Books that are painful to read, but EVERYONE should!

[expatinscotland]

I'll start:

Schindler's List

All Quiet on the Western Front

The Colour Purple

C Because Cowards get cancer too. John Diamond

Before I say GoodBye. Ruth Picardie.

Remind me again who I am. Linda Grant

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Brick Lane (Monica Ali). Parts of it are very hard to read.

FIT

Good call on Denisovich.

I am going to print this off and head to the library!

My suggestion: A boy called it

Px

If This is a Man/The Truce by Primo Levi

I never promised you a rose garden by Joanne Greenberg. A bit dated maybe, but still very powerful.

agree on the colour purple.

Havent read some of the others but will definetly look out for them..or I may even go and join the library

i had to read 'schindler's list' in a history class LONG before it was a film.

just thought of another one:

'The Killing Fields'

just a boy by richard mccann.
after their mother became the first victim of the yorkshire ripper, richard & his sisters lives fell apart.
i couldnt put it down even though it was sad. im selling it on ebay, my ebay name is melesoo.

Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves (another WW1 one)

Wild Swans (I found that quite painful in parts)

Why would you want to read something that made you sad?

I've just read Hide and Seek by Claire someone or other, about the impact on a family when their 5 yr old goes missing, as told through the eyes and experience of their 9 yo. I would recommend it, but having a 5yo, I'm already starting to feel anxious about the school trip...!

I understand wanting to encourage others to read books which really teach you something about the world (Color Purple or Ivan Denisovitch would be good examples) but I am not keen on books which are just about one family's/person's suffering with no larger context.
I read 'A Child Called It' and really wished I hadn't - I didn't learn anything from it (other than that some people are unbelievably cruel to children) and felt grubby and voyeuristic for having got entertainment out of someone else's suffering (though obviously for Dave Pelzer, writing it was a vastly important part of his recovery). I would not encourage other people to read it.

The grapes of wrath

Oh, and The Light in the Window (I think that was what it was called) - about a catholic home for unmarried mothers :( Very painful reading about how they were treated - made worse knowing that my gran was sent to a similar place.

Oh yes the Grapes of Wrath, a brilliant book.

Beloved - Toni Morrison

Yes to Grapes of Wrath too.

As spacedonkey mentioned, If This is a Man/The Truce by Primo Levy, and expat's All Quiet on the Western Front
I agree with Kathy - all those 'abused child now writing in gory details about the experience' books - what exactly do they (the books, not the authors) set out to achieve? They seem almost pornographic in a way.
And books by people dying of cancer - also can't really see the point. I have read John Diamond's books, too, and felt sorry for him and his family. But so many people die of cancer every day - why should I feel particularly sorry for him (this sounds really mean looking at it written down - it's not meant to be, honestly!).

the Tortilla Curtain, by TC Boyle, which contains some uncomfortable truths about immigration and people's attitudes towards it.

Dispatches - Herr
Bleak House - Dickens
Lord of the Flies - Golding

Holocaust - can't remember who by

Exodus by Leon Uris

I am not pro of anti jewish by the way - just these two books made a big impression on me.

agree with Kathy about a boy call it.

Catcher in the rye

the great hunger

what was the book about the boy in the second world war "my name is ..."

Books you "should read" are rather individual, depending on your own experience, outlook and knowledge. From what I have read, seen and visited, I feel that I'm fully and completely aware that the Holocaust, World War I, World War II and Cambodia under Pol Pot were horrific at every level and, if the human race can manage it, never to be repeated. Reading mainstream accounts of those periods may add something to my knowledge, but are unlikely to change my attitudes. A book that provides a different perspective? That may be a 'must read'. Like Geekgrrl, I don't feel I need to read anything more to understand the horror of child abuse or the trauma of living with and dying of cancer. But books that challenge my perceptions on parenting, immigration, education, environmentalism or being a racial minority - yep, bring them on.

katy,I agree about boy called it book,I've never been able to bring myself to read it... sounds too upsetting.

couldn't get into Brick lane either.

"A million little pieces" by james frey

"Not without my daughter",---mahmoody (I think)