ABSTRACT
The term “cult novel” is as tendentious as that of cult film. Extrapolating from the sources, one finds that cult novels do seem to cohere as a kind of genre or modality. Cult novels not only interpolate and comfort their readership of outsiders but spur them to action: “A cult book must serve as the mirror in which the alienated see themselves reflected – and rejoice”. The novel’s fascination is often enhanced by that of its author, whose arresting or lurid biography may secure the novel’s cult status. Cult novels by definition appeal, at any rate initially, to a limited exclusive readership of enthusiasts, though as with cult films it is anyone’s guess how many cultists make for a “legitimate” cult. Adaptations are therefore rarely just adaptations; they remediate the novel, and it is the sometimes convoluted or thwarted process of remediation that may establish the film’s cult.
