Have you ever read a story that you thought was sadder than Les Miserables? If so, what book was it?
there is no book more miserable than Les Miserables? Well drat, I love that stuff. Now that I know that I have recieved the “ultimate high” so to speak, are the other works of Victor Hugo any good? I mean do they even compare to Les Miserables in any way?
I recently read Les Miserables and was underwhelmed. I guess I missed the part where I was supposed to be sad or something.
The saddest book I ever read was Heidi.
Dude, you have GOT to read Old Yeller.
the main sorrow that I found in this book (I am only through 300 pages) was Fantine’s plight…
spoilers… (how does one do those hidden text boxes?)
"Fantine was one of those beings who are brought forth from the heart of people, so to speak. Sprung forth from the most unfathomable depths of social darkness, shebore on her brow the mark of the anonymous, she was born at Montreuil. Who where her parents? Who can say? She had never known either her father or mother. She was called Fantine (blonde)-why? Because she had never been known by any other name. At her birth, the Revolutionary Directory was still in power. She could have no family name. She had no family, she could not have a baptismal name, because at the time there was no church. She was named at the whim of the first passerby who found her, an infant wandering barefoot in the streets....At age 10 Fantine left the city and went into service among the farmers in the suburbs. At fifteen she went to Paris to "seek her fortune".
She loved. She loved Tholomyes. To him it was an affair; to her a passion.... Fantine fled from Tholomyes over several months, but always in such a way as to meet him again. There is a way of avoiding a person that resembles search. In short, the idyll took place....Although she would have refused nothing to Tholomyes, as could too clearly be seen, her face in repose was supremely virginal...the mysterious sign of chastity , wich caused Bararossa to fall in love with a Diana found in the excavations of Iconium. Love is a fault; be it so. Fantine was innocence floating upon the surface of this fault.
THIS IS THE SURPRISE. She hastily unsealed the letter, opened it, and read: "....We are striking our tents, as Bosuet says, We are going, we are gone. We are fleeing to the arms of Laffitte and on the wings of Caillard. The coach snatches us up from the Abyss, and you are this abyss, our beautiful darlings!...for nearly two years we have made you happy,bear us no ill will for it"...Fantine laughed like all the others, but an hour later she wept. It was her first love, s we have said; she had given hersef to Tholomyes as to a husband, and the poor girl had his child.
Fantine possessed fierce courage. She had given up her finery, was dressed in calico, and had put all her silks, trinkets, ribbons, and laaces upon her daughter-the only vanity that remained, and a scarce one at that. She sold all that she had, which gave her about 200 francs; when her debts were paid she had only 80. At twenty-two years of age she left Paris, with her child on her back. Anyone who saw them go by would have pittied them. The woman had nothing in the world but this child, and the child nothing but this woman.
"My Name is Madame Thenardier" said the mother of the two girls, "We run this inn." ...Fantine told her story, she said she was a working woman, and her husband was dead. Unable to find a job in Paris she was going to search for it elseware...The two women went on chatting. "What is her name?" "Cossette." "How old is she?" "Going on three years." "the same age as my first." She seized the hand of Madam Thenardier, looked right at her and said, "Will you keep my child for me?" Fantine went on, "you see, I can't take my child into the country. The work will prevent it. With a child I could not find a job there; they are so backwards in that district."
*****you know what? I have a better idea, go to the library and read pages 120-300 of Les Miserables (the large 1460 page version). Then you will see why I think the book is the saddest ever written ******
1984?
Erich Maria Remarque - All Quiet on the Western Front
James Patterson’s “Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas.” Quite a change from his other works.
Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
Nabokov’s Ada, but only if you imagine yourself living in that world, because there are few characters good-natured enough to care about. Sort of the anti-Lolita in that the latter book has basically all sympathetic characters.
I must confess, I’ve never read Les Miserables.
That said, Where The Red Fern Grows is incredibly heart-wrenching. I haven’t read it in about 20 years, but I can’t even think of it without getting tears in my eyes.
Pretty much **any **book writen for Young Adults that has a picture of one or more dogs on the cover. There’s even a (very funny) YA novel satirizing this phenomenon, called No More Dead Dogs.
Along the same lines, let me mention One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies.
That’s pretty off-topic, though.
Let’s see… to get back on track, The Good Soldier is the saddest story I’ve ever heard.
I haven’t finished reading Les Miserables yet. I’m around the introduction of Marius. But I have seen the musical about 4 times, and it is indeed, one of the saddest works ever.
But I would humbly submit The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis as the saddest book I’ve ever read.
Something Happened by Joseph Heller.
Of Mice and Men is probably the most painful piece of fiction I’ve ever read, but All Quiet on the Western Front is up there.
I got more angry than sad when I read “Les Miserables”. The young guy (forget his name) chooses dopey Cosette to fall in love with and is mean to Jean Valjean to boot.
I’ve read dozens of sad books and/or books that have made me cry over the years. Hmm…wish I could think of them now…I’ll keep trying…Didn’t you just about weep at the fate of the horse in Animal Farm?
Haven’t read Les Mis, but have seen the stage play. Compared to that, I’d suggest both Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin, and The World According to Garp, by John Irving, as sadder.
Les Mis took me to the very edge of every emotion, I think. I will NEVER forget when Marius goes to the police station to report that Cosette and her father are going to be robbed, and at the very end the policeman stands up and offers his hand and introduces himself as Javert. I think I nearly had a freakin’ heart attack.
Or in the very beginning, when the nun known for her truthfulness LIES to save Valjean. That made me go all quiet inside. I could go on.
I’ll stick with Les Miserables for most emotion-inspiring book I’ve ever read.
Marius never struck me as being that smart. I could name a number of examples, but I’ll stick with two that comes to mind.
- He’s standing there, watching ValJean and Cossette get threatened by “Jordenette”(who’s a pretty scummy person) and it takes him forever to summon the police.
Yeah, I know he feels that he owes something to his father, but his father didn’t realize that “Jordenette” was a crook either.
- He goes to the incredibly strict(They kick you out if you miss a class) University, gets a law degree and then spends his time moping around in poverty because apparently working would distract him from moping about in infauation.