I'm looking for books where the main character makes genuinely bad decisions and faces real, lasting consequences. No redemption arc. No "it all worked out in the end" No "everything happens for a reason"
I want a realistic portrayal of how bad choices actually ruin lives.
Most books follow the formula: character screws up, hits rock bottom, learns a lesson, rebuilds. But that's not always how life works. Sometimes you make the wrong choice and it just. destroys things. Permanently.
I'm tired of hollywood endings where mistakes become growth opportunities. I want stories where mistakes are just mistakes and the fallout is ugly and permanent.
Books where the protagonist doesn't get saved by a convenient plot twist or sudden self-awareness. Where consequences are brutal and irreversible.
Realistic. Honest. No safety net.
I was sitting on my balcony last night with coffee, thinking about how most fiction softens reality to make it digestible. I want something that doesn't.
Any recommendations?
by Dear-Escape-3834
2 Comments
Crime and punishment
Anna Karenina