Have u been shocked by a book before? (3 Viewers)

[seungfloral]

In the past i wasn't a big reader, although i loved crime documentaries, and read some mystery novels. However when they asked me at school to read the curriculum assigned books i always felt like it was a chore. Until one day i read a book called ''Sweet Anna''.
''Sweet Anna'' was a story about a middle class family that hired a new maid, mainly cause the husband couldn't handle his sick wife's desperation and complaints about their old maids. The story is a typical period piece from 1920s Hungary, depicting the hollow marital life of the Vizy family, the husband engoulfed in politics, the wife grieving their daughter that died at 6 years old. Their lives seems shallow and their marriage cold, thus the lady of the house occupies her time by trying to hire the perfect help. That's when Anna gets hired, her uncle offering her as a great maid. Her life is miserable there, she has a boyfriend who convinces her to abort their baby although she didnt want to and said man leaves her afterwards, she then finds another man to marry, but her boss a.k.a. Mrs Vizy suddenly falls ill, so she can't leave her maid job.

By this description i was sure i am reading the same novel i always read, about the unjustice between social classes and the mistreatment of working people at that time. (Cause of course now things have changed) It was really hard for me to continue the book, when suddenly Anna kills both of her employees. One night she wakes up, eats their leftovers, goes in to her employees room and stabs Mrs. Vizy and then her husband wakes up stabs him too nine times. Noone wakes up, she goes back to sleep, and the body is discovered only the day after at 2 in the afternoon.

The peculiar thing is when confronted, all Anna can say is ''I don't know why i did it''. I read the remaining of the book in two days, i wanted to desperately find the reason. Was it the abuse? Was it because of her lover who abandoned her? Was it because she missed the chance of marrying? She never said the reason, every other character describing her as evil or a crazy person were more or less lying since Anna never complained, she was , how Mrs. Vizy always wanted ''the perfect maid''. Sacrificing herself, her free time, her health, her everything for her employees. Critics speculate it was the motif of freeing herself from the role of a perfect maid, but this way she also condemned herself. ​

 

[dark_tranquility]

When I first read i.t. by stephen king.

I was like this is awesome but also confronting asf

the movie cuts out a lot of the book, which is a shame.

 

[Tickita]

So I read The Measure by Nikki Erlick last month. Everyone aged 22 and up are delivered a box on the same day, and inside the box is a string that when measured lets the person know how many years they have left to live.
Some people open their box, others don't and put it away, maybe even throw it out without looking. Regardless, whatever is in your box is the truth. And breakups happen, or couples get married fast. Short-stringers, those with not much time, now have support groups and are discriminated against by long-stringers.

It was shocking because you just didn't know how the short-stringers would die. The book is told from different POVs, and the guy with the shortest string (Hank) would die within the year. I thought he'd die in like an epilogue or something. But it was almost the middle of the book, and a main character was already gone. He was shot during a campaign. Just like that.
Other shocking things included Nina's sister Amie - who decided not to check her string, but her husband Ben knew he was a short stringer - died in a car accident with Ben, leaving behind their two children with Nina.
And these two young men who were friends and training to be in the army had different fates. The govt decided that short-stringers would not be sent to war, and the trainees would have to present their strings. But out of the two friends, the short-stringer (Javi) really wanted to go into the army, while the long-stringer (Jack) didn't. So they swapped strings before evaluations. And Javi died while serving.

 

[StrayMixx]

Spoiler: TW: kidnapping, human trafficking

idk what your definition of shocked is, exactly, but do super-dramatic fanfics count? It was a Luke Hemmings x OC fic I read a long time ago on Wattpad about Luke and the OC being held hostage as part of a human breeding project. The kidnapper (or the kidnapper's associate - it's the boss who kidnaps them) would keep the baby for herself. I mean, it had a happy ending (Luke and the OC get to keep the baby, the kidnapper is arrested, and his associate is murdered), but the way there was just... UGHHHHHHHHH so heart-wrenching! 0/10 would not recommend (unless you're into thrillers lol)

 

[Rengya_Utoma]

This manga revolving around gore and even worse things that I don't even want to think about in order to type them out. It was an interesting read.

I emailed the author to tell them to never write manga ever again but they never replied. I'm sure they saw it though

 

[dark_tranquility]

This manga revolving around gore and even worse things that I don't even want to think about in order to type them out. It was an interesting read.

I emailed the author to tell them to never write manga ever again but they never replied. I'm sure they saw it though

like strong guro or just the average gore???

 

[Ahsoka]

Probably. The only one that comes to mind right now is I Am Legend which is a bit surpring but not full on a shocking imo. Especially when I processed the meaning of said ending more later.

 

[Rengya_Utoma]

like strong guro or just the average gore???

Wayyyy too strong guro. And it was the weird and disgusting fetish kind 🤮

 

[dark_tranquility]

Wayyyy too strong guro. And it was the weird and disgusting fetish kind 🤮

oh yuck stop reading that then.

