 A self @-@ described anarchist , Baker has been categorized as a writer of transgressional fiction , in that his novels are frequently populated by sociopathic , nihilistic characters who engage in taboo behaviors such as heavy drug use , incest , necrophilia and other practices ; and often commit acts of extreme , surrealistic violence . A man of eclectic tastes , Baker cited as literary influences writers and film directors ranging from Proust to Jim Thompson and Sam Peckinpah . He also admired the punk writer Dennis Cooper . 
