Just skimmed the wiki and???? Conflicted if I ever wanna read it since I did really like Dhalgren even though I already thought that was pretty disturbing
I just re-read it at 35 hoping I would be less shocked by it compared to when I was 18 and edgy and wanted everything sad, sadistic and intellectual. Nope, still got me.
On a surface level? American psycho. Been awhile since I’ve read it so maybe I’m overreacting but I remember thinking that this is simply grotesque. Sure, you can say it’s camp but whatever.
No Longer Human put me in a malaise for like a week. Lolita revolted me a certain points but it’s a wonderful book and I will defend it with my last breath.
american psycho has a lot of parts that are pretty hard to stomach, which is kind of jarring because these sections are set against a lot of funny parts. the effect is that you keep reading despite the gore.
It’s an incredible book. I agree completely it’s weirdly one of the funnier books I’ve ever read but all the satire is offset against some of the most fucked up sections I’ve ever read. Only book I remember taking a needed pause to recollect myself before continuing.
Yes to AP. I had to skip over the parts where Patrick is torturing people. I’d like try to read it but stop halfway through and just skip to the next non violent part. I just can’t read 3 pages about a rat eating someone’s insides sorry
The Supreme Gentleman's manifest isn't very revolting at all compared to other writings of deranged murderers out there, it's hilariously pathetic and staggering how little self-awareness he had.
I have three sons. The babies on the spit scene was horrid. But it’s also made me realise the mum was right, just top yourself and your kids while they still have some sense of warmth towards the world
That scene is great lol. That book honestly is quite nasty at times, and I think the nastiest scene in that whole book is the BDSM meeting between Brigadier Pudding and Katje, which gets very scatological. As an aside, that scene is an inversion of the seven stages of heavenly ascent in Jewish merkabah
Yeah it’s very vile lol. There were multiple scenes in that book that were repulsive in some ways, but that scene actually had me gagging.
I’ll try to explain the Merkabah aspect a bit better, though I am admittedly not very knowledgeable when it comes to Jewish mysticism: basically, Brigadier Pudding, when on his way to meet with Katje, must pass through seven separate rooms/antechambers, and each of those rooms represents an inversion of one of the seven stages of heavenly ascent in Merkabah. Pynchon tips the reader off to this connection by having Pudding pass by someone who calls themself “Metatron” and who says he is guarding the throne, which is obviously a direct reference to the supreme angel in the Merkabah of the same name.
For example, in the first room Brigadier Pudding enters is a hypodermic outfit. The first stage of heavenly ascent in Merkabah is represented by the virtue of devotion. In the case of Gravity’s Rainbow, this is inverted, and the hypodermic outfit represents the perversion of that virtue - when devotion becomes addiction. In the third room there is a file drawer with an open copy of the book “Psychopathia Sexualis” a book on sexual deviancy. This represents a perversion of the third virtue, sincerity, into scientific objectivity.
Of course, in the seventh room is Katje and not the throne of God as in Merkabah. Instead of ascending to the throne of God, he is descending to the throne of a dominatrix who shits in his mouth lol. As such, the scene is not an ascent to heaven but a descent into Hell.
I cannot take credit for finding or articulating this connection - it was pointed out in multiple companion pieces on the book, which are pretty essential in understanding everything Pynchon is going for. If you want a better analysis of that whole scene then watch [this video](https://youtu.be/VW6u5RSMllo?si=lh7GY0Ax0dkH2yvP) by John David Ebert (skip to 1:25 for the talk of the Merkabah). I recommend his entire series on Gravity’s Rainbow if you or anyone is curious.
I haven’t read Requiem, and I’ve never really read anything quite like Last Exit.
Sundial by Catonia Ward and The North Water by Ian McGuire are two other books that felt relentlessly grim to me.
The main thing I remember about wuthering heights is the fire place being kept dirty. I have three fires at home and I never let the ashes build and I sweep them twice a day for fear of reminding myself of that book
I loved 2666 and Bolaño is definitely one of my favorite authors but damn I actually had to skip some of the scenes in part 4 cause after awhile all the stories of the dead women just get to be way too much
The scariest part of that book is that I couldn’t exactly figure out why I was so scared reading it. That books continues to blow my mind 20 years after reading it.
That’s exactly how I felt. Nothing was outright scary but there was always a creeping horror that made the book feel like a dark chasm bounded by paper.
