I’ve read the book everyone wants to ban, and it’s way more disturbing than I thought

I vehemently reject the concept of banning books, but if there’s one novel that brought me close to changing my mind, it’s Dennis Cooper’s The Sluts.

Written and published in 2004, The Sluts is unique in that it’s an epistolary novel. That means it’s a collection of things like letters, diary entries, or newspaper clippings, and not a traditional chapter-based novel. In this case, it’s entries on a gay-focused forum site for escorts and those who hire them.

I read the book after seeing it on TikTok, and though I usually power through chunky novels full of dark themes, controversial motifs, and questionable morals, this had me taking mental health breaks.

Trigger warning: This article contains references to assault, sexual assault, mutilation, drug use, and other potentially triggering themes. 

What’s Dennis Cooper’s The Sluts actually about?

Credit: Amazon

Set in the summer of 2001, The Sluts gives us a peek inside an internet forum where people exchange reviews about gay escorts. One potentially underage escort in particular, Brad, is massively popular, with customers speaking of erratic behaviour, his addiction to narcotics, and a willingness to do literally anything. Take the worst x-rated activity you can imagine, and times it by 10.

The “Brad saga” grows more and more disturbing with each passing page. It’s alleged that he has terminal cancer, at which point a man takes him in to pay for his treatment under one condition: That he pimps him out. His ultimate fantasy is to murder Brad mid-intercourse, he tells him. He lets various men do unspeakable things to his charge, which he then shares with like-minded people on the forum.

Over the coming months, the Brad saga spirals out of control in exceedingly insidious ways. I’m talking about graphic descriptions of domination, mid-intercourse mutilation, sexual assault, and some of the most extreme acts I’ve ever read about. Some I didn’t even think were possible.

@nicolereads98

Will be uploading a vlog of me reading this! #denniscooper #booktok #disturbingbooks #weirdbooks #bookrecommendations

♬ original sound – slztwrist

But there’s also intrigue, a mystery to be solved, and elements of dark comedy. Multiple people are claiming to be Brad, and you don’t see the truth of the matter coming until those final few pages.

Why’s it coming back now?

Given that The Sluts came out over 20 years ago, it’s a bit random that it’s suddenly going viral now. On Twitter, posts about the controversial book are racking up millions of views, likes, and interactions.

On TikTok, it’s being spoken about as well. Jack Edwards, a BookToker and Esquire’s literary editor, told his 910k followers that he felt “sick” to his stomach after reading it.

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“It’s difficult, and it’s messy, and it’s complex, but if you ever hear me recommending this to someone, know I’ve been abducted by aliens,” he said.

@jack_edwards

I read 14 books in May (sorry the video is a tad late) so here’s my ratings and reviews 📚📚📚 Books mentioned: Dominion by Addie E Citchens The Wreck by Lizzy Stewart The Sluts by Dennis Cooper Fruit Fly by Josh Silver The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers Life of M by Rachel Cusk John of John by Douglas Stuart At Sea by YM Abdel-Magied Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke The Witch by Marie NDiaye (tr. Jordan Stump) The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar (tr. Ruth Martin) On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia (tr. Padma Viswanathan) Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi (tr. Lin King) She Who Remains by Rene Karabash (tr. Izidora Angel)

♬ original sound – Jack Edwards

Personally, I think the book has resurfaced for one solid reason: People enjoy testing their boundaries. It’s one of the few shameless books that delve into a subject matter so obscene, so violent, and yet, so prevalent in queer communities. It might have been published 20 years ago, but it’s still relevant to this day.

The controversial nature of the novel also has to be considered. As we’ve seen time and time again, banned or controversial books get people talking. Though The Sluts has not been officially banned, it’s been confiscated at airports, and the author had his Google account removed.

In the words of Dennis Cooper himself: “When I started writing, I was a sick teenaged f*ck inside who partly thought I was the new Marquis de Sade, a body doomed to communicate with Satan who was using my sickness as his home away from home, and there’s your proof.”

My honest thoughts on the controversial book

Reading Dennis Cooper The Sluts in public but shaking your head the whole time so everyone knows you disagree https://t.co/KHxtDPOtTc

— Gay Interrupted (@TwinkTheory) January 25, 2026

Again, I don’t believe in banning books. It’s a slippery slope, and once that line is drawn, everything is on the chopping block. However, this is not a book I could knowingly recommend to someone, even though it did win the Lambda Literary Award and the Sade Prize. For me, it relied too much on graphic depictions of violence and shock factor.

I gave it three stars out of five, but as I’m writing this, I’m realising that I still think about this book to this day. Though the reasons it keeps coming back to me are traumatic, isn’t that the making of any good novel? Being remembered?

I’ll let you know when I figure it out.

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Featured image credit: TikTok