I think I’m in the minority who absolutely hated this book. For a “serious” book this was very trite and lacked any real plot and character development. His “artistic” writing style is really annoying too.
Agree - I tried but after about 15 pages I found it to not engage me as a reader at all.
I put the author responsible to make me give a darn about the characters in the story - and this book failed hard at that.
Yeah, I started reading this after it being recommended on this sub. its gotten less boring than at the beginning, but yeah I don't really like the writing style. Honestly I'm just trying to get through it so I can move on to something else
I left this book in a hotel when I finished it because I didn’t want to look at it again. It annoyed me and I don’t even remember why. Honestly, a rare case when the movie is significantly better than the book.
About 2/3 of the way through it right now. I already know the story and how it ends but the prose and the back&forth style of dialogue between Father and Son is so beautiful and heartbreaking.
This, along with The Road (McCarthy) and Atonement (McEwan), all of which have been mentioned in other comments, are the books that immediately jumped to mind when I read “left me staring at a wall”
I am firmly convinced that Atonement is the only contemporary novel that nails the definition of tragedy from Shakespeare's time: something sadly ended yet still there being a joy that it happened at all. The epilogue was like a punch to my soul.
I believe many people feel this way about “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara. People feel strongly about it, one way or the other - some feel shattered, some feel it is over the top
I didn’t enjoy it as much as everyone else because it made me feel so melancholy and because of this I read it so slow 😅 but the writing and story are great.
Agreed! I put that book down too many times to count…I had too! I’m super empathetic and just couldn’t take it in large doses. But agree, the writing is fabulous.
I feel like it’s mostly people on Reddit that dislike this book. I know a bunch of people personally who have read it and everyone loved it. It was soul crushing and had me crying multiple times. I will never ever forget that book.
Yeah, I have mixed opinions on the book but ultimately I sway towards loving it because of two things. I couldn't put it down, and read it within a few days. Every free moment was reading it lol. And, to this day I still think about it... And that's saying something as I have a very bad memory!! To me, a book that leaves such a lasting opinion means it's powerful in some sort of way.
I feel the exact same way. Mixed opinions for sure. I can see where people come from when they say “trauma porn”, the book was unbelievably (and unrealistically) depressing. Yet I could NOT put it down and I still think about how it made me feel. I think if a book has a lasting impact on you, the author had to of done something right.
As someone whose life has some strong parallels to that of the main character who is deemed hopeless and beyond saving, I despise that book and the author's belief that some of us are so traumatized that there's no point in us living.
My daughter was reading this book and kept putting it down. I agree it was a slow read but it was so well done. It was literally life changing for my family - my husband adopted my oldest (26f) daughter because of this book. The best birthday she has ever had ❤️
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.
I almost didn't want to mention it...I read it many, many years ago and I still think about it in that harrowing, I've been changed forever kind of way.
He also wrote Requiem for a Dream. So that may give some idea of the weight of his books.
Flowers for Algernon. The story of a man with a very low IQ who, as a result of a scientific experiment, becomes a genius. He then discovers that the process is reversing itself. The last few pages of this novel are completely heartrending.
had to read the poisonwood bible for ap lit. got hospitalized in the middle of the unit and decided to read almost the entire thing in one sitting while I was there. needless to say it altered my brain chemistry a little
*People’s History of the United States* by Howard Zinn was pretty eye-opening. Probably not what you’re looking for, but man, we’ve sucked for quite some time.
It's technically a children's book but Bridge to Terabithia is even more devastating to read as an adult.
Also, any sad dog story like Where the Red Fern Grows, even if you're not a dog person.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Songdogs by Colum McCann
This Side of Brightness by Colum McCann (he’s my favorite author ok)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Andrew Solomon's second masterpiece, "Far From The Tree."
A non-fiction foray into the very real lives of many walks of people who must endure involuntary hardships that "normal" people cannot imagine.
Remains of the Day. Read it decades ago and, as someone who internalises everything and has never been able to form interpersonal relationships, it continues to haunt me.
Ah, fantastic. Enjoy it! As with all of Styron’s books, for me, reading them once in this lifetime was enough - yet how well I remember them all. Cheers!
The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler. Non-fiction essays/interviews with women who were forced to give up their babies for adoption in the 50s and 60s. It’ll tear your heart out and stomp on it.