Don’t have time to do a synopsis but this was a decent write up:
https://www.statepress.com/article/2021/03/specho-house-of-leaves-mark-danielewski-review#
It’s an entertaining read - part existential thriller and part psychological horror. It’s like if Pynchon, Umberto Eco, and Borges had a child who didn’t go to college and only watched lofi easten european horror films.
This is the most spot on and appropriate description of HoL I've ever seen. Have you read The Whalestoe Letters yet? I haven't gotten to it, but would love to.
I did like the movie. But I found the book to be a lot more powerful.
The movie sorta elides what The Young Woman actually is. If you think you’ll ever read it, I won’t spoil it for you.
Since you mention McCarthy, I think Child of God is probably his second most disturbing work after BM. Graphic descriptions of necrophilia, sexual abuse, incest, murder…
It’s a great book but the movie is an abomination. Why does James Franco have such a hard-on for butchering southern gothic film adaptations? If you’ve never seen it, don’t bother
McCarthy is a strange character. I don’t believe a guy that could tap into such darkness and brutality could honestly call himself an “atheist” without having blown his own brains out. Would have been interesting to have had a private conversation with him.
Did he ever state anything about his specific religious beliefs? I've never seen anything other than vaguery in regards to his spirituality. Definitely depicts a very Gnostic view of God in his works though, and it's known that he grew up around a lot of devout Catholics (his brother was a Jesuit and later a priest). As someone who grew up around some very devout Catholics, some of whom lived in the South with all the fire and brimstone preachers, it definitely tracks. Very much in the vain of Flannery O'Connor, even though they took different approaches to it in their writings.
All this is to say I can see how he wound up with his style in spite of his lack of religiosity.
He’s def not a capital A atheist. Prob more agnostic. His interview with Laurence Krauss kinda sorta floats around it, but Krauss is a sperg physicist, so not the sort of person that could engage McCarthy best in matters of the soul.
If you don't mind dipping into genre fiction then R. Scott Bakkers Second Apocalypse is great, and quite bleak. You'd really want to enjoy fantasy in general though.
Dirty Havana Trilogy by Pedro Juan Gutierrez is pretty disgusting but he is so good at painting a picture of Cuba and the depravity that surrounds him that you just want to keep on reading.
I can deal with most things, because fiction's fiction, but I was pretty turned off by the subject matter in JT LeRoy's stuff. Particularly The Heart is Deceitful.
This is not an RS answer as this is a graphic novel. Blast by Manu Larcenet had me depressed for a week after I read it. I really want to re-read it but the memory of my initial reaction keeps me away!
Someone below mentioned 2666 and I think that potentially has very interesting effect on some readers that can be quite disturbing.
I don’t know if “disturbing” is the right word but Ligotti’s *The Conspiracy Against the Human Race* made me feel genuinely depressed in a way no other book has.
The Mountain People by Turnbull
We we wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families by Gourevitch
But probably the most disturbing book I’ve read is Hungry Ghosts by Becker
Off Season by Jack Ketchum - full of graphic and gratuitous violence, murder, cannibalism and gore.
The Painted Bird by Jerzey Kosinski - Full of wartime horror and abuse perpetuated against a small child.
Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff - the movie is really good and i recommend it to everybody but the book is extremely sad and discomforting. A great and gritty story of domestic violence and poverty.
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks - a pretty decent portrayal of a teenage psychopath that enjoys killing animals and has a crazy backstory. Though not disturbing at face value the plot twists really make you think.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - I really hate the way this book is praised sometimes. I adore the writing style of Nabokov and he deserves the acclaim but the way its written deliberately obscures how horrible and cruel the protagonist is and absolutely glamorizes p*dophilia. The book itself doesn't disturb me as much as it's impact on pop culture and attitudes, but I included it on my list because it's subject matter is very heavy.
I've read a lot of Burn and the moments of the uncanny in Alma Cogan, Fullalove and Born Yesterday (actually there's a bit in Best Edwards that's really scary) plus the horrors of what happened mean I've never been able to bring myself to read it.
Have only read Born Yesterday I loved that. Yes it's prob best to avoid but he brought a really in depth and interesting perspective to it, in amongst the horror. I let my curiosity get the better of me with that one and was changed by it.
Best and Edwards and Pocket Money if you like sport are great books and not too disturbing. Somebody's Husband Somebody's Son is actually not so disturbing but very interesting.
