I want a very depressing book

The Road - and then watch the film!
The First Circle - Alexander Solzhineitsin (sp)
Anna Karenina - Tolstoy
The Kite Runner

Another vote here for Atonement by Ian McEwen.
Don’t forget Nineteen-Eighty-Four.

A little life
Shuggie Bain

I’ve read an awful lot of these and have many of the others on my reading list . They are ok interspersed with other reads but reminding myself of all the ones I’ve read has made me determined to go away and read Georgette Heyer for a week or two. Deeply depressed now.

I loved Elinor Oliphant, made me cry (a lot) but I loved the ending.

A little life was also a harrowing read but a really worthwhile story.

I found them both really engaging & well written

The Reader - thought provoking but sad

Cgto2

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah.
The bleakest book I’ve ever read!

If you really want bleak and it’s bleaker than The Four Winds try The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

I finally read Anna Karenina a few years ago and found it so good that I went on to read War and Peace (though I did skip some of the descriptions of battles) and then read another Tolstoy I think called Resurrection - really depressing in one way but Tolstoy makes it a really great read.

Sophie’s Choice.

I too would nominate Tess of the D'Urbevilles. Also Remains of the Day, though I would probably describe it as sad, rather than depressing.

Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy.

A few years ago I finally read Anna Karenina and understood why it is so very highly regarded - it is brilliant! So I then read War and Peace (missing out some of the accounts of battles) and having at last discovered Tolstoy went on to read Resurrection which is very depressing but deserves to be better known.

Anything by Margaret Atwood - makes you lose the will to live.

My vote would be for A Little Life.
I thoroughly enjoyed what was a depressing and sad book. It was however quite an epic and would recommend.

Oops! Sorry posted twice on same books

There’s a Scottish saga, covering three generations - brilliant but bleak - A Scots Quair by Lewis Grassic Gibbons.

Luckygirl I agree with you about Margaret Attwood’s books, but I bought a book of her poems recently and they were a complete surprise - clever, insightful and not at all depressing.

The boy in the striped pyjamas.

every time I see this thread in active conversations I have a little chuckle to myself

Demon Copperhead - it's even worse than Shuggie Bain.

Birdcage Walk
Had it on audiobook, can't recall author
Very much regretted the hours spent listening

Well, there's a nice list of books to avoid!

Greyduster

Luckygirl I agree with you about Margaret Attwood’s books, but I bought a book of her poems recently and they were a complete surprise - clever, insightful and not at all depressing.

Interesting as I noticed that she was also a poet and have suggested her for our next poetry group meeting. Good to have an endorsement.

At present I'm reading "The School of Night" by Karlove Knausgaard, translated from Norwegian. A Christmas present - very long, no chapters and very depressing.

ochia03

Ive always loved reading really depressing books, since I'm a rather happy-go-lucky person, so most of the ones I read don't make me feel very sad. So that's where I employ all of you great people, to find me a book that will make me rethink why I created this post. Please and thank you

Ive always loved reading really depressing books, since I'm a rather happy-go-lucky person, so most of the ones I read don't make me feel very sad. So that's where I employ all of you great people, to find me a book that will make me rethink why I created this post. Please and thank you smile. 100001.onl/

I got this,..