The Misogynist Next Door: What to Read if You Like Guy

Jowlita Bydlowska has written a hilarious novel about a completely unlikable character: Guy. He's a successful talent scout whose latest product he makes over from pop star to professional cancer survivor. Despite having a gorgeous girlfriend who wants to take things to the next level (a thought that induces terror in our protagonist), Guy frequently has sex with women he considers homely. You know, as a favor to them. And then, one of these women he's rated a "three" snaps, and he gets his delicious comeuppance. This is an irreverent satire filled with black humor, and should be picked up by women (and dare I say men) everywhere.

So you liked that, did you? Well, there's more. Diary of An Oxygen Thief by an anonymous author is much in the same vein. An anonymous executive gets his kicks emotionally abusing women. He tries to sober up and moves from London to the United States, where he falls in love with a much younger, aspiring photographer. The relationship descends into a hilarious hell as the photographer's ambition destroys everything in its path.

Summer House With Swimming Pool by Herman Koch is a nasty little look at sociopathy as well as misogyny. A psychiatrist to the stars who is also very free with the pills reluctantly accepts an invitation from one of his patients to stay at the title location. While there, everybody looks at everyone else's spouse and daughters, and they don't stop there. The psychiatrist is a wonderfully unreliable narrator, who has trouble seeing where a Mediterranean vacation went so terribly wrong.

Graeme Cameron's Normal is about a violent misogynist who really, really wants to reform. After killing a girl (not for the first time) and imprisoning her friend and witness Erica, the anonymous protagonist falls for Rachel the checkout girl. He's also finally made some mistakes, and the police come calling, asking awkward questions. Erica also refuses to be a conventional prisoner and then our narrator saves another woman from violence, complicating things further. Violent, twisted, and painfully funny, Normal is catnip for the Dexter crowd.

Got more humorous stories of men who don't get it? Let us know in the comments.