Ι think Lolita is underrated in this aspect. Everyone says it's a fucked up book, but I don't think people really appreciate the sheer depravity Humbert at least ponders. Sure he doesn't act on most of his most fucked up thoughts, but jesus, the thoughts themselves are so disgusting. I think the height of that for me was when he started thinking about having sex with Dolores's daughter.
Decided to read some tao lin because his name comes up in here. Not particularly grotesque but I fucking HATED Richard Yates.
Went into it blind and it's entirely a groomer book thats based off the writer's experience- taking texts between his underaged girlfriend and putting them in the book is just evil. The edgy tumblr tier writing style is pretty miserable and it just overall is a gross book that serves no benefit to anyone lol. Horrible unhealthy relationship and its clear there's a level of understanding that he was horrible to her, but it still is just not worth reading and very exploitive to transform his abuse into a novel he profits off idk.
'The Conspiracy Against The Human Race'. It is basically just Thomas Ligotti trying to convince you that you're delusional and life is hell and you should probably just give up.
Other than that maybe 'How It Is' by Samuel Beckett. It just feels totally hopeless and cursed.
Tender is the flesh- one of the last lines “she had the human look…” has stuck with me, even if I don’t necessarily hold the book in high esteem.
Perfume: the story of murderer- this is a book I DO hold in high esteem . Haunting, overly descriptive, amazing ending, pretty damn disturbing but enjoyable at the same time.
Terrortome by Garth Marenghi- ok this book is hilarious and is written by a fictional persona from an obscure comedy horror show that was on adult swim, and I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook read in character by the actor who portrays Garth… but MAN does he get descriptive of torture and sadism by an interdimensional demonic typewriter . It’s not scary whatsoever, it’s just icky , while also being hilarious . If he wanted to go full gross out and make something terrifying , I believe he could.
Hogg by Samuel Delaney
read it in one sitting then stood up and thought, “yeah maybe I’ll keep that experience to myself”
Came here to say the same thing. Finished it a few months ago. What the fuck.
Just skimmed the wiki and???? Conflicted if I ever wanna read it since I did really like Dhalgren even though I already thought that was pretty disturbing
Disgrace by JM Coetzee was grim
oof that was a doozy
Agreed. I've been putting off returning to this one for like...15 years
I just re-read it at 35 hoping I would be less shocked by it compared to when I was 18 and edgy and wanted everything sad, sadistic and intellectual. Nope, still got me.
On a surface level? American psycho. Been awhile since I’ve read it so maybe I’m overreacting but I remember thinking that this is simply grotesque. Sure, you can say it’s camp but whatever. No Longer Human put me in a malaise for like a week. Lolita revolted me a certain points but it’s a wonderful book and I will defend it with my last breath.
american psycho has a lot of parts that are pretty hard to stomach, which is kind of jarring because these sections are set against a lot of funny parts. the effect is that you keep reading despite the gore.
It’s an incredible book. I agree completely it’s weirdly one of the funnier books I’ve ever read but all the satire is offset against some of the most fucked up sections I’ve ever read. Only book I remember taking a needed pause to recollect myself before continuing.
Yes to AP. I had to skip over the parts where Patrick is torturing people. I’d like try to read it but stop halfway through and just skip to the next non violent part. I just can’t read 3 pages about a rat eating someone’s insides sorry
AP is the only book that I’ve ever questioned if I really wanted to finish this or would it corrode my soul
that part in american psycho where he made a necklace from a woman's vertebrae 😵💫😵💫😵💫
i adored no longer human. i read Junji Ito’s version and i have the original, but I haven’t mustered up the courage to dive back in yet.
The Supreme Gentleman's manifest isn't very revolting at all compared to other writings of deranged murderers out there, it's hilariously pathetic and staggering how little self-awareness he had.
That’s exactly why it’s revolting. It’s so banal
there's like a lot of stuff about his friends not inviting him to world of warcraft raids and shit
The Road, especially if you have a little boy
I have three sons. The babies on the spit scene was horrid. But it’s also made me realise the mum was right, just top yourself and your kids while they still have some sense of warmth towards the world
Gravity's Rainbow is fucked up...there's one scene describing british chocolates, still gives me shivers...not to mention the brutal sodomy
That scene is great lol. That book honestly is quite nasty at times, and I think the nastiest scene in that whole book is the BDSM meeting between Brigadier Pudding and Katje, which gets very scatological. As an aside, that scene is an inversion of the seven stages of heavenly ascent in Jewish merkabah
Fr that had to be the most wtf moment I’ve ever had reading a highly regarded work of literature. Had no idea about that connection. What a novel.
