What subject matter is so ghastly / triggering that you won’t read a book that delves into it?

Submitted by jenna_grows t3_10q1g2m in books

This is any kind of topic that’ll upset you out so completely that you won’t read the book. It’s also books where you’ll only read them because you’ve heard the subject matter is dealt with in a way that you think you can stomach.

Child abuse and, especially, molestation is the one that sticks out for me.

I suffered through The Kite Runner. Really suffered. Although I recall feeling like it was immensely well-written, I don’t remember much of it and don’t actually want to.

Incest also creeps me out. And wanton animal abuse.

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hopscotch_uitwaaien t1_j6nkies wrote

Since becoming a parent, I cannot read (or consume other media) about children dying or child abuse.

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Fuzzykittenboots t1_j6nnxb2 wrote

Animal abuse. I could not get through Black Beauty and I do not like that cruelty towards cats shows up in a lot of critically acclaimed books.

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StoicIndian87 t1_j6n82kh wrote

Pedophilia and child abuse, yes.

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Rick_101 t1_j6nmrdv wrote

I cant even read the books that supposedly condemn it. Cant stomach it.

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Taminella_Grinderfal t1_j6npqu0 wrote

As a true crime fan, I made the mistake of reading Jack Ketchum -The Girl Next Door. Not a subject I will ever delve into again.

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frozenfountain t1_j6nhe6b wrote

There's no subject matter I'll flat out refuse to read, and I don't think anything should be off limits entirely for writers; we need fiction that covers the whole range of what humans are capable of experiencing. That said, execution matters a lot. I find a lot of value in reading the viewpoints of truly reprehensible people, and in stories exploring the aftermath of the most horrific events you can imagine, but I'm not interested in schlocky, gratuitous revelling in these things.

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chummybuckett t1_j6nsr0s wrote

I full agree. It's not the subject matter as much as the manner in which it's written. Rape is a good example of a subject that has been handled appropriately by many authors and really grossly by many others.

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Merle8888 t1_j6oke4o wrote

I always feel like rape is the first/most common answer to these things. And it’s such a complicated topic.

First and foremost of course, all readers should take care of themselves and no one should feel pressured to read something they think will be bad for them, or to read on in something that is bad for them.

Second, I think it’s precisely because rape is so common that depicting it in fiction is so important. Many sexual assault survivors, as well as loved ones of survivors and just people preoccupied with fears of rape, find these books incredibly important for healing, connection, and understanding.

Third, obviously none of those goals can be met if the author isn’t approaching the material respectfully, with the understanding that an appreciable portion of their audience will have been sexually assaulted themselves. I’m fortunate enough that I haven’t, and I don’t mind depictions as long as they’re done well, but I draw the line at writing that seems to excuse or glorify rape or use it as cheap titillation—at this point I’ll tend to avoid male authors depicting male-on-female rape altogether. It’s not that it can’t be done well, I’m sure, but I also don’t think I’ve seen it. With female authors I rarely see those problems.

But I’ll still generally put down a book on sample if it begins with the rape—there’s a sense in which, not yet knowing or caring about the character in question, it automatically feels like these scenes are there for cheap shock/titillation.

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jenna_grows OP t1_j6nivg6 wrote

I don’t think writers should be censored, just saying I wouldn’t read certain books with certain subject matter. No matter how good it is.

The Kite Runner is my example because I know it deserves all the accolades. For me, though, it just was the moment that I realised I couldn’t bring myself to read certain types of books because they’re just too triggering.

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frozenfountain t1_j6nj7iu wrote

Oh, for sure - I didn't mean to imply your post was censorious, just throwing it out there. Certain subjects are a pretty hard sell for me, too, even if I wouldn't write them off entirely. You did the right thing by taking care of yourself!

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jenna_grows OP t1_j6nm1tv wrote

That makes sense. I wasn’t sure when I read it :’D

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belladonna_nectar t1_j6or95g wrote

The Kite Runner is a tough read even if you didn't experience any similar abuse as the main character. I made the "mistake" to read his other two books, but that's when I drew the line and decided I won't read anything hy him anymore, way too depressing

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Taminella_Grinderfal t1_j6nrfco wrote

I read a book called Tampa. I thought it was going to be a fictional psychological exploration of why women abuse teen boys and how it’s portrayed so differently in the media. Sort of a “reverse Lolita”. NOPE. It was filthy, horribly written smut. The author was a woman but it would have fit right in on r/menwritingwomen. Execution definitely matters.

