Ten Books That Made Me Cry Even Harder Than Usual
(There’s a difference between a sad book (Stoner; Turtle Diary; Housekeeping; The Blood of the Lamb) and a book that actually makes me cry. I think of myself as an adventurous reader, but I realized while making this list that my tear reflex has very traditional tastes: it wants a good story conveyed transparently, without irony, trickery, or distance, with characters who matter to me and who endure tragic fates. The truth is that I cry pretty easily, so I’ve restricted myself here to books that made me cry unwillingly enough that I not only remember it but remember it as an important part of the reading experience. Here they are, from one to ten, ranked by the volume of tears they induced.)
oceans: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
lakes: The Pacific and Other Stories by Mark Helprin
municipal water tanks: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
swimming pools: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
casks: Chez L’arabe: Stories by Mireille Silcoff
buckets: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
jugs: Silk by Alessandro Baricco
wine bottles: The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
glasses: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
cups: A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
— August 1, 2021