# The most depressing novel you ever read **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209 "2016-09-06T18:27:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/61 "2016-09-07T02:10:41Z")
Sophie’s Choice. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/62 "2016-09-07T02:30:05Z")
On a bit of a tangent, add Michael Crichton’s “Sphere” to the list, because of the :smack: :rolleyes: :eek: ending. Jane Smiley’s “A Thousand Acres” wasn’t a fun book to read, either. Every few pages, I would think, “Good grief, what’s next?” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/63 "2016-09-07T02:30:29Z")
> [@TheInimitableMaven](#): > > I’m amazed nobody has said _ **Fahrenheit 451** _ yet. Another good one. Honestly, I’m so damned captivated by Bradbury’s work it mitigates the depressing factor. I think the way he constructs a sentence is just beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/64 "2016-09-07T02:34:06Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > If you think **Doomsday Book** is dark, don’t read **Blackout** and **All Clear**. > T **o Say Nothing of the Dog** , on the other hand, is a delight. Your warning is accepted. Thanks to a tip in these here SDMB’s, I discovered **To Say Nothing Of The Dog** several years ago, and it immediately became one of my half-dozen lifetime favorite books. After the first reading, I looked into some of her other books, and was discouraged by less than stellar reviews and comments. The one exception (or so I was led to believe) was **Doomsday Book**. Big mistake. However, I’ll be reading **To Say Nothing…** for the third time in the next several months. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/65 "2016-09-07T02:34:10Z")
> [@Parthol](#): > > I vote for **McTeague** by Frank Norris. > > It’s about a dim-witted and brutal dentist around the end of the 19th century, whose life falls apart after his new wife wins a $15k lottery. You can read the incredibly depressing plot summary on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McTeague). > > By the end of the book: > > The titular character, having fled after murdering his wife, is stranded deep in Death Valley handcuffed to a corpse I remember this book! Yes it’s depressing, but there’s some dark humor on Norris’s part as well. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/66 "2016-09-07T02:38:09Z")
> [@Parthol](#): > > I vote for **McTeague** by Frank Norris. > > It’s about a dim-witted and brutal dentist around the end of the 19th century, whose life falls apart after his new wife wins a $15k lottery. You can read the incredibly depressing plot summary on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McTeague). That actually sounds kind of funny, in an absurdist sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/67 "2016-09-07T02:42:35Z")
Okay, less funny now that I’ve read the plot summary. But it all seems kind of inevitable and he doesn’t sound like the most sympathetic character. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/68 "2016-09-07T02:43:36Z")
I just remembered another one. Jane Hamilton’s “The Book of Ruth”. At the time, I was working with a woman who’d had a life like that, and it reminded me so much of her. The TV movie cannot possibly do it justice. ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/69 "2016-09-07T03:05:19Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Bradbury is one of my all-time favorite writers. > > My first exposure to his work was the short story _All Summer in a Day._ > > Synopsis: A little girl from Earth who lives on Venus is wasting away because she only gets to see the sun once every 7 years. She is bullied. The school children lock her in the closet. The sun comes out, and they all run out to play and bask. Then the sun vanishes once more and the rains come. The children remember they locked the Earth girl in the closet, and somberly open the door. > > And scene! > > Sleep tight, kids. _I_ remember that. I liked that story as a kind of O. Henry story. Thanks to you I’ll know where to look when I want to find it. (I think I read this many years ago and long since forgot who wrote it.) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/70 "2016-09-07T03:09:39Z")
> [@Tinker\_Grey](#): > > _I_ remember that. I liked that story as a kind of O. Henry story. Thanks to you I’ll know where to look when I want to find it. (I think I read this many years ago and long since forgot who wrote it.) I read it in 10th grade and had no idea who had written it at the time. It made an enduring impression on me. Haunted me for years. Years later I was reading a collection of Bradbury short stories and came across it. I had already fallen in love with his writing by that point, so it was kind of an ‘‘Of course he wrote that!’’ moment. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/71 "2016-09-07T03:16:48Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Yeah, _Jude the Obscure_. For the win… dear god… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/72 "2016-09-07T03:20:05Z")
