What books have made you cry? I realise I've never cried from a book.
Good question. Makes me think of the significance of your life circumstance when reading. Maus made me cry in high school and I was close rereading it recently. I basically wept reading The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy about six years ago, but I doubt I would have a remotely similar reaction reading it today. Book Five of My Struggle (a passage talking about death, of course) made me cry quite a lot. That was ten years ago. The Story of the Night by Colm Toibin did it. