# The Most Disgusting Works Ever Written **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 15, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204 "2010-10-15T01:44:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/21 "2010-10-15T04:23:21Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > Holy shit, that’s **Curtis**? When did this happen? [Not too long ago.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=581639) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/22 "2010-10-15T04:33:06Z")
Yeah, you might want to put “The Poster formerly known as **Curtis LeMay** ” in your sig for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/23 "2010-10-15T04:51:20Z")
Well, maybe it isn’t The Very Most Disgusting, but it does give you a run for your money. So under the circumstances, check out Su Tong’s [My Life as Emperor](http://mclc.osu.edu/rc/pubs/reviews/cai.htm). The review doesn’t really reveal what a great author Su Tong is; or how clever this post is. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/24 "2010-10-15T05:21:52Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I never really thought that the Marquis de Sade was all that disturbing. I read some of his stuff back in undergrad and was actually kind of surprised by how un-shocked I was by it. Are you sure you actually read the worst of it? Because some of it is fairly mundane S&M stuff, not that shocking, but his most depraved stuff is so extreme and so far beyind the pale that if it doesn’t shock you, I can’t imagine what would. I mean if the rape, torture and murders of toddlers isn’t shocking then what the hell is? De Sade, at his worst, pushed things to the most extreme levels possible. I read quite a bit of him in college (a friend of mine had a complete works which he was morbidly fascinated with), and it seemed like he progressively was trying to outdo himself by making things more and more extreme and shocking – like he had to work more and more to give himself the stimulation that he wanted. There is stuff just as bad (if more poorly written) on the internet, but there is a base level that it’s hard to get beneath. The odd thing is that De Sade’s work was not utterly valueless. He wrote some philosophical (non-pornographic) pieces that are fairly interesting and rationally sound. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/25 "2010-10-15T05:24:38Z")
Incidentally, there is currently a movie going around called [A Serbian Film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Serbian_Film) which might well be the answer to the OP’s question if asked about movies. The wiki description alone will scar your brain. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/26 "2010-10-15T05:27:21Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > [A Serbian Film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Serbian_Film) Wow. Now _that_’s a movie! ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/27 "2010-10-15T05:57:23Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > No mass imprisonments of nubile youths and grandiose experiments of decadent filth. No mass murders. He was not a good man by any means, but we’ve had criminals rot in prisons, names forgotten by all, who’ve done worse. Which brings me to a book I own but can’t bring myself to read… THE TRIAL OF GILLES DE RAIS. I win. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/28 "2010-10-15T06:14:29Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > > [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > > > No mass imprisonments of nubile youths and grandiose experiments of decadent filth. No mass murders. He was not a good man by any means, but we’ve had criminals rot in prisons, names forgotten by all, who’ve done worse. > > Which brings me to a book I own but can’t bring myself to read… > > THE TRIAL OF GILLES DE RAIS. > > I win. I own and I’ve read it. But I read it years after I went through a great deal of Sade’s work so I think I am rather numb to it and to the Marquis. Bataille (the author of the Gilles de Rais book) does a great job of chronicling the trial and all the related documents. In some ways, _Helter Skelter_ was more shocking to me. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/29 "2010-10-15T13:43:25Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > > [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > > [A Serbian Film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Serbian_Film) > > Wow. > > Now _that_’s a movie! I haven’t been around this forum long enough to know what topics may or may not be discussed, but this _is_ a fairly powerful film which is an allegory to an indictment of the Serbian government. Its just that most people can’t beyond the horrific violence (justifiably so). Having seen too many shock films, this is just another in a long line… Not as bad as _Irreversible_, IMHO ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/30 "2010-10-15T14:52:16Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I never really thought that the Marquis de Sade was all that disturbing. I read some of his stuff back in undergrad and was actually kind of surprised by how un-shocked I was by it. I like the way his daughter sings. . . ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/31 "2010-10-15T15:20:05Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > While I thankfully haven’t read Marquis de Sade Don’t; you’re too young. Both legally and physically. Seriously. You’re 15 now, yes? You’re most unlikely to have yet developed the maturity to deal with such stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/32 "2010-10-15T15:25:33Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > The Bible I knew someone would say this, and it’s not quite fair. For one thing the Bible is not the work of a single author and was not composed at a single time; for another it’s quite variable. The pure genocidal sadism of Yahweh of the first five books, in particular, does not hold throughout the entire canon. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/33 "2010-10-15T15:34:22Z")
