What is our never-ending fascination with sad books? Whether it’s a doomed romance or a shock main character death, we delight in picking up novels that we know will absolutely destroy us, and can’t wait to pass them on to our friends so that we can revel in our despair together.
From weepy classics that have been passed down for generations to tear-jerkers which have garnered cult followings and caused nearly all of us to sob into our hands, we all know we love to put ourselves through it. It's safe to say that the sad novel is going absolutely nowhere, so buckle up and prepare for the ultimate heart-rending and sob-inducing list of books that will have you ugly crying right up until the final page.
A beautiful blend of both poetry and prose, this book is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Our narrator, Little Dog, draws you in with his coming-of-age story that explores his childhood as a young Vietnamese boy growing up in America, living with both his mother and grandmother. It is steeped in tenderness and love but also violence and cruelty, highlighting the often vast and heart-breaking differences between generations within a family.
A love story lies at the core of this romantic, touching, and funny novel. When Lou Clark loses her job, she finds herself working for the Traynor family, whose son Will is left wheelchair bound after a tragic accident. Lou and Will’s outlook on life couldn’t be more different, and what ensues is a good old-fashioned enemies-to-lovers tale. The heartache, romance and humour will mean you don’t want this novel to end, and you’ll need to keep the tissues on hand for THAT ending.
Hazel Grace is a 16-year-old with thyroid and lung cancer. She spends her time watching the same TV shows and re-reading her favourite book until one day, at a cancer support group, she meets Augustus Walters – a larger-than-life, charismatic 17-year-old who is a cancer survivor. Their love story unfolds like poetry, as together they question the meaning of life and how to leave their mark on the world. It’s one of those beautifully written romances, full of symbolism and hidden meanings.
We couldn’t possibly write this list without mentioning the mother of all sad books, which has broken the hearts of millions worldwide. The story follows four best friends as they arrive in New York, having met years earlier at university. Each is intent on making his own way in the world, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that it is the secretive Jude, the centre of their group, whose mysterious past threatens to overwhelm him. A Little Life
Described by Elizabeth Day as “one of the best debuts in recent years”, this love story about two boys who begin as friends before they enlist to fight in the First World War has sparked a slew of broken heart emojis across the internet. Set against the harrowing backdrop of the trenches, and with their friends being killed around them, they find fleeting moments of solace in each other – even though at any moment they could be next. It is a beautiful and brutal depiction of forbidden love, and the way Winn writes war and love intertwined make this one a real heartbreaker.
Cyril Avery knows he doesn’t belong in his family – partly because they like to constantly remind him that he was adopted. So as he approaches adulthood in 20th-century Ireland, he sets off on a journey of self-discovery, unwittingly coming to terms with his sexuality and what that means in Irish society along the way. It is devastatingly funny, which means it breaks your heart and sets you laughing through your tears right up until the end. Expect this novel to stay with you long after you’ve finished.
When Violet and Finch meet one night on the edge of a tower, their lives become entangled forever – though it is never clear to them who saves who. This unlikely and endearing pair of broken teenagers are able to give each other reasons to live, whilst they face the limits of love in the face of enduring grief and mental illness. Niven is a master of writing teenage love and pain; if you loved The Fault in Our Stars
The tender and melancholic writing of Baldwin’s second novel cemented him as one of America’s greatest-ever writers. David and Giovanni first meet in 1950s Paris and embark on a secretive yet passionate love affair – but David is engaged to his girlfriend back home in America. When she comes looking for him, she unwittingly sets into motion Giovanni’s doom. The themes of alienation and isolation, as well as that sense of the inevitable make this a deeply sad yet poetic read, as moving now as when it was first published.
This is an inspiring true story full of hope and the healing power of nature. After losing all their money and house in a scam, Raynor’s husband of 32 years, Moth, is diagnosed with a terminal illness. With nothing else left, they make the brave and impulsive decision to embark on the 630-mile South West Coast Path walk with their few belongings on their backs. On this brutal journey their spirits are almost broken, but it is their resilience that shines through – especially when Moth starts to show signs of miraculous recovery. Come for the breath-taking descriptions of English countryside and stay for the touching and unexpected love story at its heart.
In this novel, Lupton writes with compassion and humanity about a school taken under siege by a shooter. The novel plays out over three hours, during which everyone involved must find the courage to stand up against evil and try to save the people they love. What the author does brilliantly here is deliver the reader into the headspace of her characters; no small feat, given the subject matter. You will read this tense, compelling novel with your heart in your mouth, desperate to know what happens in the end. It is at its core a thriller, but also a moving meditation on family, friendships and what it is to love.
The latest novel from comedy favourite Dawn French tells the story of two very different women who go into labour in the same hospital, on the same night – but only one walks out with a baby. Seventeen years later, the truth of what happened that night will rock the foundations of both families, and mother-daughter bonds will be tested. It’s the perfect happy-sad novel, moving and human, and told with French’s trademark wit.
A much-loved, much-discussed novel when it first came out, Atonement became an instant classic and has been championed by readers ever since. The sadness here lies in how frustrating it is – we are powerless in the knowledge we have and must watch as a cruel split-second decision plays out for the decades to come, reminding us what it actually means to live with the consequences of our actions.
