I'm 21 years old and I'm trying to read more often now that I have some spare time. I love sad books (but nothing too corny). I really enjoyed "The Pact" by Jodi Piccoult, "Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas" by James Patterson, and "Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard.
Do any of you have suggestions for others? I'm going on vacation soon and need some new books
2006-07-22 18:11:00 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I recommend Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men." This is a quick read, which is nice for a "classic."
I also liked "Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's a love story, in part. You have to like unreliable narrators to like Ishiguro, though.
"Love" by Toni Morrison is also a very sad novel. The cover looks like a Danielle Steele novel, which I find amusing.
"The Dive from Clausen's Pier" by Ann Packer is along the lines most closely to the other books you mentioned, at least in tone.
Gregory Maguire's "Lost" is also quite sad, and a bit of a mystery. (He's the guy who wrote "Wicked" - the novel, not the musical.)
2006-07-22 18:57:37 · answer #1 · answered by Compulsive Reader 2 · 9⤊ 4⤋
The Notebook by Nicolas Sparks
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Neffeneger
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult
The Collector by John Fowles
2006-07-22 18:15:39 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, which is about the character Dinah in the bible (but is not a bible thumping book... quite the opposite really...). There are uplifting parts, and there are parts that are very sad. I cried at the end because I was happy for her despite all the pain in her life.
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Okay, so you won't be able to eat meat for a while after reading it... but if you want something truely depressing, this is it.
2006-07-23 01:59:00 · answer #3 · answered by Marien 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Grapes of Wrath is a work of fiction written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. Learn about America then and now and the struggle to stay alive. Substitute "Okies" with migrant workers and it is uncanny how much the world hasn't changed.
2006-07-22 23:41:39 · answer #4 · answered by Thomas S 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My favorite book of all time: "As I Lay Dying" by William Faulkner. It's not exactly easy reading, since it is written in poor english, from the perspective of the uneducated Southern characters who narrate it. But it is sad, with an A-mazing ending, and it's so beautiful and poetic the whole way through.
It's about a Southern family whose mother is on her deathbed, and their journey to bury her in the city where she grew up. They are faced with disaster along the way, and family member's backstory is slowly revealed as they get closer to their destination.
2006-07-22 18:25:44 · answer #5 · answered by Jon 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
2006-07-22 18:42:55 · answer #6 · answered by Kelly + Eternal Universal Energy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try "Anybody Out There?" by Marian Keyes....amazing writer, and you'll be hooked on all her books. In this book, the protagonist is 33. Books with protagonists closer in age to you are "Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married" or "Rachel's Holiday", also by Marian Keyes. She's just fabulous.
2006-07-22 18:18:14 · answer #7 · answered by Cindy 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
" Somewhere in Time" yes the book that they made into a movie in the 80's with jane Seymour and Christopher Reeves. It is a good book and the movie was based on it but things are always changed in the movies.
2006-07-22 22:28:19 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
wings of the dove by henry james written in the early 1900's
A story about a British couple (Kate and Merton) who befriend a young dying American heiress(Milly) in order to get at her money. It is the story of a contrived love affair between Merton and Milly while Kate plays Milly’s best friend. It is a wonderful psychological study of need, desire and frailty. And though everyone gets what they wanted, everyone lost.
it is one of literature's finest.
2006-07-22 18:42:01 · answer #9 · answered by yeeooow 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gunther, John. Death Be Not Proud. New York: Harper Collins, 1949. ISBN 0060929898
2006-07-22 18:16:49 · answer #10 · answered by knoodelhed 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you like Jodi Piccoult did you read her other store "My Sister's Keeper" I really enjoyed that one as well. Maybe you should try that.
2006-07-22 18:14:25 · answer #11 · answered by snflyswt 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