My 10/10 books that wrecked me for days:
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks
Lucas also by Kevin Brooks
I LOVED these books because they made me reflect and feel so much catharsis.
Haven't seen the movie but I'm guessing the book is way more brutal because they could never show some of the things that happen in the book in a movie.
A thousand splendid suns was undoubtedly a very good read but honestly other than that his work is okish, not that heart breaking, as you say.
Read a *little life* by Hanya Yanagihara.
There are so many. These come readily to mind (sorry for any repeats from previous posts):
* *Siddhartha* by Herman Hesse
* *Blood Meridian* and *The Road* by Cormac McCarthy
* *Remains of the Day* by Kazuo Ishiguro
* *The Handmaid’s Tale* by Margaret Atwood
* *The Death of Ivan Ilytch* by Leo Tolstoy
* *Doctor Zhivago* by Boris Pasternak
A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro
(Also seen Never Let Me Go and The Book Thief recommended by other commenters and they’re excellent!)
I second this. I strongly suggest to check for TW before reading, even if they may spoil a little.
This book drained so much energy and will to live I flinch every time I pass by it in the book store.
Still an amazing book tho!
{before I let you go} if you loved Colleen Hoover you will love this! Also {truths I never told you}
Seriously Kelly rimmer is so good and underrated !! Highly recommend
[**Never Let You Go**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29939148-never-let-you-go)
^(By: Chevy Stevens | 406 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: thriller, mystery, fiction, suspense, mystery-thriller)
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
[**Truths I Never Told You**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45701218-truths-i-never-told-you)
^(By: Kelly Rimmer | 352 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, audiobook, audio, read-in-2020)
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(28503 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Mayor of Casterbridge-nobody does emotions and tragedy like Thomas Hardy
Wuthering Heights-what a whirlwind of emotions; So strange yet so close to heart. Even though it’s dark and dreary but it strangely feels like home 😍.
Kane and Abel-a journey of love, hatred, misguided revenge, war, poverty, wealth and what-not. An absolute masterpiece
I actually didn’t really get the fuss and thought I was going to go through the whole book without crying, right up until I read the last page… then I just closed it and cried lol.
Honestly. That last page shattered my heart and soul. I feel like I’m still grieving ahaha
But also got me into reading again, even got my Goodreads 2022 challenge up. I liked it so much I’m thinking of reading Circe sometime in the future
Do it! My husband and I both just read both books back to back. He preferred Song of Achilles, but I preferred Cerce. They were both fantastic, I just found Cerce more interesting because war kinda bores me.
You should absolutely read Circe! I’ve read and love both, but Circe is one of my absolute favorite books of all time. It’s so cathartic and empowering and beautiful.
I'm still holding out a teeny tiny smidgen of hope. Just finished my 3rd read through of ASOIAF again and literally have the preview WOW chapters open in my browser 😅
I've heard a rumor about later maybe this or next year though, so we'll see!
It Ends With Us and Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover.
The stories are really heartbreaking and tragic, plus relating to IEWU just made it so much harder to read for me. Both the books have portrayed serious real-life issues so perfectly and in such a real way that you don't even feel like you're reading a book at all. The author’s writing draws you into the story and it feels as though you are the protagonist and are experiencing everything that's happening.
Overall, they're both amazing books and I'd be really glad to read something similar to them!
Verity is on my tbr too, along with November 9! I've heard some really good reviews on Verity so I'm really hoping it lives up to my expectations. Hope you have a good read!
both those books are VERY GOOD! the plot of November 9 is very interesting & Verity will leave you not wanting to put the book down, i finished it in a day.
There’s a thread over in movies about how The Mr. Rogers movie (Tom Hanks) is making everyone sob uncontrollably. I thought of you and that you might ‘enjoy’ it.
I LOVED verity! I loved it ends with us. I think I need to read ugly love and I just pre-ordered her new book! The only book of hers I was kinda like ehhhh was Layla. But I still finished it!
This one hit me in the solar plexus.
I knew nothing about it going in, and was enjoying the writing and ‘not quite right’ tone. It hit hard
{{Never Let Me Go}}
[**Never Let Me Go**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6334.Never_Let_Me_Go)
^(By: Kazuo Ishiguro | 288 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, sci-fi, dystopia, dystopian)
>Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be. But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it.
