Most Depressing Tomes

[oggbashan]

Ought to be depressing but isn't:

The book of condolence for the death of Abraham Lincoln.

I had a copy in my shop, signed by the man who bought Alaska from the Russians - who was also attacked the same day.

Every page was of transcipts of messages sent to the American Embassy or Consul from communities all over the world expressing their regret at Lincoln's death. The wording varied according to the culture but the emotions expressed were moving.

There were some, but not many, expressions of grief from communities in the former Confederate states.

What was startling was all the obscure places in the world the messages of sympathy came from. 19th century communication might have been slow but the message got through.

I haven't got the book now. I sold it to a man from Boston, USA (not Boston UK).

Og

Edited for PS:

The title was:

"The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the attempted Assassination of William H. Seward and Frederick W. Seward on the Evening of the 14th of April, 1865. - Expressions of Condolence and Sympathy inspired by these Events".

Short and snappy?

Og

 

[fogbank]

My shortlist would be:

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Be warned, there is nothing balanced about it.

Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers. This was one I shrugged off the first time I read it. But to go back and read it now, it's a pretty engaging bummer.

Last Season by Roy McGregor. Tragic story of fictional NHL enforcer, Felix Batterinski. Without getting into the story too much, if there's anyone else out there going through hockey-withdrawl this year, read this book.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by David Eggars. I actually am just part way through this one, so maybe it'll perk up a bit, but based on the title, I'm not optomistic.

 

[Guest]

a pretty engaging bummer.

That's a great blurb. I'd love to see it on a back cover. Or as a bookshop section: Pretty Engaging Bummers

Perdita

 

[steve w]

I would distinguish between books that made me cry, and books that make me feel sad about humanity generally.

Books that make me cry -

"Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens
"Night Caller" by Armistead Maupin

Books that make me feel sad and lost -

Anything with Wilfred Owen's poetry
"Stalingrad" by Antony Beevor

 

[sweetnpetite]

I don't think any book has ever depressed me, or even made me unbearably sad. I don't read true-crime, horror or psych books. Tragic stories can make me sad but not depressed. No great art does.

Beethoven and Wagner can do me in emotionally but it's always good. "King Lear" kills me but it's good too, the beauty of art always transcends tragedy for me.

Perdita

I'm with you perdita. There is sad or tragic, and then there is depressing- which is a completely different thing. To me, most of the books mentioned don't quite make the list. A book that makes me cry does not depress me. (where the red fern grows, The poisonwood bible, the red tent, finishing school) A book that makes me sad (great expectations) likewise does not depress me.

Grapes of Rath, btw, had a message of hope at the end. However, it was *depressing* to me, to some extent because of the way in which people where shown to have treated each other. to me, that is what is depressing in any literature, the light it shines on human cruelty. My tender sensabilies just can not stand that without feeling a physical pain. I found that also with the 'poisonwood bible' in places but not overall. In 'Don't Know Much about History' it was throughout- there was no message of hope to be found. It put a litteral dark cloud over me, that followed me when I put the book down. The problem with that book was that it was real- reality depresses me, non-reality rarely does. A reflection of reality, seen through fiction where human's are cruel and less than human to one another- that too will depress me. But sadness, grief, and tragedy- those I do not count as depressing.