At its most fundamental level, "book revenge" speaks to the reader’s primal desire for justice. We live in a world where the bad guys often win, where bureaucracy grinds down the individual, and where slight often goes unanswered. Literature provides a sandbox for the id—a place where revenge is not only permitted but often framed as a moral necessity.
Confrontation is messy. If you yell, "You are a narcissist," you are in a fight. If you leave a copy of The Narcissist Next Door on their desk with a sticky note that says "Thought you might find this relevant," you have plausible deniability. "What? I just thought it was a good book." book revenge