Most Disturbing Books

1

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

46,972 members

719 reviews

½ 3.7

13 Members: hipdeep, generalkala, SqueakyChu, Moomin_Mama, souloftherose, thecoroner, martensgirl, alex68, Bluewolf0411, ahef1963, jeffza, bcrowl399, Bwoo67
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: The pig-hunting scene.

2

American Psycho

by Bret Easton Ellis

13,061 members

274 reviews

½ 3.7

9 Members: SqueakyChu, Moomin_Mama, thecoroner, martensgirl, alex68, jeffza, dwherring, Bwoo67, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: Rats, cheese and broken glass...

3

Trainspotting

by Irvine Welsh

7,456 members

77 reviews

4

8 Members: SqueakyChu, Moomin_Mama, blackdove07, thecoroner, lewbs, martensgirl, alex68, Bwoo67
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: The images in Renton's mind while shagging his sister-in-law were too much for the film version, I guess.

4

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

by Patrick Süskind

17,299 members

430 reviews

3.9

7 Members: KimarieBee, blackdove07, martensgirl, alex68, ahef1963, bcrowl399, Bwoo67

5

Nineteen Eighty-Four

by George Orwell

77,283 members

1,223 reviews

4.2

6 Members: Moomin_Mama, lewbs, martensgirl, alex68, Bluewolf0411, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: "We are the dead".

6

Blindness (Harvest Book)

by José Saramago

12,400 members

373 reviews

4.1

6 Members: generalkala, SqueakyChu, souloftherose, thecoroner, alex68, ManWithAnAgenda

7

A Clockwork Orange

by Anthony Burgess

24,765 members

375 reviews

4

5 Members: SqueakyChu, blackdove07, thecoroner, lewbs, alex68

8

Never Let Me Go

by Kazuo Ishiguro

21,575 members

917 reviews

3.8

5 Members: Moomin_Mama, lewbs, alex68, Bwoo67, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: The overall idea and the sadness of it all.

9

Lolita

by Vladimir Nabokov

30,400 members

536 reviews

4.1

4 Members: thecoroner, alex68, Bwoo67, ManWithAnAgenda

10

The Trial

by Franz Kafka

18,977 members

226 reviews

4

4 Members: lewbs, alex68, Bwoo67, ManWithAnAgenda

11

The Metamorphosis

by Franz Kafka

11,458 members

191 reviews

3.9

4 Members: lewbs, alex68, Bwoo67, ManWithAnAgenda

12

Blood Meridian

by Cormac McCarthy

10,668 members

255 reviews

4.2

4 Members: Moomin_Mama, thecoroner, lewbs, alex68
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: Judge Holden

13

The Turn of the Screw

by Henry James

7,602 members

238 reviews

½ 3.4

4 Members: lewbs, alex68, Bwoo67, ManWithAnAgenda

14

We Need to Talk About Kevin

by Lionel Shriver

7,572 members

388 reviews

4.1

4 Members: generalkala, dara85, alex68, Bwoo67

15

Haunted

by Chuck Palahniuk

7,325 members

145 reviews

½ 3.4

4 Members: Moomin_Mama, martensgirl, alex68, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: A new use for a Resusci Anne, and something about a miscarried foetus...

16

The Wasp Factory

by Iain Banks

6,769 members

197 reviews

3.8

4 Members: SqueakyChu, Moomin_Mama, blackdove07, alex68
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: Blowing up bunny.

17

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

36,697 members

636 reviews

3.9

3 Members: thecoroner, alex68, Bwoo67

18

The Lovely Bones

by Alice Sebold

34,735 members

926 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: dara85, martensgirl, Bwoo67

19

The Road

by Cormac McCarthy

32,708 members

1,379 reviews

4.1

3 Members: Moomin_Mama, sipthereader, lewbs
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: Played on my mind long after reading.

20

Night

by Elie Wiesel

25,868 members

555 reviews

½ 4.3

3 Members: Moomin_Mama, alex68, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: Moshe the Beadle's story, and the arrival in Aushwitz.

21

In Cold Blood

by Truman Capote

22,429 members

443 reviews

4.1

3 Members: thecoroner, alex68, ManWithAnAgenda

22

The Exorcist

by William Peter Blatty

5,082 members

141 reviews

3.9

3 Members: thecoroner, alex68, Bwoo67

23

Johnny Got His Gun

by Dalton Trumbo

3,526 members

71 reviews

4.2

3 Members: SqueakyChu, thecoroner, alex68

24

Under the Skin

by Michel Faber

2,346 members

114 reviews

½ 3.7

3 Members: Moomin_Mama, blackdove07, Bwoo67
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: When all is revealed to the reader...

25

Porno

by Irvine Welsh

2,065 members

17 reviews

½ 3.6

3 Members: Moomin_Mama, thecoroner, martensgirl
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: Shock for the sake of shock, objectifying women in the same way as porno. This is where I stopped reading Irvine Welsh.