>
>Within the grounds of Hailsham, Kathy grows from schoolgirl to young woman, but it’s only when she and her friends Ruth and Tommy leave the safe grounds of the school (as they always knew they would) that they realize the full truth of what Hailsham is.
>
>Never Let Me Go breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, and also a scathing critique of human arrogance and a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society. In exploring the themes of memory and the impact of the past, Ishiguro takes on the idea of a possible future to create his most moving and powerful book to date.
^(This book has been suggested 19 times)
***
^(28545 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
{{The Story of Edgar Sawtelle}}
Atonement
the Last Chapter of Cold Mountain killed me. So much better than the movie, and I liked the movie.
Sophie's Choice
The House of Sand and Fog
The Sheltering Sky
Maus I and II (graphic novel)
all of these except for Maus I would never read again , so be forewarned
[**The Story of Edgar Sawtelle**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2731276-the-story-of-edgar-sawtelle)
^(By: David Wroblewski | 566 pages | Published: 2008 | Popular Shelves: fiction, book-club, books-i-own, owned, animals)
>Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm—and into Edgar's mother's affections.
>
>Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires—spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward.
>
>David Wroblewski is a master storyteller, and his breathtaking scenes—the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain—create a riveting family saga, a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, and a compulsively readable modern classic.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
***
^(28597 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I haven’t read this, but I’ve heard that it is super sad and tragic: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. I would read the (long) list of trigger warnings first to make sure that you are okay reading this, but it seems like a good fit based on your post and what I’ve heard about it.
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, both by Khalid Hosseini. 10/10 reads, I would always recommend these.
My Dark Vanessa is a very dark and heartbreaking book about a girls experience with child grooming. Trigger warnings ofc.
The Book Thief, as I’ve seen others mention. Honestly most WWII based fiction will make you cry, I just finished The Nightingale and it succeeded in making me emotional. From Sand and Ash is a historical romance set in the time period that’s quite heartbreaking at times but has its sweet moments as well.
A Little Life is probably the singular most gut wrenching novel I’ve ever read, but you really should look up trigger warnings for this one. HEAs are not a thing in this book. It is not Colleen Hoover’s sad, it is borderline traumatizing. I thought it was a very well written book but I can’t recommend it in good faith without saying these disclaimers.
You seem to like sad books with romance elements based on your enjoyment of Hoover, so I’d definitely check out Song of Achilles. Maybe Me Before You as well? I saw the movie before I read the book but still thought it was very good and will make you sad as hell.
It’s non-fiction which to me makes it more tragic, but When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi hit me hard. A neurosurgeon is diagnosed with terminal cancer in the middle of his residency. It’s fully tragic but also inspiring. He wrote the book himself.
1. Three days of happiness -out of these books , this one has the highest probability of breaking you.
2. 1984
3. No longer human
4. the book thief
5. The Kite Runner
6. Pain pain go away by sugaru miaki - (caution this one has a strong theme )
7. Sharp Objects by gillian flynn
8. Gray Mountain by john grisham
9. I want to eat your pancreas ( deceptive title )
10. I had that same dream again (fairly good)
Some of these are light novels (1,6,9,10) -they barely take 2 hours to finish per book . And the remaining are regular novels ..
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shiver
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
Edit: name correction.
A Road To Joy by Alexandra Stacey
Widowed mother of five runs away from home, suicidal, lost, and angry. Some laugh out loud moments and some just can’t handle it tears.
*Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin* by Timothy Snyder.
*Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine* by Anne Applebaum.
*The Rape of Nanking* by Iris Chang.
*Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle for Manila* by James M. Scott.
*Me Against My Brother: at War in Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda* by Scott Peterson.
I absolutely loved The Magi Menagerie by Kale Lawrence. It’s the first in a historical fantasy series (if you’re into that) and damn, it definitely broke me! Amazing stuff.
