An incomplete list of books I had to stop reading because I was sure terrible things were going to happen to the central characters

In reverse chronological order of my reading them:

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Mortals by Norman Rush
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
The Tax Inspector by Peter Carey
The Tin Drum by Günter Grass
Native Son by Richard Wright
The Whispering Mountain by Joan Aiken