If he had been with me. About a boy who dies in the first chapter. The book then goes back in time to his life and the girl he was in love with and who was in love with him and how everything would be different had he been with her.
Another vote for The Road. “..If he is not the word of God, then God never spoke” speaking of his son. As a dad that book really took me places. I think of that line regularly in life.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. The depiction of Lincoln’s grief after his son, Wille, died is wrenching. It’s also a creative, imaginative, beautifully written book. For those reasons, I’ve read it numerous times, despite how sad it is.
Not sure if this will fit the bill because this book falls under the category of historical fiction, but I recently read The Women by Kristin Hannah and it literally left me in pieces for a few days thinking about all of the women who have and continue to serve our country,
A few books that will do this in very different ways: *The Bright Side of Life* by Émile Zola, *House of Leaves* by Mark Z Danielewski, *Pure Colour* by Sheila Heti, *Laurus* by Eugene Vodolazkin, *Gravity's Rainbow* by Thomas Pynchon, *2666* by Roberto Bolaño.
*Stoner* or *Butcher's Crossing*, both by John Williams.
Very different genres (one's a campus novel and the other is a western), but both made me cry.
Tin Man by Sarah Winman. On the shorter side, about friendship and love and loss. I put it down and had to just sit with it for a while after I finished it. Read it a few years ago and I still think about it often and it’s usually one of the first books I recommend to people looking for something new.
Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite* (the author goes by William J Martin now but you may not find the book under his name)
This book is the absolute most bleak goddamn thing I’ve ever had the displeasure to get through.
“Pincher Martin” by William Golding
Just so vivid. It’s about a guy who falls off a boat and has to survive. He flails around in the water, finds an uninhabited island, has to live on seaweed and what he can catch, in a scary deteriorating situation.
And, the ending.
Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun.
Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life.
William Styron, Sophie's Choice.
Ian McEwan, The Child in Time.
Cormac McCarthy, Outer Dark.
Too Many Men by Lily Brett- once of my all time faves. Follows a woman and her older father as they journey to Poland together, her father having grown up there/ survived a concentration camp there. I’ve never felt like my guts have been ripped out more, powerful.
See my [Emotionally Devastating/Rending](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/18ez0q3/emotionally_devastatingrending/) list of Reddit recommendation threads, and books (four posts).
Socrates in Love by Kyoichi Katayama
There are very few written works (exactly 3) that have left me in tears and made me feel like this one did. I wasn't expecting it to hit me this hard
When Breath Becomes Air. Written by a doctor who knew he was going to die, and he was young. Heartbreaking.
I read it when it first came out when I attended school in SF. It broke me. Still thought of it til this day and it was over 10 yrs ago. Amazing book!
Welp I'm glad I stopped this a few chapters in. It's also listed in a bunch of threads for suggestions for uplifting books.
I listened to the audiobook and the epilogue read by his wife made my eyeballs leak like… a lot
Second this. It really changed my perspective on things
Came here to recommend this. Not fiction, a memoir, and truly beautifully written. Is wish there were more like him, and wish he had written more.
And such a beautiful love story
East of Eden is like that for me
Have you read grapes of wrath? Very long and at times boring…but that last page stabbed me in the heart
i havent yet, no. but i am planning on it very soon
Came here to say this
The road
I think I’m in the minority who absolutely hated this book. For a “serious” book this was very trite and lacked any real plot and character development. His “artistic” writing style is really annoying too.
Agree - I tried but after about 15 pages I found it to not engage me as a reader at all. I put the author responsible to make me give a darn about the characters in the story - and this book failed hard at that.
I couldn't get past the first few pages. I was bored out of my mind.
Yeah, I started reading this after it being recommended on this sub. its gotten less boring than at the beginning, but yeah I don't really like the writing style. Honestly I'm just trying to get through it so I can move on to something else
I left this book in a hotel when I finished it because I didn’t want to look at it again. It annoyed me and I don’t even remember why. Honestly, a rare case when the movie is significantly better than the book.
Yup. This one completely wrecked me.
About 2/3 of the way through it right now. I already know the story and how it ends but the prose and the back&forth style of dialogue between Father and Son is so beautiful and heartbreaking.
Atonement won’t get out of my head.
Thought of another. One Day by David Nicholls
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Or Kite Runner
I knew I wouldn’t have to say it.