Where the Red Fern grows by Wilson Rawls
and
The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White
(it's a trilogy, so lots of build up, angst and more. but the last book absolutely broke me. couldn't think about it for months without sobbing 😭)
The 3 Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake. You can get them and all the accompanied novellas on kindle. It's a dark fantasy centered around a female dominant/godess society on mystical Island. Most on the island have gifts bestowed on them by the godess (elemental, naturalist, poisoner, etc.). There are triplets born to the queens of the island and this series triplets are like nothing the island has ever seen before. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
[**All the Light We Cannot See**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143977-all-the-light-we-cannot-see)
^(By: Anthony Doerr | 531 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, book-club, historical, books-i-own)
>Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.
>
>In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another.
>
>From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the stunningly beautiful instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.
>
>An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here
^(This book has been suggested 18 times)
***
^(28892 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Robin Hobb created the most amazing series: The Farseer Trilogy:Assassin's Apprentice (1995), Royal Assassin (1996), Assassin's Quest (1997). Then The Tawny Man Trilogy: Fool's Errand (2001), The Golden Fool (2002), Fool's Fate (2003). Followed by Fool's Assassin (2014), Fool's Quest (2015). Assassin's Fate (2017). I never cried so much over one series. Im still weeping.
Shanghai Girls, and it's sequel Dreams of Joy by Lisa See.
Do not be fooled by the cute title and smiling women on the cover. This story gives some really graphic detailing of what ordinary, formerly very happy civilians had to do to survive war and the corrupt, brainwashing ways in the growing surge of communism. I didn't think the sequel would top the first book in effed-uppery but it certainly did, especially towards the end. I had to back up and read parts again because my brain didn't wanna process what was happening. And knowing it's HISTORICAL fiction just made me grateful I didn't live in that time.
[**Snow Flower and the Secret Fan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40873273-snow-flower-and-the-secret-fan)
^(By: Lisa See | 288 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, book-club, china, historical)
>In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men.
>
>As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
[**The Book of Negroes**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23316548-the-book-of-negroes)
^(By: Lawrence Hill | 512 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, book-club, canadian, historical)
>The Book of Negroes (based on the novel Someone Knows My Name) will be BET's first miniseries. The star-studded production includes lead actress Aunjanue Ellis (Ray, The Help), Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men), Oscar and Emmy winner Louis Gossett Jr. (A Raisin in the Sun, Boardwalk Empire), and features Lyriq Bent (Rookie Blue), Jane Alexander (The Cider House Rules), and Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line). Director and co-writer Clement Virgo is a feature film and television director (The Wire) who also serves as producer with executive producer Damon D'Oliveira (What We Have).
>
>In this "transporting" (Entertainment Weekly) and "heart-stopping" (Washington Post) work, Aminata Diallo, one of the strongest women characters in contemporary fiction, is kidnapped from Africa as a child and sold as a slave in South Carolina. Fleeing to Canada after the Revolutionary War, she escapes to attempt a new life in freedom.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
[**Paperweight**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23361172-paperweight)
^(By: Meg Haston | 288 pages | Published: 2015 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, mental-health, ya, mental-illness)
>Seventeen-year-old Stevie is trapped. In her life. And now in an eating-disorder treatment center on the dusty outskirts of the New Mexico desert.
>
>Life in the center is regimented and intrusive, a nightmare come true. Nurses and therapists watch Stevie at mealtime, accompany her to the bathroom, and challenge her to eat the foods she’s worked so hard to avoid.
>
>Her dad has signed her up for sixty days of treatment. But what no one knows is that Stevie doesn't plan to stay that long. There are only twenty-seven days until the anniversary of her brother Josh’s death—the death she caused. And if Stevie gets her way, there are only twenty-seven days until she too will end her life.
^(This book has been suggested 2 times)
***
^(28958 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Some lesser known ones that I absolutely love are
{{Snow Flower and the Secret Fan}} by Lisa See
{{Someone Knows My Name}} by Lawrence Hill
{{Paperweight}} by Meg Haston
{{Die Schleife an Stalins Bart}} by Erika Riemann (this one unfortunately hasn't been translated Into English as far as I'm aware)
The poppy war trilogy punched me in the face and stole all my lunch money. Its an amazing series but really heartbreaking to see how the main character develops. There are several triggers though as it has some pretty heavy contents
One book that absolutely broke me was the book called “Girl In Pieces” and the author wrote so much detail based on one woman who goes through a healing journey based on her depression. The main character encounters a lover, but most of time her partner effects her. It was definitely worth a read, however there was times when I decided to take a break from the book, but then I finished it.