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Merle8888 t1_j6oiwv6 wrote

If you’re still interested in something like that, you might try Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller.

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Vikingmomma2 t1_j6ogwh2 wrote

Pedophilia, incest, and bestiality. It makes me sick and hurts my heart. Cannibalism grosses me out, but I don’t actively avoid it. I also can’t read anything involving possession. I won’t sleep for days! 😱

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pleasecallmeSamuel t1_j6nv08g wrote

Just about anything that depicts human or animal torture in great detail ( ex: the rape of Nanking )

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Merle8888 t1_j6okwqi wrote

Detailed depictions of torture are the one thing I personally would like to see authors stop doing altogether! Honestly, I don’t even want the torture methods described, that’s enough detail to get into my head and lodge there.

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r--evolve t1_j6nggo7 wrote

Not viscerally ghastly like other topics mentioned here, but I get deeply upset with books/media that involve cheating on a partner. Even if the matter is dealt with in a responsible way by the end, I remain thoroughly upset the entire way through.

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Caleb_Trask19 t1_j6n8wh8 wrote

Nothing bothers me with people, but violence towards animals is something that unnerves me. A very big release this month is scattered with violence done to animals, but you only see the aftermath. Surprisingly, it didn’t put me off as much as I imagined as opposed to if the text was describing what was happening first hand. I did just hear about a book called The Cows that the reviewer says is horrific, I won’t go near that.

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elizabeth-cooper t1_j6ot48a wrote

Climate apocalypse/dystopia is my auto-no.

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Merle8888 t1_j6p9e2q wrote

Actually yes, there is a subject I won’t read a book about and this is it!

I’ve tried it, it was horribly upsetting and depressing. I suppose for some people it’s encouraging because the characters keep going and that’s resilience, but to me it’s just awful.

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PrairieGirlWpg t1_j6nj1td wrote

I struggle with World War 2 fiction. My grandfather was a veteran and I remember the stories he would tell me when I read books in this genre.

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fragments_shored t1_j6of2sg wrote

Any kind of animal abuse. I love Celeste Ng but I'm going to skip "Our Missing Hearts" because one of the reviews mentioned an upsetting animal death. I'm sure it's a tiny part of the book but I know it's there and it's completely put me off.

For violence and abuse toward humans, it depends on how it's handled and how graphic it is. There's nothing specific I avoid on principle but I will quit a book if it feels gratuitous. Authors have a right to tell those kinds of stories and I have a right not to engage with the content if it crosses a personal boundary.

I typically don't read horror as a genre (not never, but very very rarely) because if it's too scary I have to sleep with the lights on :)

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brith89 t1_j6nhjcj wrote

Rape, child abuse (physical and emotional). I lived it. I don't need to live it again in my books. Add in eating disorders, too (I'm in recovery) unless it's a book my therapist suggested.

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bhbhbhhh t1_j6nag42 wrote

I don't like reading about heretics being killed in pre-Reformation Europe very much.

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ManyCats247 t1_j6najsz wrote

I recently started reading a William Diehl book about a traveling pastor that is faking being blind, and evidently he grooms or (??? Idk) the young girls of the places he stays while preaching. I didn't make it past the way the author described how he looked at/first met the teen that brought him super into his trailer. I just thought there was no way I'm reading words about molestation or rape or any of that. I think Diehl is a fantastic writer, but I noped out fast and donated the book back to Goodwill.

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MaoFeipang t1_j6ofaco wrote

Domestic violence against women as one topic and misogyny as component. My mental health took a mega-shit as a result of suddenly noticing and being unable to avoid everything I've just let roll off my back all these years. Reading books about feminism isnt helping. I can't avoid books written with men as a main character. Books that pass the Bechdel test happen to sometimes belong in genres I don't enjoy. And on, and on, and on... Ugh.

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tygerprints t1_j6o0c5a wrote

I'd have to agree with wanton animal abuse, most animals are too big to fit into a wanton wrapper anyway, so don't force them! : ? uh, whut?

Actually I tried reading Aron Beauregard's novel "the Slob," but had to quit about halfway through. I can stomach most anything, but really it just goes too far into gruesome bloody gore and forced self-cannibalism.

I don't really enjoy torture or gore as forms of entertainment. I do consider myself a bonafide horror afficionado (I mean I've read everything Poe and Lovecraft have ever written, including some stories of H.P. that haven't been in print for ages).