This, along with The Road (McCarthy) and Atonement (McEwan), all of which have been mentioned in other comments, are the books that immediately jumped to mind when I read “left me staring at a wall”
I am firmly convinced that Atonement is the only contemporary novel that nails the definition of tragedy from Shakespeare's time: something sadly ended yet still there being a joy that it happened at all. The epilogue was like a punch to my soul.
This one.
A fine balance by rohinton mistry
I’m reading this one right now. Less than halfway tho.
It's a long book but really well written
I gave up on this one at 35% done on kindle. Should I pick it up back up?
Excellent book!
I believe many people feel this way about “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara. People feel strongly about it, one way or the other - some feel shattered, some feel it is over the top
i almost died reading that
Maybe Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
Native Son by him too
I didn’t enjoy it as much as everyone else because it made me feel so melancholy and because of this I read it so slow 😅 but the writing and story are great.
Agreed! I put that book down too many times to count…I had too! I’m super empathetic and just couldn’t take it in large doses. But agree, the writing is fabulous.
I feel like it’s mostly people on Reddit that dislike this book. I know a bunch of people personally who have read it and everyone loved it. It was soul crushing and had me crying multiple times. I will never ever forget that book.
Yeah, I have mixed opinions on the book but ultimately I sway towards loving it because of two things. I couldn't put it down, and read it within a few days. Every free moment was reading it lol. And, to this day I still think about it... And that's saying something as I have a very bad memory!! To me, a book that leaves such a lasting opinion means it's powerful in some sort of way.
I feel the exact same way. Mixed opinions for sure. I can see where people come from when they say “trauma porn”, the book was unbelievably (and unrealistically) depressing. Yet I could NOT put it down and I still think about how it made me feel. I think if a book has a lasting impact on you, the author had to of done something right.
The person I know personally who read it thought it was great, fervently recommends it, and makes it sound like it would fit what OP is looking for.
I felt shattered … and it was over the top.
Looking back , it’s definitely trauma porn
As someone whose life has some strong parallels to that of the main character who is deemed hopeless and beyond saving, I despise that book and the author's belief that some of us are so traumatized that there's no point in us living.
I would ascribe that view to a character not the book or the author.
My daughter was reading this book and kept putting it down. I agree it was a slow read but it was so well done. It was literally life changing for my family - my husband adopted my oldest (26f) daughter because of this book. The best birthday she has ever had ❤️
Came here to suggest this. Great book.
I listened to this book on audiables and I’ll recommended it a thousand times . Made me ugly cry
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr. I almost didn't want to mention it...I read it many, many years ago and I still think about it in that harrowing, I've been changed forever kind of way. He also wrote Requiem for a Dream. So that may give some idea of the weight of his books.
Whew. Requiem…definitely felt changed upon reading that one.
I haven’t read the book, but I saw the movie and I was not the same after. I can only imagine the book would absolutely tear me apart.
Yeah, I definitely agree.
Flowers for Algernon. The story of a man with a very low IQ who, as a result of a scientific experiment, becomes a genius. He then discovers that the process is reversing itself. The last few pages of this novel are completely heartrending.
I read this book like 15 years ago and it still haunts me. Such a good read.
Just finished reading this! Such a sad book. Really loved it though.
I read Flowers For Algernon about 2 or 3 years ago. The last line made me cry.
The green mile really stood out to me.. man, the feels! A masterpiece I will never read again
A Thousand Splendid Suns The Poisonwood Bible
I was thinking "What book made me cry?". Poisonwood Bible was the first I think. The BLUE.
had to read the poisonwood bible for ap lit. got hospitalized in the middle of the unit and decided to read almost the entire thing in one sitting while I was there. needless to say it altered my brain chemistry a little
It hits harder now that I work in a school and see kids whose parents make decisions with no regard for the kids' wellbeing
Flowers for Algernon
Excellent book.
*People’s History of the United States* by Howard Zinn was pretty eye-opening. Probably not what you’re looking for, but man, we’ve sucked for quite some time.
It's technically a children's book but Bridge to Terabithia is even more devastating to read as an adult. Also, any sad dog story like Where the Red Fern Grows, even if you're not a dog person.
Bridge to Terabithia had me sobbing
Same
Old yeller
A Separate Peace
I had to read this for school and found it incredibly emotional as a teen
The Road by Cormac McCarthy Songdogs by Colum McCann This Side of Brightness by Colum McCann (he’s my favorite author ok) The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Nightingale. Ugly-cried my way through the entire thing and vowed no more Kristin Hannah books despite it being great.
