Fiction only, please. I suppose that a story that mixes fact and fiction (like The Things They Carried) count.
The story could be from any written medium, including novels, novellas, short stories, flash fiction, novelettes, manwha, manga, comics, or any other medium that typically deals with the written word
Please specify how the story of your choice is s “fucked up” – it could be perverse, push for hateful ideologies, have multiple gory deaths, have vivid descriptions of abuse, deal with serious themes, etc.
by CobaltCrusader123
20 Comments
Here comes the obligatory A Little Life comment and all the associated debate.
I hate it, just to take a side on this heavily contentious issue.
I have no mouth and I must scream.
Brother By Ania Ahlborn. Its a book about a family of serial killers deep in the woods. The book mostly follows the relationship of the two brothers in the family.
That was incredibly vague, but I really don’t want to give too much away. It was a great read, where you can see the car crash coming but can only stand by and watch.
I think Hyperion. You are of the cruciform.
Maybe God Emperor if you want to get philosophical and really try to wrap your head around it.
Valis was not “fucked up” per se, but it can seriously mess you up.
Why is the post getting downvoted? I followed the rules.
The Painted Bird. Horrific cruelty
Ottesa Moshfegh’s Eileen, for me. I’m not a horror reader at all – can’t stomach the stuff – so this one was about as gruesome as I could digest.
I refuse to read Lapvona.
It’s been a long time but I remember reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk during a college class and I started to feel sick and dizzy during one part.
Child of God, Cormac McCarthy
No longer human
Cat’s Cradle has certainly stayed with me.
in strange weather the short story with the gun violence, it bothered me. it’s by stephen king’s son
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke – Eric Larocca
The Elementary Particles/Atomised by Michel Houellebecq
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata. Incest, vivid paedophilia scenes, murder, gore, cannibalism. I nearly didn’t finish it. I just wanted to see what the ending could conceivably be.
It’s a cliche response but probably American Psycho.
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
A certain scene in James Herbert’s The Fog has always remained with me.
One that probably won’t get a mention. The Nonce Prize by Will Self from one of his short story collections.
The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum – This book contains just about every content warning you can think of. It’s about the torture and abuse of a girl by her foster family and the neighborhood kids. Knowing that the story is based on a real case makes it that much worse.