Can you recommend some novels that are good tearjerkers?
July 17, 2015 8:52 AM Subscribe
For reasons I don't fully understand, lately I find myself wanting to read novels that make me cry. For personal reasons, I'm not interested in books about cancer or abuse, but I'm open to most other subjects. So, can you recommend intelligent and well-written books that are likely to make a reader cry? Themes of lost romantic love, grief, troubled or lost friendship, or painful family relationships are all possibilities. Some authors seem emotionally manipulative, and I'm not looking for that, but I recognize that's a tough line to draw.
Although Richard Powers is sometimes referred to as an unemotional writer, two of his books in particular have really pulled me in and broken my heart, while still being (as all his books are) intelligent, thoughtful, challenging and in no way emotionally manipulative.
The Goldbug Variations
and
Plowing the Dark
Also check this thread
posted by janey47 at 9:01 AM on July 17, 2015
The Goldbug Variations
and
Plowing the Dark
Also check this thread
posted by janey47 at 9:01 AM on July 17, 2015
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. I get weepy just thinking about it.
posted by toby_ann at 9:04 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by toby_ann at 9:04 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Little Prince. Every time.
posted by monologish at 9:05 AM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by monologish at 9:05 AM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
Where the Red Fern Grows. Every time.
posted by annathea at 9:06 AM on July 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by annathea at 9:06 AM on July 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
Oh yes yes yes - Bel Canto is what I was coming here to recommend - such a beautiful book that I miss frequently and need to re-read. (Also, so excited for this thread - I love these types of books too so thank you for asking). Also, Shantaram had me in tears at times as well. And of course, Giovanni's Room.
posted by anya32 at 9:07 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by anya32 at 9:07 AM on July 17, 2015
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls.
A lot of people think I'm weird for this, but I'll throw it out there too: I cry like crazy at Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick.
posted by holborne at 9:09 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
A lot of people think I'm weird for this, but I'll throw it out there too: I cry like crazy at Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick.
posted by holborne at 9:09 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
A Prayer for Owen Meany
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
posted by the webmistress at 9:14 AM on July 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
posted by the webmistress at 9:14 AM on July 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
Gabriel Garcia Marquez often makes me cry. "Chronicle of a death foretold," "The general in his labyrinth," and "100 years of solitude." A lot of lost love in all of these, woven into larger stories.
posted by permiechickie at 9:26 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by permiechickie at 9:26 AM on July 17, 2015
Not a classic novel (a suspense/thriller/romance/tearjerker), but I ugly-cried my way through the whole thing. Not so ironically titled, Cry No More by Linda Howard.
posted by cecic at 9:26 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by cecic at 9:26 AM on July 17, 2015
YMMV, but the conclusion of J.L. Carr's short novel A Month in the Country choked me up.
posted by ryanshepard at 9:35 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by ryanshepard at 9:35 AM on July 17, 2015
Red Sky at Morning by Richard Bradford. Laughed a lot at first and then cried.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:38 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:38 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Time Traveler's Wife is exactly what you described. (Do not watch the movie, and even if you already watched the movie, read the book. They are nothing alike.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:43 AM on July 17, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 9:43 AM on July 17, 2015 [5 favorites]
The Darkest Road, book 3 of Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry, always makes me cry. Of course, you have to read books 1 and 2 for the full impact, but it's well worth it.
posted by mogget at 9:44 AM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by mogget at 9:44 AM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes forced me to pretend I wasn't tearing up in the middle of a rush hour train. Highly recommend!
posted by carlypennylane at 9:50 AM on July 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by carlypennylane at 9:50 AM on July 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
Not a novel, but it reads like one: Wild by Cheryl Strayed.
posted by matildaben at 9:53 AM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by matildaben at 9:53 AM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
You might be interested in this previous question, in which I mentioned The Lovely Bones and Lost Boys. I also heartily second A Prayer for Owen Meany.
posted by rekrap at 9:58 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by rekrap at 9:58 AM on July 17, 2015
I always cry when I read Lewis Grizzard's memoir of his father, My Daddy Was a Pistol and I'm a Son of a Gun. It starts with the death of his father and only gets sadder from there. It's not a novel, but I think it'll scratch your itch.
posted by infinitewindow at 10:08 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by infinitewindow at 10:08 AM on July 17, 2015
No Great Mischief by Alistair Macleod because there will be no more from Alistair Macleod. And Tuck Everlasting and Where the Red Fern Grows, children's books that can make a grown person weep.
posted by Elsie at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by Elsie at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2015
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:36 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:36 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
No really, just go with me on this for a minute.
