I’m not known for my sensitivity. In fact, I often find it hard to understand why people react emotionally to some things. OK, many things. So there haven’t been many books that have made me cry. But there have been a few.
#1 on the list is The Gadfly by Ethel Lilian Voynich. It was very famous in the USSR (also China and Iran), and I read it about 15 times as a teenager. Every time, I would weep hysterically through the last few pages. I wonder if it would have the same effect if I read it today. Anybody here a Voynich fan?
Another book that makes me cry is actually “Horton Hears a Who” by Dr Seuss. I discovered it in my forties but every time I read it to Klara I feel an approach of big, salty, gloopy tears. It’s really a touching story! Those tiny people! They were almost destroyed! The Grinch is also plenty touching. Unfortunately, I never manage to cry it out like I’d wish because I don’t want to freak out Klara. It’s OK to see mommy cry but probably not over a little elephant and his flower.
Rafael Chirbes’s On the Edge had me bawling all over my bed. I was in my first trimester, sure, but I reread it twice for work since then and cried every time.
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Meanwhile, I cried today because I thought about the Jamaican bobsled team. For some reason I cry every time I think about their sled crashing (don’t worry, nobody was badly hurt.) I’m beginning to tear up again writing this, so I’d better stop here.
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Have you seen the film “Cool Runnings”? Enjoyable, uplifting film about the team.
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“En la orilla” is a devastating read. I cannot bear to pick it up again, once was enough. A necessary novel, all the same, but it left my mind reeling for weeks.
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The older I get, the more readily I cry. I never cried until I was in my 30’s. Now, I cry over a story about Apollo 13, for example.
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I think I also cried when read ‘The Gadfly’ as a teen. How did it become famous in non-communist Iran?
Also cried as a teen at Kuprin’s ‘The Garnet Bracelet.’ Now it looks sentimental in contrast to ‘The Gadfly’ which I still see as moving.
Btw, read once an interesting take on ‘The Gadfly.’ According to it, since the novel was written by an Englishwoman, it’s unique in its cheerfulness among traditional Russian/Communist literature.
‘Dandelion Wine’ still wins hands down at making me want to weep though.
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Oh, yeah, I remember boo-hooing over Dandelion Wine. I know it happens with other books, but I think I block it from my memory, because I can’t remember any of the titles.
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// Oh, yeah, I remember boo-hooing over Dandelion Wine.
Glad to hear I am not the only one. Thought my reaction was unusual.
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