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Most Depressing Book of all time
What book do you think is the most depressing book that you have ever read?
Tags: angst, anxiety, awful, best, depressing, depression, depressive, sad, and worst

1
Bridge to Terabithia
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson 99 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
2
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank 94 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
3
The Road
The Road
by Cormac McCarthy 89 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
4
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell 80 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
5
Angela's Ashes
Angela's Ashes
by Frank McCourt 74 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
6
Where the Red Fern Grows
Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls 66 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
7
Night
Night
by Elie Wiesel 59 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
8
The Little Match Girl
The Little Match Girl
by Hans Christian Andersen 56 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
9
My Sister's Keeper
My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult 55 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
10
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
by William Golding 54 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
11
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck 50 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
12
The Giving Tree
The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein 43 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
13
The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones
by Alice Sebold 39 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
14
The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini 38 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
15
Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure
by Thomas Hardy 36 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
16
Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome
by Edith Wharton 34 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
17
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck 34 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
18
Sophie's Choice
Sophie's Choice
by William Styron 33 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
19
Charlotte's Web
Charlotte's Web
by E.B. White 31 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
20
A Thousand Splendid Suns
A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Hosseini 30 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
21
A Child Called "It"
A Child Called "It"
by Dave Pelzer 29 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
22
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger 28 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
23
The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne 28 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
24
Brave New World
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley 28 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
25
The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar
by Sylvia Plath 27 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
26
Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë 26 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
27
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
by Arthur Miller 27 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
28
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger (Goodreads Author) 26 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
29
Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon
by Daniel Keyes 25 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
30
Thirteen Reasons Why
Thirteen Reasons Why
by Jay Asher 23 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
31
Old Yeller
Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson 22 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
32
Never Let Me Go
Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro 22 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
33
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange
by Anthony Burgess 18 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
34
The Giver
The Giver
by Lois Lowry 17 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
35
Animal Farm/1984
Animal Farm/1984
by George Orwell 17 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
36
The Bluest Eye
The Bluest Eye
by Toni Morrison 16 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
37
A Separate Peace
A Separate Peace
by John Knowles 16 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
38
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
by Thomas Hardy 16 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
39
Beloved
Beloved
by Toni Morrison 16 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
40
Nineteen Minutes
Nineteen Minutes
by Jodi Picoult 15 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
41
Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe 15 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
42
A Fine Balance
A Fine Balance
by Rohinton Mistry 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
43
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams Bianco 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
44
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
45
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
46
Speak
Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson (Goodreads Author) 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
47
The Stranger
The Stranger
by Albert Camus 14 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
48
Hamlet
Hamlet
by William Shakespeare 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
49
Gone With the Wind
Gone With the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
50
On the Beach
On the Beach
by Nevil Shute 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
51
She's Come Undone
She's Come Undone
by Wally Lamb 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
52
Great Expectations
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
53
The Pact: A Love Story
The Pact: A Love Story
by Jodi Picoult 12 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
54
In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote 13 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
55
Revolutionary Road
Revolutionary Road
by Richard Yates 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
56
The Jungle
The Jungle
by Upton Sinclair 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
57
The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
58
Tender Is the Night
Tender Is the Night
by F. Scott Fitzgerald 11 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
59
New Moon
New Moon
by Stephenie Meyer 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
60
The Pearl
The Pearl
by John Steinbeck 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
62
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
by Carson McCullers 10 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
63
House of Sand and Fog
House of Sand and Fog
by Andre Dubus III 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
64
The Good Earth
The Good Earth
by Pearl S. Buck 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
65
Blindness
Blindness
by José Saramago 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
66
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
by David Wroblewski 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
67
I Know This Much Is True
I Know This Much Is True
by Wally Lamb 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
68
The Secret Life of Bees
The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
69
The House of Mirth
The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton 9 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
70
We Need to Talk About Kevin
We Need to Talk About Kevin
by Lionel Shriver 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
71
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Breakfast at Tiffany's
by Truman Capote 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
72
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
73
Notes from Underground
Notes from Underground
by Fyodor Dostoevsky 8 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
74
My Story: "A Child Called It", "The Lost Boy", "A Man Named Dave"
My Story: "A Child Called It", "...
by Dave Pelzer 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
75
Love Story
Love Story
by Erich Segal 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
76
Life of Pi
Life of Pi
by Yann Martel 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
77
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
79
A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire
by Tennessee Williams 7 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
80
Catching Fire
Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
81
The Remains of the Day
The Remains of the Day
by Kazuo Ishiguro 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
82
Lolita
Lolita
by Vladimir Nabokov 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
84
Oryx and Crake
Oryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
85
King Lear
King Lear
by William Shakespeare 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
86
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Girl with a Pearl Earring
by Tracy Chevalier 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
87
Twilight
Twilight
by Stephenie Meyer 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
88
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
89
Darkness at Noon
Darkness at Noon
by Arthur Koestler 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
90
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
91
The Painted Bird
The Painted Bird
by Jerzy KosiÅ„ski 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
92
The Red Tent
The Red Tent
by Anita Diamant 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
93
The Joy Luck Club
The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
94
The Lottery: And Other Stories
The Lottery: And Other Stories
by Shirley Jackson 6 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
95
Gorillas in the Mist
Gorillas in the Mist
by Dian Fossey 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
96
The Sweet Hereafter
The Sweet Hereafter
by Russell Banks 5 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
97
The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Clan of the Cave Bear
by Jean M. Auel 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
98
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
99
Keeping Faith
Keeping Faith
by Jodi Picoult 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
100
The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams 4 people voted »
didn't like itit was okliked itreally liked itit was amazing
List started by: Leila (votes)
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds



Leila
Leila
283 books
58 friends
Miss Chai
Miss Chai
201 books
9 friends
D.L.
D.L.
332 books
117 friends
Hanna
Hanna
331 books
9 friends
Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina
1228 books
107 friends
Neil
Neil
68 books
4 friends
Ashley
Ashley
158 books
4 friends
Susanna
Susanna
1346 books
128 friends

More voters…


comments (showing 1-40 of 40) (40 new)

dateDown_arrow    newest »

message 1: by jo (last edited Jan 09, 2009 05:44PM) (new)

210397 a fine balance wins the prize, hands down.


message 2: by jo (new)

210397 oh, mike, you put one book there, and, since it's only one book, it climbs right to the top. that's rigging the system, man.


message 3: by Gabrielle (new)

2476411 But why is Endgame not on here?


message 4: by Susanna (new)

1109068 Oooh, good question!


message 5: by Leila (new)

1238671 I thought Bridge to Terabithia was a fun childrens book (haven't read it) with all the adventure and stuff. I had no idea that I was so depressing!


message 6: by Jen (new)

1719442 Ralph and Sarah,

I must know. What is so depressing about the soccer field being empty? Those two guys there on it look like they're doing okay.


message 7: by Thom (new)

Nophoto-m-25x33 After putting up several titles and adding a bunch more, I suddenly realized this list of depressing books was nearly identical to my list of favorite books. Shit.


message 8: by Lobstergirl (new)

1910836 The way the question is framed, aren't we supposed to pick just one book?


message 9: by Thom (new)

Nophoto-m-25x33 Yes, Lobs, I think you are probably correct, but I can't decide..."Depressing" books are, for some reason, the ones I come to love the most and to re-read...And I am not a gloomy person, just the opposite. I guess the "dark night of the soul" is the greatest adventure, challenge, or some such. Lucky me: I'm a lover, not a sufferer.


message 10: by Leila (new)

1238671 It's fine to add several books if you like though if you can pinpoint the most depressing book for you, then do add just one :) If you can't decide however (most books are very different), then it's perfectly okay to add several :)


message 11: by Susanna (new)

1109068 I voted for two I find equally depressing, though they are certainly very different books.


message 12: by Thom (new)

Nophoto-m-25x33 There is a bottom line to "sad" Beckett's Endgame is so abyssmal it has to be comic.....I remember as a Sophomore being upset with Candide because I had a hard time getting past the "soldiers who ripped the girls' bellies open"....my girlfriend of the time was laughing like hell reading Candide and I just didn't get it. Incidentally, recently saw magnificent production of Bernstein et. al. Candide in the Berkshires. I laughed like hell.


message 13: by Mandy (new)

2794062 Why isn't Les Miserables by Victor Hugo on this list?! JK, I'm not angry...just...surprised. I mean, it has the word "miserable" in the title. Even if you're not pronouncing it. I don't know, just think about it.


message 14: by Ally (new)

2797976 I really thought Plath's the Bell jar would make it on this list!


message 15: by Lobstergirl (new)

1910836 Mandy wrote: "Why isn't Les Miserables by Victor Hugo on this list?! JK, I'm not angry...just...surprised. I mean, it has the word "miserable" in the title. Even if you're not pronouncing it. I don't know, just ..."