 

[seungfloral]

When I first read i.t. by stephen king.

I was like this is awesome but also confronting asf

the movie cuts out a lot of the book, which is a shame.

Oh for real? I hate when they do that

 

[dark_tranquility]

Oh for real? I hate when they do that

They even cheapened out on the tortoise who had universe feet and it being an actual spider.

 

[seungfloral]

They even cheapened out on the tortoise who had universe feet and it being an actual spider.

Wow that's a difference

 

[seungfloral]

So I read The Measure by Nikki Erlick last month. Everyone aged 22 and up are delivered a box on the same day, and inside the box is a string that when measured lets the person know how many years they have left to live.
Some people open their box, others don't and put it away, maybe even throw it out without looking. Regardless, whatever is in your box is the truth. And breakups happen, or couples get married fast. Short-stringers, those with not much time, now have support groups and are discriminated against by long-stringers.

It was shocking because you just didn't know how the short-stringers would die. The book is told from different POVs, and the guy with the shortest string (Hank) would die within the year. I thought he'd die in like an epilogue or something. But it was almost the middle of the book, and a main character was already gone. He was shot during a campaign. Just like that.
Other shocking things included Nina's sister Amie - who decided not to check her string, but her husband Ben knew he was a short stringer - died in a car accident with Ben, leaving behind their two children with Nina.
And these two young men who were friends and training to be in the army had different fates. The govt decided that short-stringers would not be sent to war, and the trainees would have to present their strings. But out of the two friends, the short-stringer (Javi) really wanted to go into the army, while the long-stringer (Jack) didn't. So they swapped strings before evaluations. And Javi died while serving.

Well Javi really pulled the short end of the stick xD

Interesting concept. I would def look at it, to know how much i have with my family

 

[seungfloral]

Spoiler: TW: kidnapping, human trafficking

idk what your definition of shocked is, exactly, but do super-dramatic fanfics count? It was a Luke Hemmings x OC fic I read a long time ago on Wattpad about Luke and the OC being held hostage as part of a human breeding project. The kidnapper (or the kidnapper's associate - it's the boss who kidnaps them) would keep the baby for herself. I mean, it had a happy ending (Luke and the OC get to keep the baby, the kidnapper is arrested, and his associate is murdered), but the way there was just... UGHHHHHHHHH so heart-wrenching! 0/10 would not recommend (unless you're into thrillers lol)

Im into tgrillers but not into luke henmings xD

 

[seungfloral]

This manga revolving around gore and even worse things that I don't even want to think about in order to type them out. It was an interesting read.

I emailed the author to tell them to never write manga ever again but they never replied. I'm sure they saw it though

Some ppl enjoy it, idk why ....

 

[Tickita]

Interesting concept. I would def look at it, to know how much i have with my family

Hm I don't think I would unless something major happens, health-wise. But that may never come because I could die in good health... so I possibly would just store the box somewhere and forget about it.

 

[Pirioca]

Not shocked but surprised, after I read Morgan Robertson's 'Futility' by myself (I only read about it before). The rather detailed book describes the sinking of a ship called 'Titan', after it collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

You may ask now: "What's so special? Someone copied the true story of the Titanic?"

The point is that 'Futility (Wreck of the Titan)' was first published in 1898. But the Titanic disaster was 1912!

- Both ships collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic due to excessive speed and both ships had too few lifeboats.
- Both were launched in April and their disasters happened in the same month.
- Both were the largest ship afloat. The Titan was described as one of man’s greatest works. The Titanic was deemed unsinkable and a wonder of its era.
- Both had a displacement of 45,000 tons.
- Both had three propellers and two masts.

- Titan was 800 feet long, weighed 45,000 tons; Titanic, 880 feet long, weighed 46,328 tons.
- Titan had 40,000 horsepower; Titanic, 45,000 horsepower.
- Titan’s speed, 25 knots; Titanic’s, 24 knots.

Sinking of the Titanic and the Titan – coincidence?

Cruise History: The sinking of the actual RMS Titanic and the fictitious sinking of the Titan. ...

www.cruiselinehistory.com

 

[seungfloral]

Not shocked but surprised, after I read Morgan Robertson's 'Futility' by myself (I only read about it before). The rather detailed book describes the sinking of a ship called 'Titan', after it collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

You may ask now: "What's so special? Someone copied the true story of the Titanic?"

The point is that 'Futility (Wreck of the Titan)' was first published in 1898. But the Titanic disaster was 1912!

Sinking of the Titanic and the Titan – coincidence?

Cruise History: The sinking of the actual RMS Titanic and the fictitious sinking of the Titan. ...

www.cruiselinehistory.com

Oh i heard about this. Kinda funny but ominous

 

[Selfmate]

The Rape of Nanking

 

[seungfloral]

The Rape of Nanking

Yeah, that'll shock u