Steps

Jerzy Kosinski's Steps is a brutal and disturbing collection of linked short stories, most of them involving incidents of abuse and oppression (typically sexual in nature) that take place in both communist and capitalist societies. The story is written in the first person and describes several of the protagonist's experiences, including his attempt to seduce a young impoverished woman with credit cards, an incident when he is stranded on an island and forced to perform sexual favors in order to survive, and the violent stoning of a night watchman (among many more). The stories are vivid and memorable — I found a few sticking in my mind for weeks or months after finishing the book — but the book is a jarring and sometimes unpleasant reading experience, and Kosinski's broader themes or purposes are unclear.