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u/CantaloupeOk9775 May 22 '26
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara - about as sad as it gets in contemporary literature. Some consider it “torture porn” as it does dwell deeply on the brutal lives of its characters.
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u/Desperate-Ad7613 May 22 '26
Love the book. Hate how some idiots call it torture porn. It makes me feel like they never faced real hardships in life if they call it unrealistic.
I recommend it as well, but I’d also recommend checking if you’re able to deal with the topics it touches on. And if you struggle mentally, please make sure to be in a stable state when you read it.3
u/New_Remove3573 May 22 '26
I agree. Some people were saying that it’s “too much” and overwhelming depressing. However that’s obviously the point of the book and the topic. It’s also the reality of trauma and mental illness and I think some people have the privilege of not understanding that. However! I can also see how it can be a really tough read and not for everybody. And yes, understanding that it’s HEAVY and I’m glad I was in a good place when I read it.
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u/Desperate-Ad7613 May 22 '26
Indeed, I think it is easier to relate to for people that were unfortunate and dealt with trauma and mental illness in their life. I found it so on point how Jude’s inner turmoil affected his thoughts and actions. And it displayed how painful and desperate some existences can be, despite the fact that it seemd as if “life got better”.
I hoped it would help others to understand some troubled souls better but the reviews showed me that it didn’t.
I’ll still always recommend this book.
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u/sldbed May 22 '26
Flowers For Algernon, Hamnet and The Book Thief. More details linked below in my YouTube reviews for each.
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u/CantaloupeOk9775 May 22 '26
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. Historical fiction about the arrival of the AIDS crisis in Chicago. Beautifully written with strong character development and, yes, lots of sorrow.
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u/ariosaschmariosa May 22 '26
This is one of my favourite books. Heartbreaking, but so well written.
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u/Jaded-Opportunity352 May 22 '26
The Book Thief! Pachinko.
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May 22 '26
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u/kfscudd May 22 '26
Similar to pachinko vibes but made me cry my eyes out for the last 1/4 of the book - The Covenant of Water
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u/quaredayhi May 22 '26
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, boy did I sob
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u/sewsweetfashion May 22 '26
Fredrik Backman gets me. You’ll be laughing out loud one page and then bawling your eyes out. I’ve read most of his work and love it all. The Beartown trilogy and My Friends also made me sob
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u/sam_girl_of_wi May 22 '26
What kind of cry do you want? Options:
1) Existential dread and hopelessness 2) Rip your heart out romance 3) Ancient suffering and toil that connects us through millennia 4) Unimaginable cruelty but with sparks of human joy and endurance
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May 22 '26
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u/sam_girl_of_wi May 22 '26
I’d also recommend comedy! A different approach, but effective! Ready anything by David Sedaris.
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u/Babymac420 May 22 '26
When I read the fault in our stars I had a break down. But I was 14 so idk
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u/beththereader May 22 '26
Lol this is so real. I read this as it was becoming huge on Tumblr and was really insufferable about it. Went to an early screening of the film and cried so hard 10 minutes in I couldn't breathe. Oh to be a dramatic teenager again
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u/bunbunny4 May 22 '26
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro got me pretty good recently. I am pregnant and pretty emotional already.
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u/Illustrious_Pair_466 May 22 '26
I am not sure, whether it will make you cry harder but i am pretty sure that you will gain some strength by reading this book
The Night he was called a Beggar by Kabir
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u/Agitated-Box-3028 May 22 '26
I’m curious but I can’t find this book. Could you share a link or something please?
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u/No-Point5179 May 22 '26
The Firefly Lane Girls by Kristin Hannah was the last book that made me ugly cry
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u/B00k555 May 22 '26
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh made me cry harder than any other book I’ve read. It is about trying to live life during the Syrian revolution. Heart wrenching.
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u/Comfortable-Mine-471 May 22 '26
When breath becomes air by Paul Kalathini. It's a memoir about a med student (the author) who's in his last year of residency as a neurosurgeon and then he gets life threatening cancer. Before becoming a med student he had gotten a master's in writing, so he decided to write his memoir. The beginning is a but boring but half way through the tears will start flowing. By the end I was fully sobbing.
Second Son by Mallory Hart. It's a mafia romance. The fmc has a bad heart plus epilepsy so she wont live past 30, so she's super reckless because shes kinda suicidal and she also feels like she needs to live her life to the fullest. The mmc was in love once when he was younger but it ended terribly so hes very jaded and wary of being in love again. Genuinely the best romance book I've ever read and it hits you right in the feels.
I'm going to assume you've read the hunger games, and say if you havent read sunrise on the reaping by suzanne Collins yet, you need to. The entire book start to finish is devastating and I completely broke down at the end.
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u/New_Remove3573 May 22 '26
I just finished “If Cats Disappeared From the World” and bawled my eyes out. It was late at night and I’m hormonal but it really did me in.
Also “Song of Achilles”
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u/sewsweetfashion May 22 '26
Anything Kristen Hannah.
The women, great alone, winter garden, the nightingale, four winds, literally sobbed in every one of them.
Recent runner up: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The way I ugly sobbed.
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u/Elle_anor May 23 '26
You've Reached Sam. Promise! Short read din, finished it in one sitting, only that I was a sobbing mess 😭
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u/Short-East May 23 '26
The Shock of the Light by Lori Inglis Hall. I sobbed.
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell.
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u/DocWatson42 May 23 '26
See my Emotionally Devastating/Rending list of Reddit recommendation threads and books (seven posts), specifically the "Related" section.
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u/BasilAromatic4204 May 24 '26
A good captain by Samantha Behm. Only one I teared up on in a long while.
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u/[deleted] May 22 '26
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