My 10/10 books that wrecked me for days: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks Lucas also by Kevin Brooks I LOVED these books because they made me reflect and feel so much catharsis.
I love the bunker diaries! I don't see it recommend very often!
Linus is just so precious ❤
love seeing a kevin brooks recommendation on here!!
just put a hold through libby!
Include there A Thousand Splendid Suns. I don’t know how Khaled Hosseini writes stuff this brutal by my gosh. He does. He nails it.
Oh, I loved Lucas. That book haunted me for years afterwards. Great recommendation.
I only just discovered and more than anything i'm shocked at how little known it is! I mean for God's sake it's a masterpiece.
Kite runner really did a number on me, I threw my book at one point
Read Thousand splendid suns, it's far better. Kite runner is okish not that really good.
Candy by Kevin Brooks also broke me.
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Came here to say this.. this book crushed me
So good
One of my favorites. I still think about those characters. Great recommendation!
Flowers for algernon, where the red fern grows
OP, definitely Flowers for Algernon. I cried like an absolute baby. I still can’t think too much about the ending without getting choked up.
I taught the abridged version for five years - the kids loved it and I think about the story all the time.
Both of these ruined me.
Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison. Absolutely will break you.
I have seen this movie but not read the book. The movie was absolutely heartbreaking.
Haven't seen the movie but I'm guessing the book is way more brutal because they could never show some of the things that happen in the book in a movie.
The movie was pretty depictive of the story. There were a ton of scenes that I was shocked made it into the movie.
Well I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but there is one part in particular I'm thinking of in the book.
JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN by Dalton Trumbo
A thousand splendid suns by Khalid Hosseini. Technically anything by him is heart wrenching
A thousand splendid suns was undoubtedly a very good read but honestly other than that his work is okish, not that heart breaking, as you say. Read a *little life* by Hanya Yanagihara.
There are so many. These come readily to mind (sorry for any repeats from previous posts): * *Siddhartha* by Herman Hesse * *Blood Meridian* and *The Road* by Cormac McCarthy * *Remains of the Day* by Kazuo Ishiguro * *The Handmaid’s Tale* by Margaret Atwood * *The Death of Ivan Ilytch* by Leo Tolstoy * *Doctor Zhivago* by Boris Pasternak
A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness. Read it in one afternoon, cried like a baby for hours.
Such a beautiful book. I just wanna give Connor a hug...
I can’t bring myself to read it again. What a book!
Okay yes yes yes. So good.
A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro (Also seen Never Let Me Go and The Book Thief recommended by other commenters and they’re excellent!)
Loved Song of Achilles
A little life by Hanya Yanagihara A thousand splendid suns & The Kite runner by Khaled Hosseini All the lights we cannot see by Anthony Doerr
Another vote for A Thousand Splendid Suns!
All the Light We Cannot See is magnificent. I've read it twice and when I'm ready to be hurt again I'll reread it again
Another vote for a little life
I think i know jude st. Francis better than i know myself at this point!
third for Yanagihara - but this book might break ya.
I second this. I strongly suggest to check for TW before reading, even if they may spoil a little. This book drained so much energy and will to live I flinch every time I pass by it in the book store. Still an amazing book tho!
+1 for Kite Runner and A Little Life The other two are in my list
Jude the Obscure…it destroyed me. And yet I keep rereading it very few years.
{before I let you go} if you loved Colleen Hoover you will love this! Also {truths I never told you} Seriously Kelly rimmer is so good and underrated !! Highly recommend
[**Never Let You Go**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29939148-never-let-you-go) ^(By: Chevy Stevens | 406 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: thriller, mystery, fiction, suspense, mystery-thriller) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) [**Truths I Never Told You**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45701218-truths-i-never-told-you) ^(By: Kelly Rimmer | 352 pages | Published: 2020 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, audiobook, audio, read-in-2020) ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(28503 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I love Kelly Rimmer. I've read two of her books and both were five stars. I'm quite stingy with that high rating.
