Gabriel Tallent knows his book ‘My Absolute Darling’ is painful to read. For him, that’s the point.

Author Gabriel Tallent has a theory about literature: "I think good books ask us to be courageous readers."

It's an apt suggestion, especially with his debut novel My Absolute Darling.

The book follows a 14-year-old girl, Turtle Alveston, who lives in northern California as she...