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The Most Disturbing Novels of All Time

While we often discuss lovely, life-affirming quotes and sweetly memorable scenes in books, reader slovenia46 recently suggested we talked about the grim. We did a quick sweep of the books desk – and here are some of our most disturbing reads.
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120 Days of Sodom (Marquis De Sade)
120 Days of Sodom
1
Marquis De Sade
Ada or Ardor (Vladimir Nabokov)
Ada or Ardor
2
Vladimir Nabokov
American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis)
American Psycho
3
Bret Easton Ellis
Asterios Polyp
Asterios Polyp
4
Bad Behavior: Stories (Mary Gaitskill)
Bad Behavior: Stories
5
Mary Gaitskill
Bastard Out of Carolina (Dorothy Allison)
Bastard Out of Carolina
6
Dorothy Allison
Batman: The Killing Joke (Alan Moore)
Batman: The Killing Joke
7
Alan Moore
Battle Royale (Koushun Takami)
Battle Royale
8
Koushun Takami
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
9
Toni Morrison
Beside the Sea
Beside the Sea
10
Birdie (Tracey Lindberg)
Birdie
11
Tracey Lindberg
Black Hole (Charles Burns)
Black Hole
12
Charles Burns
Blankets (Craig Thompson)
Blankets
13
Craig Thompson
Blindness (José Saramago)
Blindness
14
José Saramago
Blood and Guts in High School (Kathy Acker)
Blood and Guts in High School
15
Kathy Acker
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
Blood Meridian
16
Cormac McCarthy
The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison)
The Bluest Eye
17
Toni Morrison
Books of Blood (Clive Barker)
Books of Blood
18
Clive Barker
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
19
John Boyne
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Brave New World
20
Aldous Huxley
Breaking Dawn (Stephenie Meyer)
Breaking Dawn
21
Stephenie Meyer
Carrie (Stephen King)
Carrie
22
Stephen King
Child of God (Cormac McCarthy)
Child of God
23
Cormac McCarthy
City of God (Paulo Lins)
City of God
24
Paulo Lins
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
A Clockwork Orange
25
Anthony Burgess
The Collector (John Fowles)
The Collector
26
John Fowles
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Color Purple
27
Alice Walker
Cujo (Stephen King)
Cujo
28
Stephen King
Dark Places (Gillian Flynn)
Dark Places
29
Gillian Flynn
Dhalgren (Samuel R. Delany)
Dhalgren
30
Samuel R. Delany
Dissolving Classroom (Junji Ito)
Dissolving Classroom
31
Junji Ito
Dream Country (Neil Gaiman)
Dream Country
32
Neil Gaiman
The Exorcist (William Peter Blatty)
The Exorcist
33
William Peter Blatty
Exquisite Corpse
Exquisite Corpse
34
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Fahrenheit 451
35
Ray Bradbury
Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk)
Fight Club
36
Chuck Palahniuk
Flowers in the Attic (V.C. Andrews)
Flowers in the Attic
37
V.C. Andrews
From Hell (Alan Moore)
From Hell
38
Alan Moore
Fun Home (Alison Bechdel)
Fun Home
39
Alison Bechdel
Geek Love (Katherine Dunn)
Geek Love
40
Katherine Dunn
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