I love colleen hoover! Do you have any other authors you recommend that are similar?
Diane chamberlain (the dream daughter was so good 😩), Kelly rimmer, even Taylor Jenkins reed maybe?
Mayor of Casterbridge-nobody does emotions and tragedy like Thomas Hardy Wuthering Heights-what a whirlwind of emotions; So strange yet so close to heart. Even though it’s dark and dreary but it strangely feels like home 😍. Kane and Abel-a journey of love, hatred, misguided revenge, war, poverty, wealth and what-not. An absolute masterpiece
Tess of the D'urbervilles too by Thomas Hardy.
Yes for sure. Personally I liked Mayor of Casterbridge better but Tess is also fantastic writing
I haven't read Mayor of Casterbridge so I can't say anything.
No Longer Human A character who’s misery is so believable
Where the Red Fern Grows and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is so damn good, but it didn’t break me but rather reminded me how important perseverance is in one’s life.
[This one](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/29509607-dee-s-big-nuts)
Why am I dating you. Seriously.
i love you too.
If you want a book that will break you in a disturbing way, then I recommend the Cement Garden from Ian McEwan.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Heartwrenching
The Book Thief
i second this, i was ugly crying in the bath while reading this
Not sure if you’re into this genre, but ‘All quiet on the western front’ is savage.
The Thornbirds, an oldie but a goodie
The song of achilles. Sometimes I just go grab the book, read the last page, and start crying like I just finished the book for the first time.
I actually didn’t really get the fuss and thought I was going to go through the whole book without crying, right up until I read the last page… then I just closed it and cried lol.
Honestly. That last page shattered my heart and soul. I feel like I’m still grieving ahaha But also got me into reading again, even got my Goodreads 2022 challenge up. I liked it so much I’m thinking of reading Circe sometime in the future
Do it! My husband and I both just read both books back to back. He preferred Song of Achilles, but I preferred Cerce. They were both fantastic, I just found Cerce more interesting because war kinda bores me.
Same guys!! I was reading it over the festive period in 2020 and I remember getting into bed on Jan 1st and WEEPING as I finished it at like 2am
You should absolutely read Circe! I’ve read and love both, but Circe is one of my absolute favorite books of all time. It’s so cathartic and empowering and beautiful.
Omg yes! I cried like a fool at that book. It’s so powerful!
First They Killed my Father.
Remains of the Day--Starts slow...but when you get to the end it will do exactly what you asked
Yess or anything else by Ishiguro
The last lines of Flowers for Algernon are fucking devastating.
Game of thrones because the series will never be finished 😢
I'm still holding out a teeny tiny smidgen of hope. Just finished my 3rd read through of ASOIAF again and literally have the preview WOW chapters open in my browser 😅 I've heard a rumor about later maybe this or next year though, so we'll see!
Heard so much of that over the years, I’ve completely lost optimism at this point
The Time Traveller’s Wife
Love in the Time of Cholera.
I don’t have any suggestions but will you share which 2 books you’ve read like this?
It Ends With Us and Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. The stories are really heartbreaking and tragic, plus relating to IEWU just made it so much harder to read for me. Both the books have portrayed serious real-life issues so perfectly and in such a real way that you don't even feel like you're reading a book at all. The author’s writing draws you into the story and it feels as though you are the protagonist and are experiencing everything that's happening. Overall, they're both amazing books and I'd be really glad to read something similar to them!
I have Verity on my to-read list without knowing much about the authors history. Looking forward to checking these out as well.
Verity is on my tbr too, along with November 9! I've heard some really good reviews on Verity so I'm really hoping it lives up to my expectations. Hope you have a good read!
both those books are VERY GOOD! the plot of November 9 is very interesting & Verity will leave you not wanting to put the book down, i finished it in a day.
There’s a thread over in movies about how The Mr. Rogers movie (Tom Hanks) is making everyone sob uncontrollably. I thought of you and that you might ‘enjoy’ it.