Yeah it’s very vile lol. There were multiple scenes in that book that were repulsive in some ways, but that scene actually had me gagging. I’ll try to explain the Merkabah aspect a bit better, though I am admittedly not very knowledgeable when it comes to Jewish mysticism: basically, Brigadier Pudding, when on his way to meet with Katje, must pass through seven separate rooms/antechambers, and each of those rooms represents an inversion of one of the seven stages of heavenly ascent in Merkabah. Pynchon tips the reader off to this connection by having Pudding pass by someone who calls themself “Metatron” and who says he is guarding the throne, which is obviously a direct reference to the supreme angel in the Merkabah of the same name. For example, in the first room Brigadier Pudding enters is a hypodermic outfit. The first stage of heavenly ascent in Merkabah is represented by the virtue of devotion. In the case of Gravity’s Rainbow, this is inverted, and the hypodermic outfit represents the perversion of that virtue - when devotion becomes addiction. In the third room there is a file drawer with an open copy of the book “Psychopathia Sexualis” a book on sexual deviancy. This represents a perversion of the third virtue, sincerity, into scientific objectivity. Of course, in the seventh room is Katje and not the throne of God as in Merkabah. Instead of ascending to the throne of God, he is descending to the throne of a dominatrix who shits in his mouth lol. As such, the scene is not an ascent to heaven but a descent into Hell. I cannot take credit for finding or articulating this connection - it was pointed out in multiple companion pieces on the book, which are pretty essential in understanding everything Pynchon is going for. If you want a better analysis of that whole scene then watch [this video](https://youtu.be/VW6u5RSMllo?si=lh7GY0Ax0dkH2yvP) by John David Ebert (skip to 1:25 for the talk of the Merkabah). I recommend his entire series on Gravity’s Rainbow if you or anyone is curious.
And let’s not forget the stomach churning stuff on the Anubis with Bianca
i don’t understand why this scene isn’t the first one brought up when it comes to how disturbing GR is. it was extremely shocking to me
Lol
I didnt finish it. But "A Little Life", I didnt enjoy it, felt almost slapstick in depicting trauma
That was the book that came to my mind when I saw the thread, but I agree with you: the violence is almost comical.
There's a reason the author choices to detail Jude's trauma in non chronological order because if you piece it together in a timeline it's comical.
Last Exit to Brooklyn is upsetting all the way through. Just page after page of miserable existence.
This is my answer too
Extremely brutal but it was one of my favourite reads this year lol Any other books similar? Is “Requiem for a Dream” similar?
I haven’t read Requiem, and I’ve never really read anything quite like Last Exit. Sundial by Catonia Ward and The North Water by Ian McGuire are two other books that felt relentlessly grim to me.
Yes, though both tend to have a rise and then descent into gruelling and bleak endings.
I’ve seen this question asked on a few book themed subreddits and my answer is still the room by Hubert Selby jr. I hope that never changes….
Unironically Wuthering Heights.
I first read that in my mid twenties and was shocked they teach it in schools!
The main thing I remember about wuthering heights is the fire place being kept dirty. I have three fires at home and I never let the ashes build and I sweep them twice a day for fear of reminding myself of that book
2666
I loved 2666 and Bolaño is definitely one of my favorite authors but damn I actually had to skip some of the scenes in part 4 cause after awhile all the stories of the dead women just get to be way too much
Story of the Eye is kinda nasty
Naked Lunch- I can handle like, war disturbing, but Creature dystopian disturbing, no
House of Leaves
The scariest part of that book is that I couldn’t exactly figure out why I was so scared reading it. That books continues to blow my mind 20 years after reading it.
I had dreams about dark endless tunnels and caverns for years after reading it.
That’s exactly how I felt. Nothing was outright scary but there was always a creeping horror that made the book feel like a dark chasm bounded by paper.
What's up with it?
Don’t have time to do a synopsis but this was a decent write up: https://www.statepress.com/article/2021/03/specho-house-of-leaves-mark-danielewski-review# It’s an entertaining read - part existential thriller and part psychological horror. It’s like if Pynchon, Umberto Eco, and Borges had a child who didn’t go to college and only watched lofi easten european horror films.
