Books to ruin your weekend

[arabela]

Does it happen to you, guys, that you are trying to be intellectual, buy a New York Times bestseller, and than get all depressed and nauseated reading it ? I made my boyfriend laugh at our trip in Death Valley National Park, when I started crying without warning and explained, that the book I am reading right now makes me depressed !
I know the autors are happy to leave a strong impressions on readers, but I hate when they leave THAT strong impression. I am preparing those books for a Salvation Army donation right now.
Examples:
Jonatan Franzen: Corrections (Some critics find it humorous, though. Something wrong with me ?)
Toni Morrison: Sula (Go to Toni Morrison thread if you want to dwell on this one).

[Boredom]

Out of the Dust. Not that it was particularly sad or anything, but the writing in verses drove. me. crazy. I seriously wanted to rip the book into shreads at the end.

[ixcrisxi]

Where Serpents Lie by T. Jefferson Parker was such a tear-jerker and psychological thriller. I was scared to be by myself for weeks! it is so scary at parts and by the end it made me dread reading another page but I had to find out what happened!

[nausicaa]

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame", by Victor Hugo. Boy, talk about depressing.

And "Old Goriot", by Honore Balzac. Same thing.

So I had to read Tolstoy's "Redemption" as an antidote.

[i]ETA: Sorry. I was thinking of "Resurrection". "Redemption" is his play.

[Lucy]

I long ago gave up trying to muddle through broccoli books (those you think are good for you to read, like broccoli is good for you). If it doesn't grab me and keep me reading, then it's got a flaw in the writing anyway. If an author want me to get his point, he needs to tell me a good story. So many authors seem to try to write books that impress their peers, rather than connect with people.
That said, I am a big fan of Jane Austen and her ilk. But those were the "popular" books of their day, like Maeve Binchy or Stephen King are today.

[nlmcp]

Jonatan Franzen: Corrections (Some critics find it humorous, though. Something wrong with me ?)
Toni Morrison: Sula (Go to Toni Morrison thread if you want to dwell on this one).

The Corrections was just a horrible book. Horrible. It was poorly written, set up in a way that made no sense and managed to have a cast of characters that were unlikeable and unsympathetic. I spent my time reading it rewritting the whole thing in my head and hoping the climax was a bomb that hit the house when everyone was in it.

Toni Morrison, I gave up on her years ago. Every book is meant to wrench a sob fest out of you.

[arabela]

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame", by Victor Hugo. Boy, talk about depressing.

And "Old Goriot", by Honore Balzac. Same thing.

So I had to read Tolstoy's "Redemption" as an antidote.

[i]ETA: Sorry. I was thinking of "Resurrection". "Redemption" is his play.

Ha !
Never thought about putting these books into "ruin your weekend" category, but I can see your point !
The think is, they were mandatory reading at our higschool and:
1. at that age my EQ wasn't developped enough, so that the sadness of these stories could not fully strike me.
2. the endless analyzing of these two books with our class extracted and bleached all the spirit from them.
3. Also, I am an opera - lover, so in order to enjoy the music I developed a defense system, which makes me tolerate a tragedy, if it is presented in a certain "operatic" way. If you saw the cripple Rigoletto crying over the dead body of his beloved daughter a few times, you are ready to face The Hunchback of Notre Dame ;o). (Rigoletto's story was addapted from one Victor Hugo's play, too ;o))

[pink_princess]

The Crimson Petal and the White.

Not only was I depressed by the end, but I had a flaming migraine because it was so long and I was reading as fast as I could, hoping something happy and good would happen somewhere soon. Why I expected that out of a book that literally and liberally discusses the stench of urine in Victorian England, I don't know.