What book tugged at your heartstrings?

lm728 · Oct 26, 2008

Okay, so maybe even the toughest of us has cried (in public) when reading a book (may it be waiting at the dentist's office or at the airport). What made it so it affected you emotionally, without being too contrived?

For example, Gabrielle Zevin's ELSEWHERE made me cry because it is so relatable--the fear of death, the hopelessness of it all.

THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN was terribly sad and bittersweet, too. The dog-MC, who was wise, funny, and unique, dies in the end--but not before finishing his purpose in life.

I'm writing a short story in which my MC dies after saving another MC--and it's about the power of miracles. I just wanted to hear everyone else's take on what elements make them emotional.

Kalyke · Oct 26, 2008

I guess like a lot of people the element that makes me cry (not that I'll admit it) is when a character fails after trying so hard. Also when a "win" is bittersweet, like in order to win some nice person had to die or something. I don't think I go for rank sentimentality. Maybe I do. I don't know.

joyce · Oct 26, 2008

Marley and Me: Life with the world's worst dog by John Grogan, made me laugh till I cried and cry from sadness. Having owned labs for many years, there were so many things in that book I could relate to. Like he, I knew how bad they could be but you still loved them anyway. The heartbreak of their death makes you realize just how much they were a part of your life. Great book if you want to shed some tears.

Karen Duvall · Oct 26, 2008

Loss always makes me weepy. Whether its by death, or theft, or accident, it's very easy to relate to and well-written characters who express grief at their loss will get me every time. The one book I've read at least three times and I always cry at the end was a novel called MOTHERS. For the life of me I can't remember the author's name, but I think it was Olivia somebody. It's been years, but I'll never forget the story about a surrogate mother who's daughter dies in a sledding accident while she's pregnant with someone else's child. It's soooooooo sad. *sniff*

Bo Sullivan · Oct 26, 2008

Oliver Twist did it for me! A heartbreaking story with a happy ending. All the elements of a great story.

sunna · Oct 26, 2008

I don't cry easily or often, so it's got to be something pretty striking to make me tear up while reading. The last one I can remember was a passage in Pink Slip by Rita Ciresi when the MC has just lost a close family member/best friend: she wrote it as a direct address from the MC to the dead character, a sort of mental eulogy, and it was very visual and wrenchingly lyrical.

Kitty Pryde · Oct 26, 2008

Anything by Bryce Courtenay, in particular "The Power of One", "Tandia", and "Smokey Joe's Cafe". The writing is pretty straightforward storytelling without being too sentimental, but he expresses the underlying themes so strongly that the story always gets to me. In a good way. Often the scene is a MC losing someone they depended on, and they think they can't get by without that person, but then you know that they will persevere and struggle as they carry that person's memory. WIN!
When a writer does something like kill off a kid, sometimes i can picture him sitting at his desk, cackling to himself as he's picturing ME crying over it. then i feel angry and manipulated for crying at such a scene. so i think maybe if you set out to make a point about the world, you could make me cry feeling the truth and profundity of the story. but if you set out to make me cry, you might just make me feel angry about feeling like crying.

Madison · Oct 26, 2008

A Separate Peace (I was angry!)

To Kill a Mockingbird (ditto!)

Voyage of the Dawn Treader/Last Battle every time (what beautiful books!)

oh wow, so many more... including 'Something's Rotten' (by Jasper Fforde) because I was laughing so hard

selkn.asrai · Oct 26, 2008

Atonement devastated me. If I'm to be candid, I was haunted for days. Bravo, Ian McEwan.

In the Heart of the Sea, although nonfiction, is pretty terrifying and tragic, too.

josephwise · Oct 26, 2008

Of Mice and Men, when it is hinted that George is only pretending to be Lenny's cousin.

And its sci-fi adaptation, Akira, had a similar moment during the playground flashback.

That sort of difficult compassion always gets to me.

RickN · Oct 26, 2008

joyce said:
Marley and Me: Life with the world's worst dog by John Grogan, made me laugh till I cried and cry from sadness. Having owned labs for many years, there were so many things in that book I could relate to. Like he, I knew how bad they could be but you still loved them anyway. The heartbreak of their death makes you realize just how much they were a part of your life. Great book if you want to shed some tears.

Ditto for me. I'm a sucker for good dog books anyway, but, as a long-time Lab owner, this one hit close to home.

selkn.asrai · Oct 26, 2008

RickN said:
Ditto for me. I'm a sucker for good dog books anyway, but, as a long-time Lab owner, this one hit close to home.

What about cat books? The series by Peter Gethers on Norton, a Scottish Fold, was lovely. And the last of the three, The Cat Who'll Live Forever, was a tearjerker for sure.

ChaosTitan · Oct 26, 2008

I don't often cry over books, but "Broken" by Megan Hart had me weeping hard near the end. It is erotica (if anyone chooses to seek this out), but the writing is very powerful and the story so heartbreaking...

