ooh i love this kind of thing. tbh i’m curious too.
i’m listening to the audio version of “tender is the flesh” (Agustina Bazterrica) rn, and it definitely has that kind of “holy shit this is so fucked up” vibe, though i’m only a third of the way through.
1984 (George Orwell) is another good one. literally my favourite book of all time, so im biased, but reading it fills me with dread at the thought of needing to live in its world and the parallels between the novel and our real life.
“the ones who walk away from omelas” (Ursula K. Le Guin) might not be what you’re looking for because it’s a very short story, but it is good practice in philosophical thought and morality. you can find it for free online and it took maybe 20 minutes to read.
“the lottery” (Shirley Jackson) is another very short story you could find online, but the moral fucked-up part isn’t front and centre, but just wait for it.
“the handmaid’s tale” (Margaret Atwood) is an obvious one. especially fucked up if you’re a woman or a sexual minority.
massive content warning for this one, but “lolita” (Vladimir Nabokov) is a master class in fucked-up literature. made me viscerally sick to read and i never want to read it again but it was so well done that it will probably always be one of the best books i’ve ever read. please read up on the author and what he was trying to do with this novel if you do read it.
if you’re into memoirs, “i’m glad my mom died” (Jennette McCurdy) and “the glass castle” (Jeanette Walls) are both examples of memoirs i read and thought “wow, this family can’t possibly get worse,” and then it does. “educated” (Tara Westover) is similar, but it’s more inspirational than the others.
i hope you find something in here! i’m kinda excited to see what other people post as well 🙂
honourable mention for “the hunger games”
DrJotaroBigCockKujo on
{{Hogg by Sam Delaney}}
espeonage777 on
Blood Meridian
dflovett on
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis. Or anything else by him
5 Comments
The book you are looking for is “A Little Life.”
ooh i love this kind of thing. tbh i’m curious too.
i’m listening to the audio version of “tender is the flesh” (Agustina Bazterrica) rn, and it definitely has that kind of “holy shit this is so fucked up” vibe, though i’m only a third of the way through.
1984 (George Orwell) is another good one. literally my favourite book of all time, so im biased, but reading it fills me with dread at the thought of needing to live in its world and the parallels between the novel and our real life.
“the ones who walk away from omelas” (Ursula K. Le Guin) might not be what you’re looking for because it’s a very short story, but it is good practice in philosophical thought and morality. you can find it for free online and it took maybe 20 minutes to read.
“the lottery” (Shirley Jackson) is another very short story you could find online, but the moral fucked-up part isn’t front and centre, but just wait for it.
“the handmaid’s tale” (Margaret Atwood) is an obvious one. especially fucked up if you’re a woman or a sexual minority.
massive content warning for this one, but “lolita” (Vladimir Nabokov) is a master class in fucked-up literature. made me viscerally sick to read and i never want to read it again but it was so well done that it will probably always be one of the best books i’ve ever read. please read up on the author and what he was trying to do with this novel if you do read it.
if you’re into memoirs, “i’m glad my mom died” (Jennette McCurdy) and “the glass castle” (Jeanette Walls) are both examples of memoirs i read and thought “wow, this family can’t possibly get worse,” and then it does. “educated” (Tara Westover) is similar, but it’s more inspirational than the others.
i hope you find something in here! i’m kinda excited to see what other people post as well 🙂
honourable mention for “the hunger games”
{{Hogg by Sam Delaney}}
Blood Meridian
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis. Or anything else by him