26

Filth

by Irvine Welsh

2,002 members

27 reviews

½ 3.5

3 Members: Moomin_Mama, martensgirl, Bwoo67
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: The scurfy, flaky skin on the young girl's shoulders and chest - this book is Filth alright.

27

The 120 Days of Sodom

by Marquis de Sade

1,210 members

24 reviews

3

3 Members: thecoroner, alex68, Bwoo67

28

The Catcher in the Rye

by J. D. Salinger

66,503 members

1,047 reviews

3.8

2 Members: hipdeep, Bwoo67

29

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

51,197 members

741 reviews

3.9

2 Members: hipdeep, ManWithAnAgenda

30

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

39,658 members

1,089 reviews

4.1

2 Members: alex68, ManWithAnAgenda

31

The Stranger

by Albert Camus

33,681 members

482 reviews

3.9

2 Members: alex68, ManWithAnAgenda

32

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

by Susanna Clarke

26,036 members

753 reviews

3.9

2 Members: cej1027, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: cej1027: The part about mutilating the dead bodies of war enemies freaked me out. Partly because I was in the middle of eating lunch when I got to that bit.

33

The Shining

by Stephen King

21,680 members

434 reviews

4.1

2 Members: hipdeep, Bwoo67

34

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

20,414 members

1,498 reviews

3.9

2 Members: dara85, Bwoo67
Explanations: dara85: How could anyone be so calculating, manipulating and vengeful?

35

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

by Robert Louis Stevenson

16,320 members

304 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: alex68, ManWithAnAgenda

36

House of Leaves

by Mark Z. Danielewski

14,297 members

357 reviews

4.1

2 Members: alex68, ManWithAnAgenda

37

11/22/63

by Stephen King

12,377 members

721 reviews

4.2

2 Members: generalkala, dara85

38

Disgrace

by J. M. Coetzee

10,461 members

261 reviews

3.9

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

39

Tropic of Cancer

by Henry Miller

8,472 members

125 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

40

Educated: A Memoir

by Tara Westover

8,411 members

472 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: dara85, ManWithAnAgenda

41

The Tin Drum

by Günter Grass

7,330 members

90 reviews

4

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

42

The Island of Dr. Moreau

by H. G. Wells

6,831 members

165 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

43

2666

by Roberto Bolaño

6,236 members

174 reviews

4.1

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

44

Geek Love

by Katherine Dunn

5,884 members

156 reviews

4

2 Members: thecoroner, Bwoo67

45

If This Is a Man

by Primo Levi

5,792 members

96 reviews

½ 4.3

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

46

Naked Lunch: The Restored Text

by William S. Burroughs

3,991 members

54 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

47

Battle Royale

by Koushun Takami

3,984 members

107 reviews

4.1

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

48

Crash

by J. G. Ballard

3,356 members

76 reviews

½ 3.5

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

49

Out

by Natsuo Kirino

3,116 members

123 reviews

3.9

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

50

The Plague Dogs

by Richard Adams

2,096 members

38 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: cej1027, ManWithAnAgenda
Explanations: cej1027: This book will be one of my favorites, but it's still very upsetting. The POV is animal research victims.

51

The Five Chinese Brothers

by Claire Huchet Bishop

1,715 members

54 reviews

3.9

2 Members: Moomin_Mama, ahef1963
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: The threat of execution hanging over the brothers, and the ways in which this was attempted, were horrifying.

52

Glue

by Irvine Welsh

1,343 members

12 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: Moomin_Mama, martensgirl
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: The scene with the guard dog seemed gratuitous and unnecessary - yeah yeah, I know it's Irvine Welsh but still...

53

Marabou Stork Nightmares

by Irvine Welsh

1,308 members

11 reviews

3.8

2 Members: Moomin_Mama, martensgirl
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: About the damage wreaked by sexual abuse. Pulls no punches.

54

Tampa

by Alissa Nutting

835 members

79 reviews

½ 3.4

2 Members: thecoroner, Bwoo67

55

The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation

by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

529 members

4.1

2 Members: thecoroner, alex68

56

Others

by James Herbert

488 members

9 reviews

½ 3.7

2 Members: KimarieBee, Bwoo67
Explanations: KimarieBee: It was the afterword that was truly disturbing

57

The Road Through the Wall

by Shirley Jackson

340 members

10 reviews

½ 3.6

2 Members: alex68, ManWithAnAgenda

58

Let's Go Play at the Adams'

by Mendal W. Johnson

287 members

7 reviews

½ 3.4

2 Members: Moomin_Mama, Bwoo67
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: The hot poker, and the lasting psychological damage to all involved.

