*This article is spoiler-free.*
BookTok has been tremendously helpful in popularising new books online. Authors that would have otherwise gone unnoticed have been given the chance to see their novels on window displays at Waterstones. It only really takes a few people hyping up a book for it to go viral, and soon everyone is purchasing their own copy and raving about it on social media for months. Although it can all be very subjective, some books undoubtedly deserve attention; whilst others can generally be considered overrated. Some that claim to break your heart will leave you totally unbothered and others might surprise you. I went on a mission to read what the BookTok community deem some of their saddest books to see for myself. I will be rating these books on how much I, personally, enjoyed them while also considering how objectively successful the writing is, as well as how tragic I found their content. Are they overhyped or worth your time? And what comparisons can be made to similar, perhaps even better reads?
1. A Little Life
4/5 overall.
5/5 for sadness.
Hanya Yanagihara’s epic tale of love and friendship set in New York is known to be one of the saddest books out there. It follows the lives of four friends from their broke college days through to the pinnacles of their careers — through decades of difficult relationships, working through trauma and other hardships. Jude, a successful lawyer with a deeply troubled past, is the glue that keeps the group together, though often at great expense to himself. It’s difficult to explain more without spoiling some of the more shocking elements of the story; but this whopper of a novel was quick to prove itself as one of the best books I’ve ever read. The characters are easy to get attached to and root for, and as the plot spans over such a long period of time, there is never a tedious moment. Yanagihara’s stylistic prose is beautiful, and I’d dare to say the book is the perfect length for all its content — and that’s at almost 800 pages.
However, there is one elephant in the room that must be addressed if you plan to read this book: the trigger warnings. I don’t consider myself the type to be easily put off; I can digest difficult content and remain stony-faced while confronted with hard-hitting issues. But A Little Life is one to be taken seriously. The novel contains a mountain of graphic content ranging from self-harm and suicide to sexual assault and child prostitution. In fact, the biggest criticism Yanagihara has received has been from readers labelling the book ‘trauma porn’. The emotions were high with this one. Going into it, I had no expectations other than the thought I might shed a tear or two, but it was a lot more than I bargained for. I do agree that some of the characters’ suffering felt needless and far-fetched. If you don’t think you can safely handle it, don’t force yourself through it.
2. The Song of Achilles
5/5 overall.
4/5 for sadness.
The Song of Achilles is a modern-day retelling of the Greek myth of Achilles, the so-called Greatest of the Greeks, as seen from his ‘friend’ Patroclus’ point of view. But I’m this version of events, Patroclus is a lot more than just a friend, giving the tale a bittersweet romantic twist. Madeline Miller’s writing is gorgeous and lyrical, but the language is accessible enough to get you out of a reading slump or ease you into the historical romance genre. The story is spun with such liveliness; the characters are invented to be tangibly human (or in Achilles’ case, half-divine). Miller’s retelling shines a light on Patroclus, a tragically underrated character, as a loving and selfless man. On the other hand, I was surprised to find that, despite his heroic reputation, I hated Achilles by the end, and wished desperately that things could have gone differently had he made better choices. Of course, Achilles is a character with more flaws than just his heel, and most readers will be aware of how his story ends before the first page. If you’re one of them, you can imagine how sad a conclusion the book ended on.
If you’re looking for more by this fantastic author with less of a focus on romance, I would highly recommend Madeline Miller’s Circe. As another mythological retelling, you’ll find more interesting history lessons in Greek mythology while following the life of a criminally underrated character. The witch-goddess Circe does not have a huge place in the history books unlike Achilles, so Miller was able to spin an even more creative tale here.
3. All The Bright Places
1.5/5 overall.
2/5 for sadness.
Many of the reviews for All The Bright Places are stellar, so my expectations going in were high. I was severely disappointed.
One of the worst flaws from the get-go was that the plot was extremely predictable. Two traumatised teenagers meet as one lingers on the brink of a suicide attempt — will their blooming romance save them both from a tragic demise? Naturally, the story is set up to divert from any happily ever afters. However, there’s not much to root for in the interim, as the plot focuses entirely too much on the characters’ mental illnesses, bringing forward the incorrect stereotype that mentally ill people are just a summary of their conditions. This ‘woe is me’ style of writing overrode any chance for plot development and quickly became tiring and frustrating. The only character allowed an inkling of personality was the protagonist Violet; before the climax of the story brought back her grief tenfold and put her back at a miserable square one. I pitied her greatly.
One thing stopping me from rating this book at one star or lower is the fact that the story was well-paced and entertaining. I noticed some similarities between All The Bright Places and John Green’s YA romance hit The Fault In Our Stars. The teenage couple bound for terminal tragedy is a trope that dates back further than Romeo and Juliet, but seems to consistently work well for younger audiences. I’ve not seen the Netflix movie adaptation starring Elle Fanning and Justice Smith, though the critical reception remains average.
4. We Were Liars
3/5 overall.
3/5 for sadness.
E. Lockhart’s psychologically-thrilling short book We Were Liars is the novel example I would give to anyone asking for something overhyped. We’re met with a mopey main character, a daughter of the rich and successful Sinclairs, who makes endlessly frustrating observations as we follow her around her summerhouse on a private island off of Massachusetts. The ultimate plot twist is fairly predictable and borders on melodrama, and some themes in the story that should’ve been explored more are completely disregarded. Furthermore, I can’t say it was particularly sad (though many might disagree with me).
However, this is an entertaining enough read. Bonus points for a fairly original plot-line that’s told in an intriguing and immersive style of writing. We Were Liars is condensed enough to read in a day so I’d recommend it to anyone looking for something quick, though be aware that the intended audience is very obviously young adults. While there’s nothing at all wrong with that, you should expect some cheesiness. An Amazon Prime TV adaptation is in the works from Vampire Diaries creator Julie Plec, and I can imagine it would make for an interesting watch.
5. A Thousand Splendid Suns
5/5 overall.
5/5 for sadness.
‘I will be listening for your knock’ is one of the saddest lines in this emotionally devastating book. As the oldest book on this list (written in 2007), A Thousand Splendid Suns’ reputation as a heartbreaking read is not a new one, and I had been meaning to pick the book up for a while. Right off the bat, the writing flows with beauty and harrowing emotion as the author describes the struggles of two women (Mariam and Laila) trying their best to survive in war-torn Afghanistan. Though both characters find themselves burdened with horrific circumstances, their cultural and financial backgrounds differ greatly — a generation apart, they initially share little to no common ground beyond the man they’re both married to. However, the family dynamic shifts with time, and soon I found myself desperately miserable for them both separately and together.
Though A Thousand Splendid Suns is a work of fiction, there is so much truth to its message. Women continue to be treated horrendously in countries affected by war, political corruption, and intolerance caused by religion. Following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan a couple of years ago, women’s rights have once again suffered greatly. Mariam and Laila’s story will, unfortunately, remain relevant, and I would encourage anyone looking for an insight into how brutal life can be in such circumstances to pick up this read.
List of books:
Hosseini, K. (2007). A Thousand Splendid Suns. London: Bloomsbury.
Lockhart, E. (2014). We Were Liars. New York: Penguin.
Miller, M. (2011). The Song of Achilles. London: Bloomsbury.
Niven, J. (2015). All The Bright Places. New York: Penguin.
Yanagihara, H. (2015) A Little Life. New York: Doubleday.
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