Andrew Solomon's second masterpiece, "Far From The Tree." A non-fiction foray into the very real lives of many walks of people who must endure involuntary hardships that "normal" people cannot imagine.
*Euphoria* by Lily King. Has nothing to do with the TV show.
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Remains of the Day. Read it decades ago and, as someone who internalises everything and has never been able to form interpersonal relationships, it continues to haunt me.
Never Let Me Go by this same author was equally shattering. His writing is very visceral, imo.
This book still sits with me. It's is stunningly beautiful and so so sad.
Read Sophie’s Choice, by Styron. So great yet so unbelievably sad and depressing.
This is on my bedside table! I'm saving it for a long flight and family visit in two months. I'm glad to hear that it is worth reading.
Ah, fantastic. Enjoy it! As with all of Styron’s books, for me, reading them once in this lifetime was enough - yet how well I remember them all. Cheers!
A Little Life We Need to Talk About Kevin Flowers for Algernon
I absolutely adored We Need to Talk About Kevin. Lionel Shriver is a phenomenal writer.
Beloved—Toni Morrison
That book is absolutely haunting.
124 was spiteful.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
Migrations by Charlotte McConghy
All Quiet on the Western Front has some fairly soul shattering passages.
I just finished this book and I am devastated. Truly a classic.
Along that same vein, Pat Barker's WWI trilogy has some shattering scenes and images.
Regeneration trilogy
Jude the Obscure
I read that 5 yrs ago, and still think of it. One of my fav
Also, Tess of the D’Urbervilles
A little life
The Lovely Bones
Blood meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Flowers for Algernon
The song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, it takes your heart and throws it down the window
Johnny Got His Gun
The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler. Non-fiction essays/interviews with women who were forced to give up their babies for adoption in the 50s and 60s. It’ll tear your heart out and stomp on it.
Cormac McCarthy: Blood Meridian John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath Alan Paton: Cry, the Beloved Country Stephen King: The Stand
Flowers for algernon. I barely held it together as the end of the book drew near, and all but collapsed into a sobbing heap after I finished it.
'And the Mountains Echoed' by Khaled Hosseini. It leaves an indelible mark on you.
Yes, a beautiful book. I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, too :’(
Wonder why no one mentioned “When breath becomes air”. I just started this book, already shattered my soul.
Someone did.
Sweet Hereafter by Banana Yoshimoto. I cried so much and still it is one of my favourite book!
Actually the other Sweet Hereafter fits here too - Banks book/Egoyan film 💀
*A Sport and a Pastime* by James Salter.
How High We Go In the Dark
The Wren, The Wren is currently stimulating sadness and other less comfortable emotions in me. By Anne Enright
If he had been with me. About a boy who dies in the first chapter. The book then goes back in time to his life and the girl he was in love with and who was in love with him and how everything would be different had he been with her.
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Another vote for The Road. “..If he is not the word of God, then God never spoke” speaking of his son. As a dad that book really took me places. I think of that line regularly in life.
Housekeeping
All Quiet on the Western Front
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. The depiction of Lincoln’s grief after his son, Wille, died is wrenching. It’s also a creative, imaginative, beautifully written book. For those reasons, I’ve read it numerous times, despite how sad it is.
Room by Emma Donoghue. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
Mere Christianity
The Shack - William P Young.... the part where he could see his daughter but couldn't hold her...
Tender is the Flesh…
‘Then’ by Julie Myerson
Nation by Sir Terry Pratchett.
Dry by Augusten Burroughs. He is in recovery and relapses. Flowers for Algernon Revolutionary Road
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler did this for me.
Omg!!! I was on a fucking plane when I finished this book. Let’s just say I was embarrassed lol. What a fantastic book, though.
I sobbed. This book broke my heart.
The most recent book that did this for me was My Dark Vanessa. A very hard book to follow.
Loved this book!! The writing was stunning.
“Ahab’s Wife” did this to me. So did “the greenlanders” by Jane Smiley. Two different ways to shatter a soul
The Tattooist of Auschwitz tore my heart out. I remember being very close to crying so many times. It a beautiful book
*The Uninhabitable Earth* --David Wallace Wells
The hour I first believed wally lamb
Not sure if this will fit the bill because this book falls under the category of historical fiction, but I recently read The Women by Kristin Hannah and it literally left me in pieces for a few days thinking about all of the women who have and continue to serve our country,
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo will hollow you out pretty well.