59

Moby Dick

by Herman Melville

33,256 members

514 reviews

3.8

Member: alex68

60

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

by Milan Kundera

21,557 members

262 reviews

4

Member: alex68

61

The Screwtape Letters / Screwtape Proposes a Toast

by C. S. Lewis

16,170 members

150 reviews

4.1

Member: cej1027

62

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

by Hunter S. Thompson

13,798 members

185 reviews

4.1

Member: alex68

63

The Virgin Suicides

by Jeffrey Eugenides

12,034 members

242 reviews

3.8

Member: sipthereader

64

Notes from Underground

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

11,739 members

143 reviews

4.1

Member: alex68

65

A Child Called "It"

by Dave Pelzer

8,103 members

299 reviews

3.9

Member: dara85

66

The Castle

by Franz Kafka

8,069 members

87 reviews

3.9

Member: lewbs

67

A Little Life

by Hanya Yanagihara

6,019 members

297 reviews

4.1

Member: sipthereader

68

Flowers In The Attic

by V. C. Andrews

5,899 members

177 reviews

½ 3.5

Member: alex68

69

Sophie's Choice

by William Styron

5,777 members

85 reviews

4.1

Member: alex68

70

The Collector

by John Fowles

4,802 members

121 reviews

3.9

Member: alex68

71

On the Beach

by Nevil Shute

4,683 members

170 reviews

3.9

Member: alex68

72

This Present Darkness

by Frank E. Peretti

4,311 members

57 reviews

3.9

Member: cej1027
Explanations: cej1027: The demon imagery here bugged me for weeks.

73

When the Wind Blows

by James Patterson

4,186 members

67 reviews

½ 3.5

Member: alex68

74

Verity

by Colleen Hoover

4,092 members

165 reviews

3.9

Member: dara85

75

The Bone People

by Keri Hulme

3,645 members

102 reviews

4.1

Member: RuMuse
Explanations: RuMuse: A great and psychologically gripping book that is disturbing as hell to read. Controversial winner of the Booker Prize in 1985.

76

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories

by Tim Burton

3,554 members

57 reviews

4

Member: Moomin_Mama
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: Poor Oyster Boy!

77

Push

by Sapphire

3,512 members

154 reviews

3.8

Member: cej1027
Explanations: cej1027: I try really hard not to think about this book.

78

The Cement Garden

by Ian McEwan

3,457 members

93 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: alex68

79

We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families: Stories from Rwanda

by Philip Gourevitch

3,320 members

66 reviews

½ 4.4

Member: alex68

80

Last Exit to Brooklyn

by Hubert Selby Jr.

2,882 members

35 reviews

3.8

Member: alex68

81

Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison

by Lois Lenski

2,871 members

33 reviews

3.8

Member: cej1027
Explanations: cej1027: Not for the reason you'd think. The blonde hair worship really p***ed me off after a while.

82

Deliverance

by James Dickey

2,470 members

54 reviews

3.9

Member: alex68

83

Requiem for a Dream

by Hubert Selby Jr.

2,239 members

33 reviews

4.1

Member: alex68

84

The Bridge on the Drina

by Ivo Andrić

2,230 members

64 reviews

4.2

Member: alex68

85

That Old Ace in the Hole

by Annie Proulx

1,758 members

27 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: cej1027
Explanations: cej1027: I stopped reading when I got to the incest part.

86

for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf

by Ntozake Shange

1,692 members

21 reviews

4

Member: cej1027
Explanations: cej1027: I stopped reading when it insinuated that casual sex is empowering to women.

87

The King in Yellow

by Robert W. Chambers

1,685 members

51 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: alex68

88

The Girl Next Door

by Jack Ketchum

1,414 members

74 reviews

4

Member: alex68

89

Christiane F: Autobiography of a Girl of the Streets and Heroin Addict

by Christiane F.

1,326 members

30 reviews

4

Member: alex68

90

Zombie

by Joyce Carol Oates

1,141 members

58 reviews

½ 3.4

Member: alex68

91

The End of Alice

by A. M. Homes

1,133 members

32 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: alex68

92

My Lobotomy

by Howard Dully

1,035 members

48 reviews

½ 3.6

Member: dara85

93

Coin Locker Babies

by Ryū Murakami

892 members

13 reviews

3.8

Member: thecoroner

94

Intimacy

by Hanif Kureishi

835 members

18 reviews

½ 3.5

Member: Moomin_Mama
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: Vile, vile, vile man, childish, self-absorbed and selfish.

95

Come Closer

by Sara Gran

782 members

46 reviews

½ 3.7

Member: alex68

96

When the Wind Blows

by Raymond Briggs

648 members

17 reviews

½ 4.3

Member: Moomin_Mama
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: The poor couple being so badly prepared for nuclear war.

97

One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway

by Åsne Seierstad

562 members

26 reviews

4.2

Member: sipthereader

98

Burned Alive

by Souad

530 members

22 reviews

3.8

Member: Moomin_Mama
Explanations: Moomin_Mama: Strange, nightmarish memories of a sister's fate. What's worse is this seems to have been written with a questionable agenda.

99