The Degenerates

An electrifying debut from a young Indian-Australian writer, The Degenerates brims with vitality and humour.

'The Degenerates is vivid, wild and even prophetic. It left me in awe. Raeden Richardson is the real deal.' Robbie Arnott, author of Limberlost

Following the interwoven lives of four characters across India, Australia and the United States, the novel takes root in Melbourne and brings its streets, shopping centres and laneways to life with astounding originality-the city may never be the same again.

The Degenerates radiates with Titch's fanaticism and Ginny's obsessions. Somnath's devastating history reflects every life divided around the globe. And Maha, the heart of the novel, is an extraordinary creation, an abiding figure of modern salvation. Brimming with vitality, humour, intelligence and brilliant writing, The Degenerates engages with the realities of modern loneliness and every form of departure-from our homes, from our families and even from life itself.

In propulsive prose, The Degenerates summons the power of storytelling, disrupts conventional narratives and pays tribute to those lives often lost in the margins.


'A remarkable tale of departure and displacement. It's authentic, vivid and a stellar first act for the writer.' Jack Callil, Guardian


'This is a narrative both pacey and immersed in the specifics of everyday life...settings and scenes develop by accrual of almost hallucinogenic detail....A novel that grants dignity to the lost and troubled, and whose vivid stories are conveyed with humour, insight, and empathy.' Australian Book Review


'This novel takes root in Melbourne and brings its streets, shopping centres and laneways to life with astounding originality... The Degenerates is brimming with vitality, humour, intelligence and brilliant writing.' Readings


'Richardson creates a world much like ours but filled with dark magic and coincidences of the wildest kinds... a brilliant and transporting debut.' Margot Livesey, author of The Boy in the Field