Because you didn't add it?


message 16: by Canary (new)

1883731 Ally wrote: "I really thought Plath's the Bell jar would make it on this list!"

Odd, I had added it along with 7 other depressing books but then deleted it as I was only supposed to chose one. I still have 2 up. I consider that book too depressing to read again altho I bought myself an old paperback of it for NE quiz questions. No wonder she killed herself!




message 17: by Ally (new)

2797976 Canary wrote: Odd, I had added it along with 7 other depressing books but then deleted it as I was only supposed to chose one. ..."
I had a very ambitious to read list when I was in school, but after The Bell Jar I decided to rather read books I enjoy and not books other people thought I should read. I agree though, I would not read it again



message 18: by Lynn (new)

2546121 jo wrote: "a fine balance wins the prize, hands down."

Well, I put it second to Angela's Ashes. I read this for a book group and at the end it seemed like nothing, absolutely nothing, had changed. Very depressing!




message 19: by Lynn (new)

2546121 Ally wrote: "Canary wrote: Odd, I had added it along with 7 other depressing books but then deleted it as I was only supposed to chose one. ..."
I had a very ambitious to read list when I was in school, but aft..."


Actually, I think you can post five, but you have to put them in order of depressingness.




message 22: by Thom (new)

Nophoto-m-25x33 Lynn wrote: "jo wrote: "a fine balance wins the prize, hands down."

Well, I put it second to Angela's Ashes. I read this for a book group and at the end it seemed like nothing, absolutely nothing,..."


Is "realism" depression ? Doth Reality bite ? I'd like to ask Frank McCourt, but alas ! he's dead--and I find THAT depressing.


message 23: by Adam (new)

2030118 the giver, the hunger games, anne frank, and bridge to teribithia are the winners for me.
AND WHY THE HECK IS TWILIGHT HERE????
ABSOLUTLY NOT DEPRESSING.


message 24: by Adam (new)

2030118 Leila wrote: "I thought Bridge to Terabithia was a fun childrens book (haven't read it) with all the adventure and stuff. I had no idea that I was so depressing! "

I havent read it either (i want to) but saw the movie and i was bawling at the end! it is soooo sad! and just to let you know i am a teenage boy.



message 25: by Mary Ellen (new)

2658702 Whoa... I sure have read a lot of depressing books. When I taught junior high, most every book dealt with a death to either a person, a pet, or a marriage.


message 26: by Lynn (new)

2546121 My sister once took an adult education class on Modern Women British Writers. She decided it must have been sponsored by Prozac.

Mary Ellen wrote: "Whoa... I sure have read a lot of depressing books. When I taught junior high, most every book dealt with a death to either a person, a pet, or a marriage. "



message 27: by Adam (new)

2030118 this is actually not a bad list! unlike most of them in goodreads...


message 28: by Reed (new)

2717206 why are the twilight books on here?


message 29: by Reed (new)

2717206 hunger games made me cry when someone died(its a spoiler not gonna say!) and im about 14 so yeah, real men do cry.




message 30: by Reed (new)

2717206 i wonder y its like way down on the list though.


message 32: by Suzanne (new)

Nophoto-f-25x33 Adam wrote: "this is actually not a bad list! unlike most of them in goodreads..."

I agree. Some of my favorite books are on this list!


message 33: by Adam (new)

2030118 Reed wrote: "hunger games made me cry when someone died(its a spoiler not gonna say!) and im about 14 so yeah, real men do cry.

"


REED U AINT 14! U R 12.


message 34: by Meryl (new)

Nophoto-f-25x33 I just realized something...Alot of the books I think are depressing are my favourites, lol that is kinda scaring me.


message 35: by Jaclyn (new)

Nophoto-f-25x33 Why is it that we're taught in school that good = sad?
'course I found Candide hilarious, and I thought that The Giver turned its self around so much at the end that I found it uplifting.


message 36: by Mark (last edited Jan 29, 2010 12:25PM) (new)

1276344 If people think The Road and Bridge to Terebithia are depressing, they have some reading to do (unless they want to remain happy people, which I highly recommend for some people). Tess of the d'Urbervilles has to be like five octillion times as depressing as either of those. Personally, I think there's a huge difference between a depressing book and a sad book.

I wouldn't call The Road a sad book, though. I can see how some people can think it was depressing, but I didn't come away from it feeling that way, personally.


message 37: by Susanna (new)

1109068 Yeah, it's hard to argue with Hardy for depressing. (Jude the Obscure was my top choice.)


message 38: by Alex (new)

3166691 The hollow is most deffinitally the most boring depressing feel bad book ever! i cant believe i had to add it


message 39: by Will (new)

Nophoto-m-25x33 Where is "Johnny got his Gun" Hands down most depressing


message 40: by Susanna (new)

1109068 The form to add books to the list is over at the right-hand side of the page.


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