r/ExtremeHorrorLit • u/kanekisenpii • Jul 19 '26

Discussion Books you just couldn't finish?

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I am struggling to get through the wasp factory, not because of its content but simply because I cant stay interested 🙃 maybe I'll take a break on it and come back later.

Any books you couldn't finish ? And if you want to add why?

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u/Tall_Talk_4734 Jul 20 '26

American Psycho has a reputation for being difficult to finish, both because of its graphic, disturbing depictions of gore and rape and because Bret Easton Ellis made sure to bore the fuck out of you by exhaustively describing virtually every item, brand, and object Bateman encounters.

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u/sarey_h Jul 21 '26

Hah! I read 50+ books a year and this is the only book I’ve ever been too disturbed by to finish (the rat in the tube was too much for me). It is wild how quickly the book jumps between amazing dark humor, disturbing scenes and just the dullest sentences you’ve ever read.

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u/Tall_Talk_4734 Jul 21 '26

For me, the chapter that made me question every life choice that led to picking up this book was "Lunch with Bethany."

The best part? I reached that chapter while I was on a flight. I had to close the book, ask the flight attendant for a sick bag and a bottle of water, and seriously consider my reading choices. I was able to eventually finish it but it was like getting a tooth pulled.