Ann asked whether there were some stories (not fanfic) that make you literally sick. Well, no.
not that extreme. But a couple have left me distressed, partly becasue they were so well written, and so I took them seriously. They just left me down for a while after I'd read them. ("forced reads" in both cases, so I couldn't not read them (obedient person that I am <g>) Definitely Great Expectations, which I read as a teenager - it left me feeling that women would be betrayed unless they were airheads. Not an easy thought for a 15 year old to handle.
More recently - Clara Callan - just so very dark and sad.
Cold Mountain - actaully not - it was so beautifully written and yet there was a sadness in the cadence of the language which foreshadowed the ending. Maybe i was just in a sad place , but somehow I knew how it was going to end. And I thought, yeah, that's how it goes. and yet there was a glimmer at the end of hope, not for what we wanted, but for what was still good, and so an unexpected gift.
but fanfiction! Don't get me started. <g>
