be on the "inside“.
August 4, 2018
A short, dazzling novel with sentences that pounce off the page.
March 20, 2020
Impressive vocabulary and a great writing style.
The whole book is like an introduction to a big ass joke. Quite disturbing, disgusting and not to forget hilarious. I enjoyed this little gem.
The whole book is like an introduction to a big ass joke. Quite disturbing, disgusting and not to forget hilarious. I enjoyed this little gem.
July 20, 2024
Grotesque and very funny.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews