The most disturbing books you've ever read.

[Naomi]

Some have brought this up already that it is not necessarily the books you love that have the greatest impact, but books that you find disturbing even hard to read that can really stay with you.

This said what are the most disturping books you've read?

[Alice]

The book that most often comes to mind recently is Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger. It's basic premise is Elspeth dies of cancer and begins haunting her apartment into which her two estranged nieces begin to live, Julia & Valentina. The part that has disturbed me the most, and there way more than one, was

SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT


Elspeth taking over Valentina's body. Then Elspeth/Valentina move off with Robert, Elspeth's love who had begun an affair with Valentina. It was twisted, absurd and downright creepy, but I can't stop thinking about it. Ugh I'm getting a chill just by dwelling on it again.

[Naomi]

Wow I'be been meaning to read that, it does sound disturbing!!

[Alice]

As horrible as I found many things in the novel it has stuck with me in a major way. Same thing with The Passage. I won an ARC here at GR and it literally took me weeks to read it as I went through so many emotions. I felt like I'd been beaten a little by the time I got to the end. Imagine my dismay at getting to the end, checking online and realizing that it was the first in a trilogy!

[Auntie]

Exquisite Corpse disturbed me quite a bit when I read it as a teenager. It's one of the few books that I had to stop reading for awhile.

I'm not sure if it would have the same effect on me now.

[Alice]

Blood Meridian is one that I've wanted to read, but have been hesitant to do so as I've heard so many things about it's content being hard to stomach. Was it worth the effort Mike?