Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Favorite Sad Book

It's no secret that our book this week, The Fault in Our Stars, is a tear jerker (it's a book about teenagers with cancer.  If you thought that it wouldn't be sad, you're just not very intuitive.)  So Alex and I are going to talk to you about the books that really hit us right in the gut.


Ok, just to warn you, there will be spoilers for this book.  So if you haven't read it yet, I would skip to Alex's book.

The Book Thief is pretty much brilliant, as we've said more than a few times, and being narrated by death, you kind of get the feeling that it's going to be sad.  And you want to know the worst part?  You KNOW it's going to be sad.  About halfway through the book, Death tells you that everyone dies, everyone.  He tells you that all these characters you love, won't be there by the end.

It also starts with death.  Liesel's brother dies, right in the beginning, and then she's left by her mother (who, we learn later, is also probably dead.)  As if that weren't enough, Rudy, her best friend, this boy that you wanted her to do nothing but kiss through the whole book, dies before he ever gets it.  It's sad and tragic and heartbreaking and I guarantee that you'll read it at least three times.

I would love to tell you about a new book, something I haven't discussed here on the blog. I'd love to tell you how sad Room by Emma Donoghue is, or what a tearjerker Night by Elie Wiesel is... but instead, I'm going to be honest.


You know how sometimes, you just want to pick up a book that's going to make you cry? This is my go-to book for that situation. It's a guarantee for me. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is kind of like that too, but it's a lot longer, with far more space between the sad deaths; Catching Fire is a little more... rapid-fire. You're just starting to accept one death when BAM the next one smacks you in the face.

2 comments:

  1. The Time Travelers Wife made me bawl like a baby. Also, Room was pretty sad, but I didn't actually cry. I haven't read The Notebook, but that movie made me cry (go ahead and make fun of me, I don't care), so maybe the book would too. I don't have any plans to read it though. I agree with HPDH as well. And Catching Fire. Both sad.

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    1. You know, I read Room, and it wasn't nearly as powerful as I expected it to be. I really thought it would be tragic and have me bawling and I just wasn't really all that impressed. Maybe my expectations were too high.

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