"Emotionally devastating" novels?

[Ann]

I know we all respond to novels differently, but I'm trying to come up with a list of books that provoked an intense emotional response in readers. One that comes to mind for me is CUTTING FOR STONE by Abraham Verghese, which had me sobbing in public in a way that never happens. I'm not necessarily talking about "tear-jerkers" where it's happy/sad and we wipe away a few tears. Im thinking something more intense. I'd also put THE SPARROW on my list. What's on yours?

[Sara]

"A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving
"Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger

[Rita]

I got emotional for different reasons, but this list of books pretty much wrecked me. I was sobbing at the end of all of them. And it took me days to be able to pick up another book after I read these. I needed time to "get over" them.

[Amy]

A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias. This book made me laugh and it made me cry--often at the same time. I had tears in my eyes from the beginning, and I was outright sobbing by the last page. It was a stunningly beautiful elegy to the author's marriage, to his wife, and to the meaning of life and love itself.

[Sally]

Five Smooth Stones
Stoner
Kite Runner
A Monster Calls

[Adore]

Terri wrote: "Me Before You. Cried my eyes out and then had an interesting discussion about the book"

i agree completely.

also, the book thief made me cry for hours after i finished (seriously!).

edit: and norwegian wood by murakami for sure.

[Gail]

I can still remember how I felt after reading Grapes of Wrath many years ago. The weight of the sadness stayed with me for such a long time.

[Janet]

agree what a sob fest
cried on an airplane

so bleak
I wanted to choke Nate

and most recently
made me so angry!

[Adore]

this discussion reminds me a bit of the jaw dropping books thread. i sometimes wonder if describing a book as emotionally devastating (or jaw dropping) is a bit of a spoiler. when i think of books that triggered an intense emotional response, i'm mostly thinking about their endings.

[Kalen]

Two of the most recent:

Colin McAdam's A Beautiful Truth
Robin Black's Life Drawing

[Linda]

Wonder

Await Your Reply

Zeitoun

The Shoemaker's Wife

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Tuesdays with Morrie

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog

[Deb]

FEAR ... Steven King. As in barricading the bedroom door and grabbing the fireplace poker to be put by the bedside. Salem's Lot especially.

[Jillian]

I definitely agree with Cutting for Stone. Also, The Fault In Our Stars, and The Book Thief. Definitely Atonement. I loved the prose but literally threw the book against the wall when I finished it.

[Chris]

When I saw this question, "A Fine Balance" by Mistry is the first book that came to mind. I read that probably a decade ago and it still is with me.

A few others:

--"Why Be Happy When You Can be Normal" Winterston
--"The Book Thief" Zusak
--"Elegance of the Hedgehog" Barbery
--"The Road Home" Tremain

[Esther]

A Monster Calls made me cry on almost every page but I still found it uplifting.
The Book Thief also brought the tears but left me uplifted.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was just shocking.
And Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was both frightening and moving.

[HorrorStone]

Most recently, a constellation of vital phenomena. I sobbed at the last page.

[Stacie]

Night by Elie Wiesel - one of the most amazing and tearful books i've ever read.

[Tina]

Ann already mentioned The Sparrow. My other "go to" title for this topic would be In Cold Blood.

[Tina]

Ann already mentioned The Sparrow. My other "go to" title for this topic would be In Cold Blood.

[Tina]

Ann already mentioned The Sparrow. My other "go to" title for this topic would be In Cold Blood.

[Tina]

Ann already mentioned The Sparrow. My other "go to" title for this topic would be In Cold Blood.

[Tina]

Ann already mentioned The Sparrow. My other "go to" title for this topic would be In Cold Blood.

[Tina]

Ann already mentioned The Sparrow. My other "go to" title for this topic would be In Cold Blood.

[Tina]

Ann already mentioned The Sparrow. My other "go to" title for this topic would be In Cold Blood.

[Tina]

Ann already mentioned The Sparrow. My other "go to" title for this topic would be In Cold Blood.

[Gretchen]

Chris wrote: "When I saw this question, "A Fine Balance" by Mistry is the first book that came to mind. I read that probably a decade ago and it still is with me.

A few others:

--"Why Be Happy When You Can be..."

"A Fine Balance" was the first one that came to mind for me as well. It was especially powerful as I read it while backpacking in India in 1999.

[Barbara]

I remember reading Cujo by Stephen King while my daughter was at gymnastics practice and almost sobbing. The ending was so….so….sad.

[Esther]

"A Fine Balance" by Mistry was amazing. And despite being such a brick I could have easily read more.

[Gerald]

For my first. No its not intense but after reading the about the intense journey of Ernest ShackletonEndurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage and I got teary eyed when Shackleton personally made sure that his men that he left behind saw him first on the rescue book.

[Gerald]

I know this is about novels but what novels are more intense then the following short stories. .




The Killers by Ernest Hemingway.


Fifteen minutes of intense.

[Gerald]

Looking around my library I see . Can't much get more intense then that.

[Gerald]

The scariest novel I ever read touched me in several ways. . Although I am a Catholic I really knew very little about the rite of exorcism until I read this book based on real people and events that took place in Georgetown.I certainly did not think that the two priests would die by the end of the book which totally shocked me.

[Linda]

Esther wrote: "A Monster Calls made me cry on almost every page but I still found it uplifting.
The Book Thief also brought the tears but left me uplifted

Oh, yeah! The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

[Leslie]

Chris wrote: "When I saw this question, "A Fine Balance" by Mistry is the first book that came to mind. I read that probably a decade ago and it still is with me.

Agree with Fine Balance. Same - read it years and years ago and I feel I still know the characters so well.

[Dawn]

[Sue]

Chiming in here for A Fine Balance, too, as well as A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. I think for me, what these two books had in common was that they put me in a completely foreign experience and told heartbreaking stories in beautiful ways. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption did this as well. The combination of taking me out of my zone of familiarity, great writing, and a heartbreaking story is what makes a book an 'emotionally devastating' read for me.

[Dawn]

And definitely

[Jillian]

The Handmaid's Tale

[Sarah]

While there are many books that have brought me to tears there has only been one so far to leave me crying like a baby. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I watched it when it came out and found out it was based on a book so I bought it the next time I went to a bookstore. I flew through the book because even though I'd already watched the movie I had to know how it ended and I was just not prepared. Thankfully I was alone in my room so no one had to witness that ugly cry.

[Karen]

For me it was After losing my best friend for 15 years in 2004. I cried like a baby reading this book, Kristy was my crazy/bad Yellow Lab and Marley reminded of her.

[Pam]

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena was so sad but so beautifully written. It will stay with me forever.

We Were Liars.
Spoiler!
I did not see the end coming and bawled while driving and listening to the audiobook.

[Maureen]

oh definitely . I tear up now as I write this.

[Glynis]

I cried when Matthew died in Anne of Green Gables and when Beth died in Little Women. Also cried when reading I Am David aloud to my children.

[Glynis]

If we expand the topic to include plays for the moment, most of the audience were crying during Next to Normal, which I saw three times!

[Jill]

The Thorn Birds
Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
Anne of Green Gables

[Nancy]

Lots of the books already mentioned, but most recently: Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer.

[[deleted user]]

I'll second Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar, as I often can't get through many of the essays without crying (despite the fact that I've read them all several times). I was also surprised by my reaction to Enon, which pretty much wrecked me.

[Lara]

So many come to mind, but I'll never forget my reaction to the climax of Bel Canto. It twisted my gut.

[Sue]

I just finished listening to The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, narrated by Bryan Cranston and would definitely add this to the list.

[Louise]

actually this one I'm reading rigth now:

(non fiction)

And this one