| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? 22:16 - Apr 1 with 3554 views | MrSheen |
I’ve just finished Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, my first by him. I thought I had a high tolerance for gore and brutality, but it was horrific. McCarthy’s poetic style (extremely skilfully done to be fair) made it even harder going, as I kept having to go backwards and forwards to get his point. Edges out The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks and HP Lovecraft for the most disturbing thing I’ve read. |  | | |  |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 22:55 - Apr 1 with 2036 views | Logman |
I don't really read macabre books. I like books with a nice, healthy thread. I guess the darkest ones I have read are Dracula and Perfume.
That said, I didn't find Dracula hugely scarey in terms of the vampire's antics. What I found more un-nerving was the behaviour of the professor towards the female victims. It borders on grooming.
A lot of people would say that Perfume is weird but I like it. The protagonist is a sickly boy/man whose senses are depleted apart from his sense of smell which is incredibly acute. He latches onto smells, which he lives for, with unsavoury consequences in terms of kidnapping, imprisoning and killing various victims so that he can 'bottle' their scents for his own personal delectation and to create perfumes. It all ends in scenes of absolute debauchery.
Another weird one is the Butterfly Collector by John Fowles which is all about a recluse who kidnaps and imprisons a female neighbour - but it's no different to stories you hear now again in the news and is probably now not nearly as shocking as when it was written I think probably 40 or 50 years ago. |  | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 23:44 - Apr 1 with 1960 views | numptydumpty |
As a teenage wannabe, I weirdly was obsessed with reading anything by Stephen King and James Herbert.
Picked up a Stephen King book recently and delved inside and wow, it's pretty horrific and extremely graphic.
If kids today are affected by wannabe influencers on youtube and tiktok, King's mind must have extreme perversion and filth within. Good job he let's it out by simply writing.
But I had an obsession with it back then and was totally hooked.
When i read one recently, I felt wow - no wonder I had issues.... [Post edited 1 Apr 23:45]
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| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 23:50 - Apr 1 with 1956 views | LongsufferingR |
The only book I've read that affected me in a really negative way was the Ian Curtis biography written by his wife. A thoroughly and deeply depressing read but a brilliant insight on the other hand. |  | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 23:52 - Apr 1 with 1953 views | MrSheen |
Not seen that but I read Rising 44 by Norman Lewis. The father of one of my wife’s best friends fought in the sewers in the Warsaw Rising. When I knew him he had just retired from working in marine insurance and lived off Pitshanger Lane in Ealing. [Post edited 1 Apr 23:53]
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| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 00:23 - Apr 2 with 1914 views | simmo |
Funny as I just bought Blood Meridian as part of 3 holiday books to read and that is the only one left. I'm not sure I'll rush to read it with that description in mind, American Psycho was similar for me and it kind of ruined all other books for a while. |  |
| ask Beavis I get nothing Butthead |
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| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 02:06 - Apr 2 with 1817 views | Boston |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 23:52 - Apr 1 by MrSheen |
Not seen that but I read Rising 44 by Norman Lewis. The father of one of my wife’s best friends fought in the sewers in the Warsaw Rising. When I knew him he had just retired from working in marine insurance and lived off Pitshanger Lane in Ealing. [Post edited 1 Apr 23:53]
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From the sewers to the pits - poor sod. | |
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| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 04:05 - Apr 2 with 1769 views | Sommerbreeze |
A girl i was trying to impress sent me a reading list of her favourites and Cormac McCarthy was one of them. I think if i'd read Blood Meridian first i would have stopped there, but the first of his books I read was All The Pretty Horses, which is tough going in places but less so, and then the rest of the Border Trilogy. Then Blood Meridian, then everything else he wrote, including The Road which is horrendously bleak. Anyway, my point being don't let it put you off.
I read The Damn United after picking it up at an airport and loved it so much I decided to read all of David Peace's work. i started with Nineteen Seventy-Four and after a week was wondering why i was a bit depressed in the mornings. turns out it was that book. Never read anything else of his since, but feel I am missing out. | | | |
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| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 05:13 - Apr 2 with 1729 views | stowmarketrange |
I picked up a copy of The rape of Nanking by Iris Chang from my local library last year,and that described all the different ways the Japanese tortured and killed the locals.
It was pretty horrific in places and you wonder how people can be so evil towards fellow human beings.
I also used to enjoy James Herbert books back in the late 70’s,and I read those again last year too.I wonder how he ever thought up the pe teacher ending from The Fog? |  | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 07:33 - Apr 2 with 1623 views | DannyPaddox |
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| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 07:35 - Apr 2 with 1614 views | derbyhoop |
Cormac MacCarthy specialises in dystopia scenarios, e.g. The Road.