> [@Parthol](#): > > I vote for **McTeague** by Frank Norris. > > It’s about a dim-witted and brutal dentist around the end of the 19th century, whose life falls apart after his new wife wins a $15k lottery. You can read the incredibly depressing plot summary on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McTeague). > > By the end of the book: > > The titular character, having fled after murdering his wife, is stranded deep in Death Valley handcuffed to a corpse The final scene was stolen for some film I once caught the last two minutes of. I’ve no idea what film it was - there doesn’t seem to be a recent adaptation of the novel. That said, the final scene is dramatic but has a rather obvious flaw: So he’s handcuffed to a corpse. Big deal. Smash the corpse’s hand with something until the bones are pulverized and one can pull the handcuff bracelet free of it. You’re probably still doomed, being in Death Valley with no water and all, but the immediate problem isn’t really all that vexing. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/73 "2016-09-07T04:19:55Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I’ve never read the Gormenghast books, but I saw the TV miniseries, and it was hella depressing. If it was fair to the books, then they must be major-league downers. Read the Gormenghast books! Not so much depressing as STIMULATING. Mervyn Peake’s writing is like a strong dose of mescaline. I would have loved to have met the guy before disease made his extraordinary brain fall apart. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/74 "2016-09-07T04:28:40Z")
> [@moojja](#): > > That book actually has an upbeat ending, if you’re a communist. Or a worker in general. Or a consumer of food in an non-rural environment. The book contributed to the rise of workers rights, as well as reforms for the selling of sustenance. Per Sinclair himself - “I aimed at the public’s heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.” ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/75 "2016-09-07T04:54:36Z")
Some good ones already mentioned: Infinite Jest (although it has lighthearted intermissions) Never Let Me Go and one further to add to the list … London Fields ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/76 "2016-09-07T05:02:42Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Read the Gormenghast books! Not so much depressing as STIMULATING. > > Mervyn Peake’s writing is like a strong dose of mescaline. I would have loved to have met the guy before disease made his extraordinary brain fall apart. Okay! They’re on my list! Another pair of books, hugely depressing, by a writer I admire: “The Psalms of Herod” and “The Sword of Mary” by Esther Friesner. Post-apocalyptic – that’s a head-start on being depressing right there. The world is sunk into a theocracy with severe sexism – not unlike “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Severely woeful. ---
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/77 "2016-09-07T05:11:53Z")
**At the Edge of the Orchard** by Tracy Chevalier In the 1830s a family worthy of Jerry Springer settle in a miserable swamp in Ohio and grow apples. The dad is obsessed with apple trees. The mom is a psychotic alcoholic who abuses everyone with in reach culminating in her killing her husband with an ax in an alcoholic rage when he attempts to stop her from taking said ax to one of his precious trees. One son wanders around Out West while a sister remains back in Ohio and most likely gets sexually assaulted by a male relative (can’t remember if it was a brother or cousin) and ends up pregnant. She’ll find the wandering brother and die after birthing the baby ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/78 "2016-09-07T05:38:31Z")
I definitely agree with Thomas Hardy as the most uniformly depressing author I have read. I can’t decide between Jude the Obscure and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. The irony is that he was trying to criticize those elements of social mores that caused all this unhappiness and suffering, but all I remember is the total despair of their lives. I would like to add Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I saw the (original) movie and then read the book when I was 13 or so. Exactly the wrong age for this content, and I was depressed for weeks afterwards (if I didn’t have such a basically sunny disposition it would have scarred me for life). ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/79 "2016-09-07T07:20:32Z")
less than zero didn’t put me in a good mood after reading it …and the ending dreams die first by Harold robbins was a downer too ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209/80 "2016-09-07T07:21:06Z")
_1984_ Man, that ending left a cold feeling in the pit of my stomach. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-depressing-novel-you-ever-read/765209.md?page=5)