Wasp in the Opium Flowers: A Novel

Steven is the worst form of human scum.But at least he knows it. He has an adoring girlfriend and still cheats on her with women from dating apps—his "e;leads,"e; as he calls them. He lies without much guilt, takes pleasure in making people uncomfortable, and has developed a particular talent for finding whatever bothers someone and pressing directly against it. Steven accepts all of this about himself. The question is whether anyone unfortunate enough to encounter him can do the same.Moving through sex, relationships, cruelty, boredom, and the increasingly difficult business of living with himself, Steven searches for gratification wherever he can find it—and discovers how quickly gratification becomes repetition.With the transgressive cruelty of American Psycho, the alienation of Knut Hamsun's Hunger, and the sexual candor and irreverence of Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer, WASP IN THE OPIUM FLOWERS follows a man perfectly capable of recognizing what is wrong with him, and considerably less interested in doing anything about it.