The final book in the series had me crying for a LOT of it. And I mean "I had salt stains from my tears on my bedsheets" crying. The first proper sob happened within the first couple chapters of the book too. In order to get the full sob effect you need to read all the previous books, which is fine as far as I am concerned because they are a great set of books. But seriously. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will DESTROY YOUR SOUL!
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 11:06 AM on July 17, 2015
No really, just go with me on this for a minute.
The final book in the series had me crying for a LOT of it. And I mean "I had salt stains from my tears on my bedsheets" crying. The first proper sob happened within the first couple chapters of the book too. In order to get the full sob effect you need to read all the previous books, which is fine as far as I am concerned because they are a great set of books. But seriously. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will DESTROY YOUR SOUL!
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 11:06 AM on July 17, 2015
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell.
posted by Lemmy Caution at 11:14 AM on July 17, 2015
posted by Lemmy Caution at 11:14 AM on July 17, 2015
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, absolutely.
posted by tavegyl at 11:23 AM on July 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by tavegyl at 11:23 AM on July 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
Lonesome Dove.
posted by caryatid at 11:40 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by caryatid at 11:40 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
I made the error of finishing Ann-Marie MacDonald's Fall On Your Knees in a café, which meant I was weeping helplessly at a corner table.
posted by erlking at 11:45 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by erlking at 11:45 AM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
I second Fall on Your Knees, Bel Canto, and The Time-Traveler's Wife. All three made me cry.
But I sobbed - sobbed - a couple weeks ago when I was finishing up A Little Life. It wrecked me and I have not yet recovered.
For a less intense experience than that, I can also highly recommend:
- The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazard (love, tragedy)
(though you could also read, and weep happier tears at, The Great Fire)
- Falling to Earth by Kate Southwood (natural disaster, PTSD)
- Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck (war, lost chances)
posted by minervous at 12:22 PM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
But I sobbed - sobbed - a couple weeks ago when I was finishing up A Little Life. It wrecked me and I have not yet recovered.
For a less intense experience than that, I can also highly recommend:
- The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazard (love, tragedy)
(though you could also read, and weep happier tears at, The Great Fire)
- Falling to Earth by Kate Southwood (natural disaster, PTSD)
- Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck (war, lost chances)
posted by minervous at 12:22 PM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
Traveller by Richard Adams. It's the story of the Civil War told told by General Lee's horse, Traveller. Traveller defied steep odds and survived the war (and in the end, survived General Lee). The story is heartbreaking and beautiful.
posted by workerant at 12:42 PM on July 17, 2015
posted by workerant at 12:42 PM on July 17, 2015
Mrs. Chippy's Last Expedition
A book written from the perspective of the cat who went on Ernest Shakleton's antarctic expedition. Like, huge, ugly, wracking sobs. Like, I still have the book but I can never ever read it again. Like, I'm starting to cry just writing this comment.
Particularly effective if you love animals, especially cats. Do not read anything about the expedition beforehand.
posted by lollymccatburglar at 12:44 PM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
A book written from the perspective of the cat who went on Ernest Shakleton's antarctic expedition. Like, huge, ugly, wracking sobs. Like, I still have the book but I can never ever read it again. Like, I'm starting to cry just writing this comment.
Particularly effective if you love animals, especially cats. Do not read anything about the expedition beforehand.
posted by lollymccatburglar at 12:44 PM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
Oof, I think that one has a cancer diagnosis in there. Sorry.
posted by WesterbergHigh at 1:11 PM on July 17, 2015
posted by WesterbergHigh at 1:11 PM on July 17, 2015
A Little Life is not a good recommendation here, unfortunately - it is rife with abuse.
posted by minsies at 1:47 PM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by minsies at 1:47 PM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Seconding The Lovely Bones.
Second Glance by Jodi Picoult had me bawling at the end.
posted by SisterHavana at 2:12 PM on July 17, 2015
Second Glance by Jodi Picoult had me bawling at the end.
posted by SisterHavana at 2:12 PM on July 17, 2015
The Ghost Brigades, by MetaFilter's own John Scalzi, moved me to tears, twice.
