Have you ever found a book to be good, but too disturbing to continue?

[CWatkinsNash]

No, I've never been too disturbed to finish a book, regardless of the subject matter. I will say, however, that there are some autobiographies I won't touch with a ten-foot pole no matter how good the (ghost)writer may be, simply because I already know I'm disgusted by the person (supposedly) writing it. That's a different thing, though.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by Pablo

I found "American Psycho" extremely disturbing and I regret having read it. I would not recommend it to anybody (anyway, I think it has zero literary value).

Edit: just noticed the "found to be good" part of the title....

I couldn't finish. Very weird.

[kindlekitten]

The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (King). I eventually did finish it, but I had to leave it a few times. very disturbing

[PKFFW]

Can't remember the name or author since I put the book down nearly 25 years ago but I do remember reading a book set in a prison that had an extremely graphic male on male rape scene that was too disturbing for my 14 year old sensibilities.

[jgaiser]

Currently reading 'God's War' by Kameron Hurley. Mostly loving the book, but it's taken a couple of days to get through the section where Nyx's fingers are chopped off, piece by piece. A very intense book.

[jhempel24]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (King). I eventually did finish it, but I had to leave it a few times. very disturbing

Really? I thought it was quite gripping, although sad because you know what's going to happen for the most part.


I'm trying to find some of these books that people have stopped reading. American Psycho has been on my list for a while, I need to find an eBook version, I don't think there is one yet.

It's interesting to see what people can and can't read/finish.

[Bikeridr]

No, not because of disturbance.
I stop reading books if they are boring though.

[Frida Fantastic]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Currently reading 'God's War' by Kameron Hurley. Mostly loving the book, but it's taken a couple of days to get through the section where Nyx's fingers are chopped off, piece by piece. A very intense book.

Hah! I had the opposite reaction! I began to really devour the book once the body parts started flying!

I have no problem with violence and gore in a book if it seems appropriate to the story. I can't seem to take it as well in visual mediums (e.g. movies) though. Rape is a different story, that really depends on how the author handles it

On the topic, I'm currently still halfway through Technological Slavery by Ted Kaczynski. I'm still mustering up the courage to read the rest. It's good, but the call for the end of all technology is brutal to say the least.

[TenaciousBadger]

Hmm, I have had a few close calls. And I am certain I did abandon a couple of books in the years past but they must not have been very good (or made a lasting impression beyond this vague feeling I'm having) because I can't for the life of me remember names or authors.

Oh, a recent one was with vampires and a newly made one going insane (or struggling not to). I know thw author is good at pyschological insights but this one was just too much insight for me. EDIT: and I dropped it like a hot potato right after the first few chapters. I haven't even managed to pick up the sequel. So, there!

[AlexBell]

Well, if it counts I picked up Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut a few days ago, intending to read it again. But I soon became upset by memories of his descriptions of what he went through as POW in Dresden when it was fire bombed by the allies in WW2. The memories became so distressing that I put it down and still haven't been able to start again.

Regards, Alex

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (King). I eventually did finish it, but I had to leave it a few times. very disturbing

One of the most disturbing stories I've ever read. However, it didn't slow my pace of reading. Additionally, I classify this as a must-read Steven King story.

For me, the real impact was after I finished the story. I would find myself slightly sickened, staring out the window in dread for weeks afterwards.

Magnificent!

Regards
Caleb

[grumpy3b]

No never had a book I did not read due to it being too disturbing.

But, I read Jaws when I was 13 or 14. It was so great but given I spent so much time on the ocean (fishing, surfing and general silliness) I was completely freaked out the when I got to the water after reading the whole novel. I could never again get in the water without serious anxiety over what I could not see under me. But it never bothered me to be on the water, I just had to stop swimming in the ocean. This is from someone who laughed while reading the Exorcist the first time. But never has a novel so affected me in real life.

Jaws just totally ruined even thinking about hitting the waves from that time forward thanks to the very real and vivid depictions of the shark and activities of normal people innocently using the ocean. Still, nothing could have made me stop reading the novel. Far superior to the movie BTW...

I read Dexter like it's nothing, in fact I find the dark irony very refreshing and entertaining. Not sure what that says about me but, Dexter is my hero.

[Richey79]

Originally Posted by Pablo

I found "American Psycho" extremely disturbing and I regret having read it. I would not recommend it to anybody (anyway, I think it has zero literary value).

I thought it definitely had literary value as a satire on the values of the Reagonomics of the eighties. Probably pretty relevant in the light of the situation the bankers have left us in recently, too. The whole point is that for Patrick, raping and beheading a woman carries exactly the same emotional weight as choosing which pair of designer cufflinks to wear that day. Rather like A Clockwork Orange, but without the fatuous ending (and, of course, without Burgess' marvellous linguistic flights of fancy).

Mind you, I see plenty of literary value in Ballard's Crash or Burrough's 'Cities of the Red Night.'

I still get disgusted by the 'torture porn' Hollywood has been foisting upon us recently: Wolf Creek, Saw, Hostel etc. In these cases, there is no substance behind the sadism - it is presumed that this will be the main attraction for the viewer. The only parallel in books that I can think of are those semi-factual books about serial killers that revel in the details of precisely how they tortured/raped/killed their victims. For me, these are a million miles away from American Psycho.

Probably the book that I found most 'disturbing', recently at least, was Gaiman's Coraline. I found the alternate reality she enters - in which her family have buttons for eyes and everyone is perfectly happy all the time - to be really quite unsettling. It seemed such a stark reminder of what it is to actually be human, and there was a real tang of mortality to those dead eyes and beatific smiles.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Currently reading 'God's War' by Kameron Hurley. Mostly loving the book, but it's taken a couple of days to get through the section where Nyx's fingers are chopped off, piece by piece. A very intense book.

Thank you. This will now go on the Do Not.Buy.Ever list! I can not deal with the lost of body parts, especially if it is continuous.

I have the beginning of Dark Man (the movie) permanently etched into my into my brain for that very reason.

[JDK1962]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

American Psycho has been on my list for a while, I need to find an eBook version, I don't think there is one yet.

My library has the ebook...perhaps yours does as well? Try, rather than buy?