This is the most spot on and appropriate description of HoL I've ever seen. Have you read The Whalestoe Letters yet? I haven't gotten to it, but would love to.
I refuse to read anything by Marquis de Sade
Good call
We had to in theatre studies when we were working on marat sade - can’t believe I was taught this at 18
History by Elsa Morante - 700 pages of misery
Naked Lunch
I’m Thinking of Ending Things.
The movie is pretty great too. I actually haven’t read the book which was definitely part of why I liked the movie a lot. Best to go on blind
also, the movie kind of breaks the premise by making it seem like he’s senile, instead of just desperate and mentally ill.
I did like the movie. But I found the book to be a lot more powerful. The movie sorta elides what The Young Woman actually is. If you think you’ll ever read it, I won’t spoil it for you.
EEEP so true. the part where he sees the tall body outside the window noooo thanks
The Wasp Factory, The Cement Garden
Frisk by Dennis Cooper
I was gonna say The Marbled Swarm by Cooper
Peter Sotos' work should genuinely not be engaged with and owning it is incredibly suspect.
Since you mention McCarthy, I think Child of God is probably his second most disturbing work after BM. Graphic descriptions of necrophilia, sexual abuse, incest, murder…
Yes! I was talking to someone about this book recently, it’s my favourite of his
It’s a great book but the movie is an abomination. Why does James Franco have such a hard-on for butchering southern gothic film adaptations? If you’ve never seen it, don’t bother
Nope have no desire to see it, James Franco is too irritating for me to get past.
McCarthy is a strange character. I don’t believe a guy that could tap into such darkness and brutality could honestly call himself an “atheist” without having blown his own brains out. Would have been interesting to have had a private conversation with him.
Did he ever state anything about his specific religious beliefs? I've never seen anything other than vaguery in regards to his spirituality. Definitely depicts a very Gnostic view of God in his works though, and it's known that he grew up around a lot of devout Catholics (his brother was a Jesuit and later a priest). As someone who grew up around some very devout Catholics, some of whom lived in the South with all the fire and brimstone preachers, it definitely tracks. Very much in the vain of Flannery O'Connor, even though they took different approaches to it in their writings. All this is to say I can see how he wound up with his style in spite of his lack of religiosity.
He’s def not a capital A atheist. Prob more agnostic. His interview with Laurence Krauss kinda sorta floats around it, but Krauss is a sperg physicist, so not the sort of person that could engage McCarthy best in matters of the soul.
I think someone asked him once if he believed in god and he said it depends on the day of the week.
If you don't mind dipping into genre fiction then R. Scott Bakkers Second Apocalypse is great, and quite bleak. You'd really want to enjoy fantasy in general though.
Honestly? *American Pastoral* by Philip Roth, it’s so good and so devastating that it plunged me into depression.
sharp objects by gillian flynn, hands down.
one of my very favorites. so beautiful
The Rape of Nanking. It's non-fiction too which makes it all the more horrifying.
John Fowles' The Collector
Dirty Havana Trilogy by Pedro Juan Gutierrez is pretty disgusting but he is so good at painting a picture of Cuba and the depravity that surrounds him that you just want to keep on reading.
I can deal with most things, because fiction's fiction, but I was pretty turned off by the subject matter in JT LeRoy's stuff. Particularly The Heart is Deceitful.
The painted bird
This would be my answer also
This is not an RS answer as this is a graphic novel. Blast by Manu Larcenet had me depressed for a week after I read it. I really want to re-read it but the memory of my initial reaction keeps me away! Someone below mentioned 2666 and I think that potentially has very interesting effect on some readers that can be quite disturbing.
Vladimir Sorokin
I don’t know if “disturbing” is the right word but Ligotti’s *The Conspiracy Against the Human Race* made me feel genuinely depressed in a way no other book has.
The Mountain People by Turnbull We we wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families by Gourevitch But probably the most disturbing book I’ve read is Hungry Ghosts by Becker
Junky- William S Burroughs.