"All my people are dead."
posted by Bruce H. at 3:32 PM on July 17, 2015
"All my people are dead."
posted by Bruce H. at 3:32 PM on July 17, 2015
Oh, oh, oh! The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
Giant, globby, snot-streaming tears.
posted by mochapickle at 4:22 PM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Giant, globby, snot-streaming tears.
posted by mochapickle at 4:22 PM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. I wept several times, in public, while reading it.
posted by Lexica at 4:23 PM on July 17, 2015
posted by Lexica at 4:23 PM on July 17, 2015
The Namesake, my favorite book ever. Makes me cry every time I reread it. Also agree with Tuck Everlasting as above, as well as Bridge to Terabithia--both amazing children's books.
posted by bookworm4125 at 4:31 PM on July 17, 2015
posted by bookworm4125 at 4:31 PM on July 17, 2015
Anything by Kazuo Ishiguro.
posted by tinkletown at 4:39 PM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by tinkletown at 4:39 PM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking is so damn good.
posted by limeonaire at 5:08 PM on July 17, 2015
posted by limeonaire at 5:08 PM on July 17, 2015
Books that made me cry (and it's difficult for a novelist to make me cry):
- Ten Thousand Lovers, by Edeet Ravel
- Kiss and Kin, The Constant Mistress, and Golden Lads and Girls, by Angela Lambert
- The Hat Box Letters, by Beth Powning
- Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson (seconded as I see it's been mentioned above)
- Words by Heart, by Ouida Sebestyen
The last two are children's books, but are definitely readable by adult standards, and also freaking devastating.
Anita Shreve's books have never made me cry but might be worth a look. She specializes in tragedy. There's also that old chestnut tear jerker Love Story, by Erich Segal.
posted by orange swan at 5:57 PM on July 17, 2015
- Ten Thousand Lovers, by Edeet Ravel
- Kiss and Kin, The Constant Mistress, and Golden Lads and Girls, by Angela Lambert
- The Hat Box Letters, by Beth Powning
- Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson (seconded as I see it's been mentioned above)
- Words by Heart, by Ouida Sebestyen
The last two are children's books, but are definitely readable by adult standards, and also freaking devastating.
Anita Shreve's books have never made me cry but might be worth a look. She specializes in tragedy. There's also that old chestnut tear jerker Love Story, by Erich Segal.
posted by orange swan at 5:57 PM on July 17, 2015
YMMV, but I was in tears at the end of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Oof. That's an intense book. I also just read the book-length poem Gabriel by Edward Hirsch (it's very accessible, if you're not a poetry reader) about his son's death. Tears were shed.
posted by swheatie at 6:35 PM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by swheatie at 6:35 PM on July 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
Jacob Have I Loved, another one by Katherine Paterson about a girl who never measures up to her sister.
It's weird to note that some picture books make me cry, but Knuffle Bunny Free and in a similar vein The Velveteen Rabbit. Makes it hard to read aloud.
posted by SandiBeech at 6:38 PM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's weird to note that some picture books make me cry, but Knuffle Bunny Free and in a similar vein The Velveteen Rabbit. Makes it hard to read aloud.
posted by SandiBeech at 6:38 PM on July 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ooops, my bad, Area Man. I should have read your question a bit more closely. Do leave A Little Life off your list, for the reason minsies mentioned. Sorry about that.
I have thought of a few more, though.
The Report, by Jessica Francis Kane (The Blitz)
The Nightwatch by (love, The Blitz)
Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr. (the end of the world as we know it)
posted by minervous at 7:36 PM on July 17, 2015
I have thought of a few more, though.
The Report, by Jessica Francis Kane (The Blitz)
The Nightwatch by (love, The Blitz)
Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr. (the end of the world as we know it)
posted by minervous at 7:36 PM on July 17, 2015
I see that Guy Gavriel Kay has already been mentioned. I'd add his books A Song for Arbonne and The Lions of al-Rassan. Both books contain passages that I cannot read in public because I cry every time. Both books carry themes of impossible love, huge dreams, and especially in the latter book, how circumstances force true friends onto opposite sides.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:42 PM on July 17, 2015
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:42 PM on July 17, 2015
Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry isn't just fantasy, it is... almost fanfic of Tolkein and YA Fantasy as a genre it is so deeply devoted to it, tropey in many ways, but endlessly sincere.
They aren't 'sad' books the whole way through or trying to be, but it's still one of the only books to make me cry.
I want to name some other, more 'literary' work, but nope, did not induce crying
posted by Elysum at 12:40 PM on July 18, 2015
They aren't 'sad' books the whole way through or trying to be, but it's still one of the only books to make me cry.
I want to name some other, more 'literary' work, but nope, did not induce crying
posted by Elysum at 12:40 PM on July 18, 2015
Nthing Time Traveler's Wife and The Book Thief. Adding: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart, Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult, Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, The Hunger Games (book 1), Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.
posted by pimli at 7:22 AM on July 24, 2015
posted by pimli at 7:22 AM on July 24, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin, by Louis de Bernières
Both are about love and loss and hope in hopeless situations and beautifully written.
posted by mochapickle at 8:59 AM on July 17, 2015 [3 favorites]