And nearly 100% of my reading and movie watching is horror related. So, just because it's part of the genre, unfortunately there's a lot of denigrating torture and gore but that isn't at all interesting to me. It can make you sick (anyone actually make it through "the Slob"??) but that isn't entertainment to me. And not something I'd ever seek out.

And it isn't really lasting, the way something that creeps up on you and grabs your spine can be (Umm not for a snack, that is). Give me atmospheric terror (a little gore is OK - I love "the Thing," and it wouldn't work without it).

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jenna_grows OP t1_j6o59x7 wrote

  1. You must be fun at parties. And i mean it. I’d love to have you as a dinner guest.
  2. I am not familiar with the slob.
  3. I like horror. It’s one of my favourite genres. The Haunting of Hill House is my favourite - although is that horror…? And I like anything with Catholicism and possession and general demonology, even though I am not anywhere close to Catholic. Gore - I can stomach but it doesn’t tickle me.
  4. I love murder mysteries / twisty thrillers the way you love horror. Even with those, gore is meh for me. I’m there for mystery and the reveal.
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Jazzlike-Line4735 t1_j6nlqdy wrote

The Nickel Boys was hard for me. Great writing, horrible circumstances

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general-dc t1_j6o91ey wrote

I won't read anything with extreme, overly-descriptive violence or anything scatological. I couldn't continue reading Stephen King's Dreamcatcher after that disgusting toilet scene.

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Merle8888 t1_j6oipdf wrote

Ha yeah I hate scatological descriptions in books as well! I don’t know why but there’s something about anything involving bodily fluids where it’s so much more gross when it gets put into words. Like sure, I have bodily functions too but I definitely don’t want to read about them in books regardless.

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BlankyForce t1_j6nuu3a wrote

Great question that I have pondered often.

I don't think there is a subject that I can't read, they can be challenging and disturbing, but if the quality of writing is good, I can usually make it through.

A similar book that I have thought about a lot is Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club. When I first read, I just didn't get it. It just seemed like gratuitous violence for shock value. But I saw with it for awhile and reread. I felt differently after the second reading. I don't think the book could have expressed such primal drives without the gritty, graphic violence.

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belladonna_nectar t1_j6oqrr9 wrote

Same triggers here. I used to finish books no matter how mediocre they were, but certain topics would make me abandon them at the drop of a hat. I recall at least 4-5 books that made ma wanna puke: one was Tiger, Tiger! which I bought on sale and had no idea it contains pedophilic stuff, two that described bestiality, one written by a gay guy who is describing a rodeo or something like that and feels Schadenfreude when a lady gets attacked by the bull ( I think he expresses his sorrow that she didn't die?). Also sexist stuff is a big turn off.

One disappointing literary experience I couldn't get over is Mario Vargas Llosa. I was going through a "Nobel laureates" phase and thought I'd pick one of his books. Can't recall the title, but a few pages in and he was describing him and his pals abusing some hens. I was too baffled to comprehend what that text was about and I wish I could bleach it away from my mind. Needless to say, I dropped the book and lost my interest in anything written by him, even if he's a literar genius, that was enough for me.

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Merle8888 t1_j6p95dp wrote

I feel like Vargas Llosa has included most of the stuff in this thread in his work! Feast of the Goat includes both detailed rape of a minor and torture. He’s written another one all about violence at a military school.

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CitrinetheQueen t1_j6ot40m wrote

I still feel ill when I think of the Kite Runner.

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ShinyHappyPurple t1_j6oy3f7 wrote

There isn't anything I would rule out completely, personally. It all depends on how the writer approaches it and how they deal with the material.

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SaraTyler t1_j6nl1r7 wrote

Dystopian books are a big no for me, my anxiety goes immediately through the roof. For this reason I can't read Corman McCarthy, some things by Philip K Dick and some science fiction. The only one I read ans loved was Stephen King's The Stand, but I was very young and didn't have anxiety issues.

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Mentalfloss1 t1_j6noy0k wrote

Abuse, cruelty, dystopia, suffering a disease

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LizzyWednesday t1_j6p1xo9 wrote

Kids' deaths that I don't see coming - for example, the final battle sequence of Mockingjay messed me up. (The Games themselves, eh, no problem, I was pretty sure I knew what I was getting into, but the parachutes to the perimeter? My stomach dropped.)

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eschuylerhamilton t1_j6pi1pl wrote

There’s nothing I’ll flat out to refuse to read. (Except romance.)

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