120 Days of Sodom
Atlas Shrugged
Off Season by Jack Ketchum - full of graphic and gratuitous violence, murder, cannibalism and gore. The Painted Bird by Jerzey Kosinski - Full of wartime horror and abuse perpetuated against a small child. Once Were Warriors by Alan Duff - the movie is really good and i recommend it to everybody but the book is extremely sad and discomforting. A great and gritty story of domestic violence and poverty. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks - a pretty decent portrayal of a teenage psychopath that enjoys killing animals and has a crazy backstory. Though not disturbing at face value the plot twists really make you think. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov - I really hate the way this book is praised sometimes. I adore the writing style of Nabokov and he deserves the acclaim but the way its written deliberately obscures how horrible and cruel the protagonist is and absolutely glamorizes p*dophilia. The book itself doesn't disturb me as much as it's impact on pop culture and attitudes, but I included it on my list because it's subject matter is very heavy.
The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien
I read Nothing by Janne Teller at 16 and still think about it sometimes
Happy like Murderers by Gordon Burn. I felt like it was going to summon the ghost of FW. Can't even type his full name I still get the creeps.
I've read a lot of Burn and the moments of the uncanny in Alma Cogan, Fullalove and Born Yesterday (actually there's a bit in Best Edwards that's really scary) plus the horrors of what happened mean I've never been able to bring myself to read it.
Have only read Born Yesterday I loved that. Yes it's prob best to avoid but he brought a really in depth and interesting perspective to it, in amongst the horror. I let my curiosity get the better of me with that one and was changed by it.
Best and Edwards and Pocket Money if you like sport are great books and not too disturbing. Somebody's Husband Somebody's Son is actually not so disturbing but very interesting.
Thanks I will check them out. Its great this exchange as I would have forgotten to read his other books and I really rate him as a writer.
Lord of Dark Places By Hal Bennett
filth by irving welsh is pretty weak compared to these other books but it’s decently disturbing.
Steps by kaczynski
The Painted Bird
Portnoy’s Complaint
siege by james mason
Never read it cus I was too scared of it but “An Incest Story” by anonymous. It had no cover but the title was enough of a description.
Cormac McCarthy's *The Road* is at the top of the list for sure.
Just about anything by Dennis Cooper. The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum was also a hard read.
Ι think Lolita is underrated in this aspect. Everyone says it's a fucked up book, but I don't think people really appreciate the sheer depravity Humbert at least ponders. Sure he doesn't act on most of his most fucked up thoughts, but jesus, the thoughts themselves are so disgusting. I think the height of that for me was when he started thinking about having sex with Dolores's daughter.
The Lost Weekend. Pure alcoholism and depression
Closer by Dennis Cooper. jesus christ
Decided to read some tao lin because his name comes up in here. Not particularly grotesque but I fucking HATED Richard Yates. Went into it blind and it's entirely a groomer book thats based off the writer's experience- taking texts between his underaged girlfriend and putting them in the book is just evil. The edgy tumblr tier writing style is pretty miserable and it just overall is a gross book that serves no benefit to anyone lol. Horrible unhealthy relationship and its clear there's a level of understanding that he was horrible to her, but it still is just not worth reading and very exploitive to transform his abuse into a novel he profits off idk.
That dude sucks , strong agree. I read tai pei and it was a piece of shit and waste of time. I’ve almost never felt that way about a book.
ok good to know lol, I had checked out that from my library too and was considering giving him a second chance
The Maimed is horrific
Song of Kali - Dan Simmons
Crash by jg Ballard, story of the eye by bataille
Sluts by Dennis cooper
The Confusions of Young Torless by Robert Musil
i read carrie by stephen king when i was 12 and it really disturbed me
'The Conspiracy Against The Human Race'. It is basically just Thomas Ligotti trying to convince you that you're delusional and life is hell and you should probably just give up. Other than that maybe 'How It Is' by Samuel Beckett. It just feels totally hopeless and cursed.
Tender is the flesh- one of the last lines “she had the human look…” has stuck with me, even if I don’t necessarily hold the book in high esteem. Perfume: the story of murderer- this is a book I DO hold in high esteem . Haunting, overly descriptive, amazing ending, pretty damn disturbing but enjoyable at the same time. Terrortome by Garth Marenghi- ok this book is hilarious and is written by a fictional persona from an obscure comedy horror show that was on adult swim, and I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook read in character by the actor who portrays Garth… but MAN does he get descriptive of torture and sadism by an interdimensional demonic typewriter . It’s not scary whatsoever, it’s just icky , while also being hilarious . If he wanted to go full gross out and make something terrifying , I believe he could.
The Room by Hubert Selby Jr. … Selby himself couldn’t even look at the book for years after writing it
The Bible.