Disturbing Books

Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite

Trigger Warnings: homophobia, murder, cannibalism, gore, rape, illness

Exquisite Corpse was my first disturbing book and is still one of my favourites, it takes place in New Orleans during the HIV epidemic and follows 2 serial killers and their unwitting victim.

Poppy Z. Brite (now known as William J. Martin) takes us through the queer community of New Orleans during the HIV epidemic through Tran, a vietnamese teenage boy who has just been kicked out by his family for being gay. You feel for and worry about Tran, he sells drugs to make money, sleeps on the streets, and is trying to get close to Jay Byrne, one of the serial killers preying on vulnerble gay men.

Jay Byrne meets Andrew Compton when both are looking for a new victim, upon learning they both share a lust for blood they begin a deadly affair with eyes set on Tran as a potential victim

I absolutely adore this book, it's so fucked up in the best way. Brite highlights the vulnerability of queer youth during the 80's and 90's, teens are doing hard drugs, sleeping in the street, and prostituting themselves to make money. All the while you're very aware there are two very dangerous and cunning serial killers on the loose that are victimizing these boys. The cops don't care, their families have abandoned them, and even the community around Tran feels transient and fragmented.

The love affair between Jay and Andrew was my favourite part of this book, I love couples that match eachothers freak and make eachother worse. Jay and Andrew feel that they've found their perfect match and they're going to make the most of it. If you're queer, love horror stories, fucked up romances, and reading about serial killers I'd strongly reccomend this book.

Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim

Trigger Warnings: CSA, sexual assault, physical assault, underage prostitution, homophobia

Mysterious Skin is about two boys who were molested ny their baseball coach in the summer of 1981, the book switches between the perspectives of Brian Lackey and Neil McCormick as they navigate life after their shared trauma.

When we meet Brian he is eight years old and hiding in the crawlspace of his house, his nose is bleeding and he has no memory of where he was or what happened to him. As Brian gets older he learns about alien abductions and concludes his fragmented memories and loss of time on that night are a result of an alien abduction. In his pursuit of the truth he begins to uncover a darker and more grounded truth that will lead him back to Neil.

Neil McCormick is a troubled young man who remembers his time with his coach clearly, he holds Coach up as his first love and remembers him fondly. Neil is gay, he despises the small town he lives in and wants to move to New York, when he's 14 he starts prostituting himself to older men. In New York he is assaulted by an older client, this event brings him back to his hometown, where he finally reunites with Brian.

This is a devastating read, both boys struggle to come to grips with what has happened to them. Heim does a great job portraying the different ways victims of abuse cope with the trauma. Brian dissociates from his trauma and searches for connection to other alien abduction victims, when he can't find it there, he begins to come to grips with what actually happened to him. Neil holds fond memories of his abuser and uses sex with older men to recreate and cope with what happened to him, the assault by the client in New York seems to break him out of this fantasy. We grow up with these boys and watch as they develop these coping mechanisms, we understand why they choose to do what they do and why they come to the conclusions they make. If you're looking for something more grounded, that's disturbing but sappy and a little nostalgic, I'd reccomend this. There's and tenderness for the troubled boys here and Heim makes you sympathize with both Neil and Brian, even when they don't make the best decisions.

Full Brutal by Kristopher Triana

Trigger Warnings: cannibalism, murder, rape, bullying, suicide, suicidal ideation, self harm

Full Brutal follows Kim White, a rich, popular, cheerleader who is bored to death of her everyday life. Seeking something more exciting she decides to seduce her teacher... that's just the beginning of this twisted book.

When we meet Kim White she is bored and suicidal, she has everything a teenage girl could want, popularity, a big house, lots of money, and boys at her beck and call, yet she feels hollow, suicidal, and bored. After her friend Amy tells her how life-changing losing her virginity was, Kim decides to expierence it for herself, but she can't just sleep with some guy her age, all the other girls do that. Instead she sets her sights on Mr. Blakely, her life management teacher.

After this thrill also fails to excite Kim she starts seeking out more extreme thrills, forcing herself into her teachers life and setting her sights on his daughter as her next victim. Meanwhile she's been watching disturbing movies and snuff videos, wondering what it would be like to expeirence these things firsthand.

Oh man, this one is a bloody rollercoaster ride. Kristopher Triana is one of my favourite Splatterpunk authors, He's great at blending real world horrors with over-the-top horror concepts. I finished this book in two days, you get caught up in Kim's escalating crimes alongside her and want to keep reading to find out what she will do next and how far she'll go. Even when I thought i knew where this was going it took another twisted turn that I loved, if you like reading about women's wrongs and the trigger warnings don't bother you I highly reccomend this.

Along the Path of Torment by Chandler Morrison

Trigger Warnings: pedophilia, CSA, mentions of CSAM, murder, coprophasia, coprophilia, child death, drug use, rape, anorexia, cancer, suicidal ideation

Ty Seward is a sick, vain man working for his Uncle Arthur. Arthur is a pedophilic commercial producer who sexually abuses the teen actors he hires and produces CSAM on the side. Ty mostly keeps to himself and dissociates from whats going on around him, indulging in his eating disorder and drugs to cope. Until he meets Beatrice Rider, a precocious 14 year old who is all to familier with how this world works and what it takes to succeed. Against his better interests Ty starts to care for Beatrice, she seems to be the only one who gets him, and he's the only one who seems to worry for her wellbeing.

Beatrice has been groomed from a young age by her mother to be everything a man like Ty's Uncle Arthur could want, shes sexy, expierenced, and willing, and Ty can't figure her out. She seems ambivalent to everything happening around her, but for some reason she attatches herself to Ty. He finds himself wanting to save her from this world, wanting to save her from the things he expierenced, but it may be too late for both of them.

If you can't tell from the trigger warnings this is a tough one to read and talk about, that being said, Morrison handles these heavy topics well. The CSA is not described in detail and/or is a bit over-the-top and ridiculous so that you can't take it seriously. Chandler Morrison is another one of my favourite Splatterpunk authors, he knows how to utilize the gruesomeness of the genre without going into gratuitous detail where it is not needed; such as in the CSA scenes.

That being said I really enjoyed this book, Ty is insufferable in the best way. He feels entitled to a standard of living his uncle refuses to afford him, thinks his ED makes him better than the heavier people around him, and is dealing with some heavy trauma. Beatrice is clearly putting on a brave face against all the abuse she suffers in this book, but is not coping well; she drinks, does drugs, and has attatched herself to Ty, the closest thing to a safe adult she has. These two build an unhealthy relationship that straddles the border of friendship and romance. I wanted them to be together despite the obvious issues because in this situation they were eachothers best bet for a somewhat healthy relationship.

Morrison is a talented author and understands the weight of what he's writing, his characters are compelling and the settings are vivid. As I said before, this is a really tough book to reccomend and read, but if you feel you can handle it this is a really good read.