The only other books I remember bawling over are "The Green Mile" by Stephen King and "A Summer to Die" by Lois Lowry. I'm sure I've misted up at others, but those three really got to me.

Carmy · Oct 26, 2008

The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart.

Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge.

redpbass · Oct 27, 2008

It's a weird choice I'm sure, but so far the only book that has hit me just right was The Sackett Brand by Louis Lamour. Here you have Tell Sackett, a big, awkward guy (I can relate

) finally finding the love of his life in the previous book and then out of nowhere, BAM. She's dead, murdered horribly before they even got their life together started. Of course, then Tell proceeds to kill everybody in a very satisfying way, but still...

...why are you looking at me like that?

lm728 · Oct 27, 2008

I haven't read MARLEY & ME, since the back-cover copy looked kid-ish, but I'll definitely read it sometime. A WALK TO REMEMBER was also sad at the end, because the MC had changed so much.

CaroGirl · Oct 27, 2008

I cried while reading Where the Red Fern Grows aloud to my kids. I also cried on the bus while reading the sad part in Lottery, by our very own Orion/Patricia Wood.

Shadow_Ferret · Oct 27, 2008

To be honest, I generally don't read books that tug at my heartstrings. Crying hurts. I'd rather avoid it altogether.

CaroGirl · Oct 27, 2008

Shadow_Ferret said:
To be honest, I generally don't read books that tug at my heartstrings. Crying hurts. I'd rather avoid it altogether.

Crying doesn't hurt me. Sometimes it's even a relief. If there's hurt, it's because of what's causing me to cry, not the crying itself.

Are you sure you're doing it right?

Shadow_Ferret · Oct 27, 2008

CaroGirl said:
Crying doesn't hurt me. Sometimes it's even a relief. If there's hurt, it's because of what's causing me to cry, not the crying itself.

Are you sure you're doing it right?

I'm a guy, so probably not.

Being emotionless works for me.

emandem · Oct 27, 2008

I'm with Shadow Ferret, and I'm a woman. I read for escapism, and I don't want to escape into any world sadder than what I already see on a daily basis. Not that I don't have an appreciation for the occasional tear-jerker I've read in the past.

tehuti88 · Oct 27, 2008

Being abandoned or left behind/alone in life always tugs at me, for the reason that so many people have done this to me in my own life.

I recall when reading Basil Johnston's "The Manitous"--really not a heart-tugging type of book, it's just retellings of Ojibwa myths--I came to the stories about Manabozho, the culture hero, and his family. His father bailed out before he was born, his mother died giving birth to him, and his eldest brother moved on. His beloved third-oldest brother was drowned, and then when his second-oldest brother tried pulling a prank on him, Manabozho accidentally drove him off (not knowing who it was at the time). He was left with only his grandmother. Then, his own people, the Ojibwa, forgot about him, so he packed up his things and bitterly left. This made me cry so much. I just sympathized completely with him having people bailing out or not being there when he needed them most, with feeling totally forgotten. In fact that's one of the reasons I write about him so much; I just feel like I "know" him and how he feels.

Silly, I know, but that's what tugs at my heartstrings in terms of reading, because I know how awful it feels to be alone and forgotten.

Phaeal · Oct 27, 2008

WARNING: LotR Spoiler, for those from other planets.

I've cried over so many books I can't begin to list them. I cry if something's particularly sad, or particularly happy, or particularly beautiful. I have a great time. One particular incident comes to mind:

A bunch of us used to gather to read the Harry Potter books out loud, from the midnight release until we got to the end. I happened to get the chapter in HP and the Order of the Phoenix in which Harry sees Neville Longbottom visiting his parents at St. Mungo's Hospital. Neville's mad mother keeps giving him candy wrappers, as if they were precious gifts, and Neville saves every one, even though his grandmother tells him to throw them away. This passage had me reading choked up and streaming. Writers take note of the power of the right tiny detail.

Same thing happened to me in a Lord of the Rings marathon reading. I got the chapter in which Sam thinks Frodo is dead and mourns over his "corpse." It was great -- not a dry eye in the house.

Charlie Horse · Oct 27, 2008

tilt190 said:
THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN was terribly sad and bittersweet, too. The dog-MC, who was wise, funny, and unique, dies in the end--but not before finishing his purpose in life.

Thanks for sharing the ending of this book that is still on my "must read" list.

As for the question..."A Prayer for Owen Meany" is the first to pop into mind. I won't say what happens in the end for those of you who haven't read it.

RickN · Oct 27, 2008

Charlie Horse said:
Thanks for sharing the ending of this book that is still on my "must read" list.

In fairness to tilt, the book opens with the dog in his final days, reminiscing over his life. His impending death is the impetus for the book, so you're not surprised. Tilt only spoiled the first couple pages.

What book tugged at your heartstrings?

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