Controversial/unnerving books. Recommendations?

[JasonVoorhees]

Hi all

Been browsing the good old World Wide Web this chilly Saturday evening while my LO is with her dad, and came across an article regarding the most "traumatizing books people have ever read". Basically books that stick with you forever, due to their disturbing content.

I'm an avid reader and pretty bored of mainstream novels. Read a few weird books in my time and recently bought Lolita (a literary classic, so I've heard). WIBU to ask your experiences and/or recommendations?

Looking forward to your replies, hopefully some of you Mumsnetters are as weird as me.

One that hasn't been mentioned yet as far as I can see is End of the World Running Club. I found it very disturbing!

Porky by Deborah Moggach.

@Dieu Just read The Wasp Factory after reading this thread ... enjoyed the book, didn't affect me at all though. Mo Hayder, J A Kerley, Richard Montanari all left more lasting impressions tbh.

I'm not sure if they're under the heading of "controversial", and indeed they're not fiction, but I found Jeffrey Archer's "A Prison Diary" absolutely riveting.

Another vote for Room by Emma Donoghue. People have mixed feelings about the way it's written (from the child's point of view, and in childish language), but I loved the book.

'If this is a man/ the truce' by Primo Levi. A harrowing first hand account of his experience of the holocaust. Beautifully written but deeply sad. I read it when I was 18... I'm 48 now and still remember how the book made me feel.

Read the Road after all the recommendations on this thread. Found it...erm, ok. Repetitive. Not very scary

I must be weird

The book I was advised to stop reading was ‘A Fine Balance’ by Rohan Mistry - I didn’t listen and it’s the only book that has given me sleepless nights and still haunts me - you have been warned!

@Bakedpotatoandgin - I love Llosa but haven’t read Them Feast of the Goat’ because same person advised against it (and I’m listening now!)

The Wasp Factory I thought was ok but a bit boring (half way through DH said the ending would surprise me but he was surprised when I correctly told him how I thought it would end)

Amazing thread OP. I only had the David Pelzer books to contribute, but see they have been mentioned a couple of times.
I'm therefore shamelessly placemarking as I have written down 4 A4 pages of suggestions from here so far. I love reading!

Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris

Ian Mcewan, the cement garden

@Zoidbergonthehalfshell

I’ve just finished ‘What Niall saw’ and I’m now sat on my train sobbing. I’m going to hug my two tighter tomorrow. Telling the story from a child’s point of view was really effective and heartbreaking.

But I’m glad I read it, thanks for the suggestion.

Ian Banks, The Wasp Factory stands out in my mind. He's brilliantly disturbing.

Deadkidsongs by Toby Litt (I think)
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

Place marking!

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. It’s a short story, I think you can find a free pdf easily on google. I must have read it over 20 years ago and I’m still not over it

The Stand by Stephen Long. Haunted my dreams for weeks after I read it. Deeply, deeply unsettling.

Perfume

Never Let Me Go also. Love Kazuo Ishiguro

Jessica by Bryce Courtney. It made me so angry I could barely finish it. I don't think I will ever read it again.

The stand by Stephen king is my favourite book ever.

Flowers in the attic really got to me.

Others have already mentioned it, but The End of Alice is the most disturbing/controversial book I've ever read - but it's really well written. Couldn't say I enjoyed it though - it was hard to get through to the end.

The Bunker Diaries is pretty bleak but compelling and Blindness by Jose Saramago is brilliant! American Psycho is hugely enjoyable although the humour is pitch black.

Flowers in the attic
Marabou stork nightmares, I couldn’t put the book down but it was horrendous
The lovely bones, as above!
Now I need to read Lolita

Just realised I love disturbing books!

I came on to say The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosiński, but I see you've already read it, OP.

I actually wouldn't recommend it to anyone, though, it was so so horrible. But certainly fits the description.

Crash by J G Ballard (also mentioned on thread) is another one that made me feel sick and I wouldn't recommend, but then I don't like being traumatised by books! Moved, yes, but not made to feel sick to my stomach.

The time travellers wife by Audrey Neffenegger. Had to read it twice to get my head round the backwards and forwards. A mother's reckoning by Sue Klebold, mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the Columbine shooters.