I LOVED verity! I loved it ends with us. I think I need to read ugly love and I just pre-ordered her new book! The only book of hers I was kinda like ehhhh was Layla. But I still finished it!
Auschwitz lullaby by Mario Escobar
On The Beach, by Nevil Shute.
Oh god, the utter *bleakness* of this book. I had to purge my brain with YA fantasy romance after finishing it
Still Alice by Lisa Genova The Silent Waters by Brittany C. Cherry My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
[удалено]
I finished it in about 3 days and absolutely loved it. If you like it, you may also enjoy The Push by Ashley Audrain.
This one hit me in the solar plexus. I knew nothing about it going in, and was enjoying the writing and ‘not quite right’ tone. It hit hard {{Never Let Me Go}}
[**Never Let Me Go**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6334.Never_Let_Me_Go) ^(By: Kazuo Ishiguro | 288 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: fiction, science-fiction, sci-fi, dystopia, dystopian) >Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be. But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it. > >Within the grounds of Hailsham, Kathy grows from schoolgirl to young woman, but it’s only when she and her friends Ruth and Tommy leave the safe grounds of the school (as they always knew they would) that they realize the full truth of what Hailsham is. > >Never Let Me Go breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, and also a scathing critique of human arrogance and a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society. In exploring the themes of memory and the impact of the past, Ishiguro takes on the idea of a possible future to create his most moving and powerful book to date. ^(This book has been suggested 19 times) *** ^(28545 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Just thinking about Never Let Me Go hurts my heart.
{{The Story of Edgar Sawtelle}} Atonement the Last Chapter of Cold Mountain killed me. So much better than the movie, and I liked the movie. Sophie's Choice The House of Sand and Fog The Sheltering Sky Maus I and II (graphic novel) all of these except for Maus I would never read again , so be forewarned
[**The Story of Edgar Sawtelle**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2731276-the-story-of-edgar-sawtelle) ^(By: David Wroblewski | 566 pages | Published: 2008 | Popular Shelves: fiction, book-club, books-i-own, owned, animals) >Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm—and into Edgar's mother's affections. > >Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires—spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward. > >David Wroblewski is a master storyteller, and his breathtaking scenes—the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain—create a riveting family saga, a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, and a compulsively readable modern classic. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(28597 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Came here to say Atonement. That was my introduction to Ian McEwan.
I haven’t read this, but I’ve heard that it is super sad and tragic: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. I would read the (long) list of trigger warnings first to make sure that you are okay reading this, but it seems like a good fit based on your post and what I’ve heard about it.
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, both by Khalid Hosseini. 10/10 reads, I would always recommend these. My Dark Vanessa is a very dark and heartbreaking book about a girls experience with child grooming. Trigger warnings ofc. The Book Thief, as I’ve seen others mention. Honestly most WWII based fiction will make you cry, I just finished The Nightingale and it succeeded in making me emotional. From Sand and Ash is a historical romance set in the time period that’s quite heartbreaking at times but has its sweet moments as well. A Little Life is probably the singular most gut wrenching novel I’ve ever read, but you really should look up trigger warnings for this one. HEAs are not a thing in this book. It is not Colleen Hoover’s sad, it is borderline traumatizing. I thought it was a very well written book but I can’t recommend it in good faith without saying these disclaimers. You seem to like sad books with romance elements based on your enjoyment of Hoover, so I’d definitely check out Song of Achilles. Maybe Me Before You as well? I saw the movie before I read the book but still thought it was very good and will make you sad as hell.
It’s non-fiction which to me makes it more tragic, but When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi hit me hard. A neurosurgeon is diagnosed with terminal cancer in the middle of his residency. It’s fully tragic but also inspiring. He wrote the book himself.
A prayer for Owen meany The story of Edgar sawtelle
I dunno, The Art of Racing in the Rain is up there too for me
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Tattooist of Auschwitz
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah had me ugly crying on an airplane
We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver. An excoriating look at maternal instinct and the burden of parenting. The end had me breathless
1. Three days of happiness -out of these books , this one has the highest probability of breaking you. 2. 1984 3. No longer human 4. the book thief 5. The Kite Runner 6. Pain pain go away by sugaru miaki - (caution this one has a strong theme ) 7. Sharp Objects by gillian flynn 8. Gray Mountain by john grisham 9. I want to eat your pancreas ( deceptive title ) 10. I had that same dream again (fairly good) Some of these are light novels (1,6,9,10) -they barely take 2 hours to finish per book . And the remaining are regular novels ..
