Books that have stayed with you.

[FrostyChocolateMilkshake]

Currently reading a book called Unravelling Oliver and I already know it will stay with me; the writing is fantastic but the subject matter is surrounding domestic violence. A powerful read so far.

Another book was The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. Based on the murder of Sylvia Likens in the 1960s (don't Google if you are easily upset).

So AIBU to ask, what is a book that has stayed with you and why?

Any recommendations (I enjoy controversial books in particular) would be greatly appreciated too.

I choose to live by sabine dardenne.Its a true story account of a Belgian girl who was abducted on her way to school and held captive.She was so brave and I'd recommend that book to anyone.

Withering Heights (of course) the romanticism of it all

Red Strangers by Elspeth Huxley, which I read at school more than 50 years and have never seen or heard of again. It was about traditional African tribes and the impact on them of European settlers. I still remember the horror of it.
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles, which I'v read many times. The alternative paths taken by the protagonists in various 'sliding doors' moments stunned my first time round, but I still find it stunning.
And as a rabid consumer of crime fiction my absolute favourite is Barbara Vine's A Dark Adapted Eye. She often played around with the concept of the whodunnit, and for me this is the best.

Wuthering Heights (nearby to Withering Heights). Haha. Auto spell

Where it Stops, Nobody Knows by Amy Ehrlich - YA novel about a girl living an itinerant life with her single mother, travelling from place to place. You slowly work out what's going on, and when you get there it's a proper gut punch.

Oooh, yes! I read this as a kid and it was great. I might even track down a copy and reread.

April, I agree. She was so brave but that book will haunt me forever knowing it's true and she went through that... it is very upsetting

The Other Hand upset me so much, but it's a great book

Yy to A Thousand Splendid Suns, His Dark Materials, Birdsong and Middlemarch.
Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum has a special place in my heart as her description of growing up in a certain place and time really resonated.

On Green Dolphin Street (another Sebastian Faulks) moved me hugely as a teen. The Handmaids Tale - there are still lines that haunt me.
Grace Notes by Bernard McLaverty - just beautiful.

@Mrsfrumble I think it was re-published under the title "Joyride", which might be easier to find.

I already mentioned A Little Life but also:

I Know This Much is True // Wally Lamb

The Great Believers // Rebecca Makkai

Call Me By Your Name // Andre Aciman

The Heart's Invisible Furies // John Boyne

I like sad books, if you can't tell

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

I’ve read lots of the books mentioned but this one stays with me
Might read it again now I think about it 😊

Burned Alive by Souad- a memoir by an anonymous writer. I read the book 15 years ago and finished it in 1 day

Oh I loved The Hearts Invisible Furies! I so wanted Cyril to be happy!

@LindaCartersBun I know what you mean about Ishiguro.

I read Never Let Me Go followed by When We Were Orphans. Both have stayed with me but I found the plot of When We Were Orphans bizarre. Parts of it seemed so unbelievable.

@Oysterbabe

My Absolute Darling. It's disturbing as hell (it features child abuse) but I loved it so much. As soon as I finished I flicked back and read the last few chapters again, I didn't want it to end.

Agreed!

Children of the Siege - Pauline Cutting.

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry.

I became so attached to the characters that I couldn't bear the thought of losing them when I'd finished the book. So I went right back to the begining and did it all again.

Lots that have been mentioned here.

To add though, one of my favourite books - The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle. Nobody I know has ever read it but it is incredible. I’m also shocked that a man could write a female character so well. It’s fantastic.

Another vote for A Little Life

@Luckyrabbitfoot The Woman Who Walked Into Doors was another one I thought of after posting - brilliant, disturbing, shocking book, but not completely bleak; a really excellent piece of writing.

[quote Welshwabbit]**@Luckyrabbitfoot* The* Woman Who Walked Into Doors was another one I thought of after posting - brilliant, disturbing, shocking book, but not completely bleak; a really excellent piece of writing.[/quote]
Definitely! His depiction of the complexities of domestic violence and alcoholism is incredible. Did you ever read the follow up? That book was good too.

To kill a mockingbird
The time travellers wife - I know this I've divides people but to me it's a book about true love and the many forms in takes
Mornings in jenin - it really brought home the horrors of the israel/Palestine situation. That and kill a mockingbird are one's that I will prompt my kids to read when the are older.

@Luckyrabbitfoot I thought I had but looking it up I'm not sure. I certainly can't remember what happened if I did! I should get hold of a copy.

Please excuse typos!