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Books that break your heart

146 replies

Moominfan · 04/12/2019 20:52

Colson whitehead under ground railroad. He brought out another book knickel boys and I just can't bring myself to read it.

Room- I started it and just knew I'd be thoroughly depressed by this book so shelved it.

OP posts:
ginghamstarfish · 21/12/2019 17:14

A Suitable Boy made me cry in parts, as did Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy - the third one I think, where Lyra and Pan had to do a certain thing ....

ginghamstarfish · 21/12/2019 17:12

Birds without Wings by Louis de Bernieres

IScreamForIceCreams · 21/12/2019 16:56

Oh Brothers Lionheart. I was about 9 when teacher read it in class. Stuck with me all these years. And a Dutch one - Het Hooge Nest. Filmrights bought by Carice van Houten.

YahooGmail · 21/12/2019 16:54

I've never cried reading a book. Definitely going to try some of these, could do with a good sob!

IScreamForIceCreams · 21/12/2019 16:54

Where rainbows end
Tully
The power of one

cwg1 · 21/12/2019 16:52

Cranford and Greyfriars Bobby.

darkriver19886 · 21/12/2019 16:41

Me before you. It gets me every time.

liberame · 21/12/2019 16:36

I hardly ever cry in books, but the two already mentioned that have got me are The Remains of the Day and One Day. To which I would add A Suitable Boy - such a quiet but heartbreaking depiction of lost love. More obscurely The Peacock Spring by Rumer Godden - one of my very favourite books, and such a sharp description of an awkward, spiky teenager finding and losing love.

Honeybee85 · 21/12/2019 16:24

Captain Corelli’s mandolin. So beautiful, so bittersweet.

A little life by Hanya Yanagihara. I couldn’t stop crying.

The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende. About a forbidden relationship decades ago between a Japanese men and a Caucasian woman. DH is Asian and I’m Caucasian and this book is very precious to me.

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende. It’s been 20 years since I’ve read this one, still one of the most beautiful and hauting novels I have ever read.

War and turpentine by by Stefan Hertmans. This one is relatively unknown and such an overlooked gem. Truly one of the best books I have read in years. The love that the author describes between a rich man’s daughter who marries a poor painter in 19th century Belgium and then becomes a widow is very very beautiful. Their son, the author’s grandfather becomes a soldier in WWI and his experiences, also later in life are heartbreaking. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good read during a cold winterday.

Charley50 · 21/12/2019 16:14

@AloneLonelyLoner - no you're not alone in that. I hated it and called it misery lit, same as you, or was it misery porn, can't remember.
There are quite a few of us who hated it.

I liked The Road too.

AloneLonelyLoner · 21/12/2019 14:43

Am I the only one who found A Little Life bloody awful?

I liked the prose, but I couldn't stand any of the characters and I couldn't give a hoot about any of them even by the end. A misery memoir.

The Road is one of my all-time favourites and always moves me.

sauvignonblancplz · 21/12/2019 14:43

Yes to: A Thousand Splendid Suns & The Kite Runner

Also:
The Time Traveller’s Wife
The Light Between the Oceans
The Fault in Our Stars
Wonder
Private Peaceful

Charley50 · 21/12/2019 14:35

Loads of books have made me cry and cry over the years. These spring to mind:

Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The lost child of Philomena Lee - by Martin Sixsmith

The Last Act of Love: The Story of My Brother and His Sister - Cathy Rentzenbrink - devastating memoir written with humour

Dogger- Shirley Hughes

That was then This is now - SE Hinton

Sleepthiefismyfavourite · 21/12/2019 14:14

Does anyone have any other suggestions? Smile

KaliforniaDreamz · 21/12/2019 11:39

It's a wonderful little book Sleep

Sleepthiefismyfavourite · 20/12/2019 22:13

Just started reading Eleanor oliphant from these recommendations and really enjoying it so far!

KaliforniaDreamz · 18/12/2019 12:34

I agree Binterested - read a lot of Hardy as a sixth former. Not sure i could now.

Sleepthiefismyfavourite · 17/12/2019 22:35

Just ordered 6 of these on amazon 😂

Binterested · 17/12/2019 22:24

Jude the Obscure. Devastating. I actually think you can only read Hardy when you are young. I couldn’t read it now.

A lot of Dickens - the first chapters of David Copperfield - his poor, weak Mama and how alone he was Sad

The Railway Children - happy sad but so very poignant.

KaliforniaDreamz · 17/12/2019 15:52

Peepo makes me wail 'A little baby just like you' waaaaaa

YY to Grapes of Wrath, a phenomenal read.

The Colour Purple

Eleanor Oliphant

Anything by Niall Williams

tobee · 16/12/2019 23:32

Oh and a children's book called The Brothers Lionheart and The Silver Chair.

tobee · 16/12/2019 23:30

Oh yeah Goodbye Mog. I can't even look at the book let alone read it.

tobee · 16/12/2019 23:29

Non fiction but The Right Stuff.

RightOnTheEdge · 16/12/2019 20:38

The fault in our stars

The memory book by Rowen Coleman and also We are all made of Stars by the same author.

The Nightingale
The Winter garden
Firefly Lane

A crack in Forever, this book made me bawl my eyes out years ago. I've googled the author a few, times since and haven't found another book by her.

Marley and Me. I couldn't even see the book I cried so much at the end.

LumpySpacedPrincess · 16/12/2019 20:22

Pawn In Frankincense. Most books by Dorothy Dunnett have a moment that stops your heart and you don't know when it's coming and it takes your mind a while to catch up with the text then...oh...

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