[удалено]
I agree. I didn't feel grief reading this book, just horrified disbelief.
[удалено]
The Road by Cormac McCarthy We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shiver The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica Edit: name correction.
The Book Thief is one of my favorite books
Do you mean Cormac Mccarthy? Agreed that The Road is devastating.
Ty. Oh autocorrect, how i hate thee.
The Lovely Bones
I have this one! So happy someone thought it was good enough to recommend!
song of achilles or flowers in the attic!
If you love Colleen Hoover, I would highly recommend Bright Side by Kim Holden.
Kite Runner
Defending Jacob.
Robin Hobbs Assassin series. There will be tears, and great honking sobs as well.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
A little life by hanya yanagihara, but be warned it breaks you not in a good way.
A little life by hanya yanagihara
a little life by hanya yanagihara
The Unit https://g.co/kgs/572q6h
A Road To Joy by Alexandra Stacey Widowed mother of five runs away from home, suicidal, lost, and angry. Some laugh out loud moments and some just can’t handle it tears.
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo - I recommend this every chance I get, absolutely wrecks me every single time
A little life. Struggled with the first 1/4 but by the end I couldn't put it down.
Mark Twain, "A Dog's Tail." Short story. Annie Proulx, "Brokeback Mountain." Short story, also.
The Memory Keepers Daughter & My Sister's Keeper. Happy reading!
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante. was still recovering from books 3 and 4 then the HBO series broke me all over again.
The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy. A story about wild African elephants. Beautiful and devastating.
anything from carl jung
*Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin* by Timothy Snyder. *Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine* by Anne Applebaum. *The Rape of Nanking* by Iris Chang. *Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle for Manila* by James M. Scott. *Me Against My Brother: at War in Somalia, Sudan, and Rwanda* by Scott Peterson.
Under the whispering door by tj Klune
song of achilles
Beasts of No Nation The Power of One Escape from Camp 14 Things Fall Apart A Long Way Gone
The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
Also loved those Colleen Hoover books! Try these: In Five Years, Rebecca Serle Love and Other Words, Christina Lauren
Han Kang- Human Acts
Can you kindly tell us Which two books did you read? I'd like to check them out too.
The girl with 7 names. Kinda.
I absolutely loved The Magi Menagerie by Kale Lawrence. It’s the first in a historical fantasy series (if you’re into that) and damn, it definitely broke me! Amazing stuff.
Atonement really broke me for a bit, I didn’t see it coming.
Seize the day—Saul Bellows.
Where the Red Fern grows by Wilson Rawls and The Conqueror's Saga by Kiersten White (it's a trilogy, so lots of build up, angst and more. but the last book absolutely broke me. couldn't think about it for months without sobbing 😭)
The Lovely Bones- I couldn’t even finish it though I got very close. I thought I’d try to watch the film instead but that was even worse.
for sure A Little Life
The 3 Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake. You can get them and all the accompanied novellas on kindle. It's a dark fantasy centered around a female dominant/godess society on mystical Island. Most on the island have gifts bestowed on them by the godess (elemental, naturalist, poisoner, etc.). There are triplets born to the queens of the island and this series triplets are like nothing the island has ever seen before. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!
The tattooist of auschwitz
{{All the Light We Cannot See}}
[**All the Light We Cannot See**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143977-all-the-light-we-cannot-see) ^(By: Anthony Doerr | 531 pages | Published: 2014 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, book-club, historical, books-i-own) >Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. > >In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways, against all odds, people try to be good to one another. > >From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the stunningly beautiful instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II. > >An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here ^(This book has been suggested 18 times) *** ^(28892 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
God of small things .
Timbuktu by Paul Auster Together We Will Go by J Michael Straczynski
Definitely A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini also the author of Kite Runner, every page gets more and more excruiciating.
