Collapsing distinctions beween novel, memoir and essay, The Aesthetics of Degradation transcends cliches about free expression and the demands of the market to ask: What are the moral and psychological consequences of the mercantilization of abuse?

Praise for The Aesthetics of Degradation:

“… an incitement to readers to think deeply and honestly about a question of profound social importance.” — LA Review of Books

“The Aesthetics of Degradation is not an easy or comfortable read, though it is an engrossing and fascinating one.” — Ark Books

“With The Aesthetics of Degradation, Adrian Nathan West has written a remarkable novel-cum-essay that boldly tackles this difficult field, fearlessly confronting the humiliation of women in hard-core porn as an extreme example of the commodification of cruelty.” — Times Higher Education