It reemerges, to a degree, in Revelation, albeit with Jersus doing the slaughtering. The Bible is far from the worst book ever. It’s a compendium of all kinds of ancient literature and reflects a lot of archaic cultural attitudes which no longer hold any water 2000 years later, but it also expresses some sublime, timeless wisdom full of heart, soul and compassion. The Bible contains both the best and worst that humans have to offer because it was produced by a people, not a person. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/34 "2010-10-15T15:37:09Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > What books, or manuscripts do you think are the most disgusting and depraved ever written? > > While I thankfully haven’t read Marquis de Sade, even Wikipedia’s descriptions make me ill. His work isn’t just vulgar or obscene but sadistic, inhuman, and graphic to the point of making it parodic and comedic (ie like _Itchy and Scratchy_’s gratutious violence) if de Sade wasn’t being serious. Hell, even Agent Trower’s favourite novel _Hogg_ probably is only tenth as perverted and depraved as de Sade’s mildest works. It is unfortunate that this man was not purged from the Earth for he was an utter moral corruption to humanity. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis\_de\_Sade\_bibliography](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Sade_bibliography) The last time someone recommended a book to you, the whole board imploded, and \*\*Argent Towers \*\*was cast into the outer darkness - so now we get no Renaissance armour pictures. Maybe you should try _Podkayne of Mars_. > [@Chakra Nadmara](#): > > [Vomit some more.](http://www.amazon.com/Allergy-Free-Desserts-Gluten-free-Dairy-free-Egg-free/dp/0470448466) Looks good - Thanks. \*Bakin’ without Eggs \*is really good, if you’re egg-allergic > [@Chefguy](#): > > I like the way his daughter sings. . . Brings a whole new context to _Smooth Operator_. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/35 "2010-10-15T15:38:18Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It reemerges, to a degree, in Revelation, albeit with Jersus doing the slaughtering. I know, **Dio**. I didn’t mean that the character of Yahweh gets less violent the further you go into the Bible. Clearly it does not. Exodus and Joshua have a God far worse than that in Genesis, and God of Jonah is largely a trickster who goes out of his way to avoid killing anybody. It goes up and down. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/36 "2010-10-15T15:38:43Z")
Everyone Poops ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/37 "2010-10-15T15:40:27Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > > [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > > > While I thankfully haven’t read Marquis de Sade > > Don’t; you’re too young. Both legally and physically. Seriously. You’re 15 now, yes? You’re most unlikely to have yet developed the maturity to deal with such stuff. I don’t think **Qin** is too young _legally_ to read de Sade. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/38 "2010-10-15T15:49:06Z")
Yawn. “I can’t be arsed to read it for myself, but I ‘heard about it’ somewhere else and it’s bad, mmmmmm’k?” ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/39 "2010-10-15T15:59:57Z")
Oh, come on. I know you guys are just having some fun with The Poster Formerly Known as Curtis, but the Bible? Seriously? Offensive, fine, but “disgusting”? No. The Bible is tame. I haven’t actually read any of de Sade, although it sounds like his stuff might be a prime contender. For recent lit, I’ll vote for Bret Easton Ellis’s _American Psycho_, which in addition to being totally revolting, was devoid of literary merit and is IMO the worst book I have ever read. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204/40 "2010-10-15T16:16:32Z")
As soon as I saw the title of this thread I thought of 120 Days of Sodom. I have read about half of it…way back when when it was easier to get a copy and I didn’t always know what was good for me. But the thing is, while the acts are immoral and horrifying and degenerate, the book itself is…less so. It’s almost like reading A Clockwork Orange…it’s so over the top after a while it all blends together and begins to look like a horrid comedy. Not a funny one, it’s hard to explain…but it’s so ridiculously over the top and so impossible in some situations it’s hard to remember that it’s not all just one big joke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-disgusting-works-ever-written/557204.md?page=3)