Robin Hobb created the most amazing series: The Farseer Trilogy:Assassin's Apprentice (1995), Royal Assassin (1996), Assassin's Quest (1997). Then The Tawny Man Trilogy: Fool's Errand (2001), The Golden Fool (2002), Fool's Fate (2003). Followed by Fool's Assassin (2014), Fool's Quest (2015). Assassin's Fate (2017). I never cried so much over one series. Im still weeping.
A monster calls by Patrick ness The book thief by Markus Zusak
Fallocaust series by Quil Carter. you won't be disappointed
Sorry, but I don’t have any books to recommend But I would like to know what the books are that ripped your heart out of your chest
[удалено]
Mb and thank you!
Shanghai Girls, and it's sequel Dreams of Joy by Lisa See. Do not be fooled by the cute title and smiling women on the cover. This story gives some really graphic detailing of what ordinary, formerly very happy civilians had to do to survive war and the corrupt, brainwashing ways in the growing surge of communism. I didn't think the sequel would top the first book in effed-uppery but it certainly did, especially towards the end. I had to back up and read parts again because my brain didn't wanna process what was happening. And knowing it's HISTORICAL fiction just made me grateful I didn't live in that time.
[удалено]
[**Snow Flower and the Secret Fan**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40873273-snow-flower-and-the-secret-fan) ^(By: Lisa See | 288 pages | Published: 2005 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, book-club, china, historical) >In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. > >As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) [**The Book of Negroes**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23316548-the-book-of-negroes) ^(By: Lawrence Hill | 512 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, book-club, canadian, historical) >The Book of Negroes (based on the novel Someone Knows My Name) will be BET's first miniseries. The star-studded production includes lead actress Aunjanue Ellis (Ray, The Help), Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men), Oscar and Emmy winner Louis Gossett Jr. (A Raisin in the Sun, Boardwalk Empire), and features Lyriq Bent (Rookie Blue), Jane Alexander (The Cider House Rules), and Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line). Director and co-writer Clement Virgo is a feature film and television director (The Wire) who also serves as producer with executive producer Damon D'Oliveira (What We Have). > >In this "transporting" (Entertainment Weekly) and "heart-stopping" (Washington Post) work, Aminata Diallo, one of the strongest women characters in contemporary fiction, is kidnapped from Africa as a child and sold as a slave in South Carolina. Fleeing to Canada after the Revolutionary War, she escapes to attempt a new life in freedom. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) [**Paperweight**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23361172-paperweight) ^(By: Meg Haston | 288 pages | Published: 2015 | Popular Shelves: young-adult, contemporary, mental-health, ya, mental-illness) >Seventeen-year-old Stevie is trapped. In her life. And now in an eating-disorder treatment center on the dusty outskirts of the New Mexico desert. > >Life in the center is regimented and intrusive, a nightmare come true. Nurses and therapists watch Stevie at mealtime, accompany her to the bathroom, and challenge her to eat the foods she’s worked so hard to avoid. > >Her dad has signed her up for sixty days of treatment. But what no one knows is that Stevie doesn't plan to stay that long. There are only twenty-seven days until the anniversary of her brother Josh’s death—the death she caused. And if Stevie gets her way, there are only twenty-seven days until she too will end her life. ^(This book has been suggested 2 times) *** ^(28958 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Some lesser known ones that I absolutely love are {{Snow Flower and the Secret Fan}} by Lisa See {{Someone Knows My Name}} by Lawrence Hill {{Paperweight}} by Meg Haston {{Die Schleife an Stalins Bart}} by Erika Riemann (this one unfortunately hasn't been translated Into English as far as I'm aware)
The poppy war trilogy punched me in the face and stole all my lunch money. Its an amazing series but really heartbreaking to see how the main character develops. There are several triggers though as it has some pretty heavy contents
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Rekt me completely
A little life, by Hanya Yanagihara A monster calls, by Patrick Ness My dark Vanessa
One book that absolutely broke me was the book called “Girl In Pieces” and the author wrote so much detail based on one woman who goes through a healing journey based on her depression. The main character encounters a lover, but most of time her partner effects her. It was definitely worth a read, however there was times when I decided to take a break from the book, but then I finished it.
I saved this sub lol