Marguerite Duras and Charles Bukowski were each dramatically shaped by their early life experiences, established in the environment of a dysfunctional family. From their early negative exposure and emotional indoctrination to life, Duras and Bukowski each developed as individuals who, at a young age, acted out behavior that was in direct conflict with the commonly accepted standard of their individual societal norms. From the moment these authors made the adolescent choices that they did, the rest of their physical and emotional existence was ultimately defined. What was created was a body of literary work that truly came to shape modern erotic literature.