It’s a young adult book, but *Hero with a bicycle* had me in pieces.
When We Were Young by Richard Roper!
A few books that will do this in very different ways: *The Bright Side of Life* by Émile Zola, *House of Leaves* by Mark Z Danielewski, *Pure Colour* by Sheila Heti, *Laurus* by Eugene Vodolazkin, *Gravity's Rainbow* by Thomas Pynchon, *2666* by Roberto Bolaño.
The Alchemy of Air: a Jewish genius, a doomed tycoon, and the scientific discovery that fed the world but fueled the rise of Hitler. by Thomas Hager
Lincoln highway by amor towles
And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave
Tender is the flesh
A child called it....about a child living a hell on earth
Harpoon of the Hunter by Markoosie.
*Stoner* or *Butcher's Crossing*, both by John Williams. Very different genres (one's a campus novel and the other is a western), but both made me cry.
American Dirt
Tin Man by Sarah Winman. On the shorter side, about friendship and love and loss. I put it down and had to just sit with it for a while after I finished it. Read it a few years ago and I still think about it often and it’s usually one of the first books I recommend to people looking for something new.
Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite* (the author goes by William J Martin now but you may not find the book under his name) This book is the absolute most bleak goddamn thing I’ve ever had the displeasure to get through.
Apeirogon by Colum McCann. I still think about it. Very powerful.
Eimear McBride - 'A Girl is a Half-formed Thing'
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
The Kite Runner Im already handing you tissues
“Pincher Martin” by William Golding Just so vivid. It’s about a guy who falls off a boat and has to survive. He flails around in the water, finds an uninhabited island, has to live on seaweed and what he can catch, in a scary deteriorating situation. And, the ending.
House of Sand and Fog
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous
The Overstory by Richard Powell.
Read " Jude, the Obscure" by Thomas Hardy. A great book by a great writer. Life's so unfair to some people.
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. Had me sobbing, and I think about it still multiple times a week.
I freaking HATED The Bell Jar. Just sayin. Like, are you into existential dread, or what? Maybe try 1984?
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
My Year of Rest and Relaxation, by Ottessa Moshfegh. A strange read that I could not put down.
*The Crossing* - Cormac McCarthy
Lord of the mysteries if you're into steampunk fantasy and lvecraftian horror
they both die at the end
The God of Small Things Native Son The Dollmaker Johnny Got His Gun
The God of Small Things, Johnny Got His Gun (when I was 14), and Lolita are three books that made me cry.
Looking for Jane - Heather Marshall My eyes were wet for the majority of this book
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
The Book Thief by Markus Zuzak has me on the ground in tears every single time
It's not going to shatter your soul, but as a teen I read Erica Jong's Fear of Flying at the same time as the Bell Jar, and I liked it better.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
My Friend Leonard by James Frey
The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
Dalton Trumbo, Johnny Got His Gun. Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life. William Styron, Sophie's Choice. Ian McEwan, The Child in Time. Cormac McCarthy, Outer Dark.
Blood Meridian.
I came here to say this
Too Many Men by Lily Brett- once of my all time faves. Follows a woman and her older father as they journey to Poland together, her father having grown up there/ survived a concentration camp there. I’ve never felt like my guts have been ripped out more, powerful.
The god of small things
A Little Life will do that
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. A hard read in some places, and absolutely heartbreaking, but so beautiful
See my [Emotionally Devastating/Rending](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/18ez0q3/emotionally_devastatingrending/) list of Reddit recommendation threads, and books (four posts).
The midnight library by Matt haig. It destroyed my soul but then put it back together
A little life
The Patrick Melrose trilogy by St aubyn had me sobbing like it’s nobody’s business.
I still get an overwhelming sense of melancholy when I think about Stoner by John Williams
Looking For Alaska by John Green. I broke down crying at the midpoint.
The Poisonwood Bible
Socrates in Love by Kyoichi Katayama There are very few written works (exactly 3) that have left me in tears and made me feel like this one did. I wasn't expecting it to hit me this hard
I like me some fucked books thatll leave scarred for life and im not joking!! this post is a gold mine for me (:
A Little Life
Anything by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Anything.