My wife has recommended Notes on an Execution.from what she's said about it and, having watched the Ruth Ellis story, why would anybody support Capital Punishment? [Post edited 2 Apr 8:33]
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| "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the Earth all one's lifetime." (Mark Twain)
Find me on twitter @derbyhoop and now on Bluesky |
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| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 07:36 - Apr 2 with 1613 views | loftboy |
Read all of James Herbert’s as a teen, the most graphic was probably the Fog. |  |
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| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 08:41 - Apr 2 with 1541 views | JPC |
Loved all of the McCarthy trilogy, and the Wasp Factory. Have you read Power of the Dog by Don Winslow? In the same ‘Well written but brutal’ genre | | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 08:45 - Apr 2 with 1524 views | Orthodox_Hoop |
Shaun Hutson's repertoire is pretty grim reading. |  | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 08:47 - Apr 2 with 1519 views | Paddyhoops |
McCarthys books don’t make for pleasant reading . Brilliant writer but they won’t be turned into feel good movies. | | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 09:30 - Apr 2 with 1447 views | Burnleyhoop |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 05:13 - Apr 2 by stowmarketrange |
I picked up a copy of The rape of Nanking by Iris Chang from my local library last year,and that described all the different ways the Japanese tortured and killed the locals.
It was pretty horrific in places and you wonder how people can be so evil towards fellow human beings.
I also used to enjoy James Herbert books back in the late 70’s,and I read those again last year too.I wonder how he ever thought up the pe teacher ending from The Fog? |
Also read the Fog as a teenager. That PE teacher section has stayed with ever since 😬😳 | | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 09:50 - Apr 2 with 1416 views | Rangersw12 |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 23:52 - Apr 1 by MrSheen |
Not seen that but I read Rising 44 by Norman Lewis. The father of one of my wife’s best friends fought in the sewers in the Warsaw Rising. When I knew him he had just retired from working in marine insurance and lived off Pitshanger Lane in Ealing. [Post edited 1 Apr 23:53]
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I've got Rising 44 but I haven't read it yet.
What I found amazing was the sheer scale of the brutality handed out to innocent civilians.
I also couldn't get my head round how Bach-Zelewski who was one of the main German commanders who was responsible for the atrocities and other war crimes did not stand trial at Nuremberg , and instead appeared as a witness for the prosecution! | | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 10:19 - Apr 2 with 1360 views | TheChef |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 07:36 - Apr 2 by loftboy |
Read all of James Herbert’s as a teen, the most graphic was probably the Fog. |
Ha, I remember his books in particular The Rats, doing the rounds at school when I was about 11 or 12, mainly due to the naughty sex bits in them 
Can't really think of any book that was really unpleasant, but one of my all time favourites is GB84 by David Peace, about the Miners' Strike; superbly written but I suppose also very grim. Could make you lose faith in British society, law and politics all together! |  |
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| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 10:25 - Apr 2 with 1331 views | Ned_Kennedys |
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. Film version completely tame compared to the book.
Clive Barker’s Books Of Blood anthologies hit the mark when I was a kid. |  | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 11:46 - Apr 2 with 1224 views | dutch |
Blue is the Colour official history of the Chelsea Shirt. Given to me by my son in law as a Christmas present to wind me up. Horrific, upsetting, nasty, makes Cormac McCarthy read like Mary Poppins. | | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 12:00 - Apr 2 with 1205 views | qprxtc |
Donald Pleasence’s autobiography that he didn’t write was literally unpleasant.
Time for a lie down. |  | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 12:28 - Apr 2 with 1162 views | dannyblue |
A third for American Psycho. I read it on long coach journeys. I remember being so tense and uptight, like it put me physically into a vice, that it would take some time to recover from when I stopped reading. Or maybe it was just the coach.
I also disliked but still finished both The Road and the Wasp Factory. All well written, perhaps culturally important social commentary, but nasty. |  | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 12:41 - Apr 2 with 1138 views | hamptonhillhoop |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 04:05 - Apr 2 by Sommerbreeze |
A girl i was trying to impress sent me a reading list of her favourites and Cormac McCarthy was one of them. I think if i'd read Blood Meridian first i would have stopped there, but the first of his books I read was All The Pretty Horses, which is tough going in places but less so, and then the rest of the Border Trilogy. Then Blood Meridian, then everything else he wrote, including The Road which is horrendously bleak. Anyway, my point being don't let it put you off.
I read The Damn United after picking it up at an airport and loved it so much I decided to read all of David Peace's work. i started with Nineteen Seventy-Four and after a week was wondering why i was a bit depressed in the mornings. turns out it was that book. Never read anything else of his since, but feel I am missing out. |
I've read all four of those David Peace books, 1974-1983. They're addictive, but Jesus, they're bleak. I actually reread them all because I don't think I really got it first time round. They were still bleak and I'm still not sure i got the whole story. The miners strike one wasn't much better either |  | | |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 12:44 - Apr 2 with 1120 views | TheChef |
| Most unpleasant book you’ve ever read? on 12:41 - Apr 2 by hamptonhillhoop |
I've read all four of those David Peace books, 1974-1983. They're addictive, but Jesus, they're bleak. I actually reread them all because I don't think I really got it first time round. They were still bleak and I'm still not sure i got the whole story. The miners strike one wasn't much better either |
Suffice to say I'm a big David Peace fan.
Clearly I love the bleakness  | |
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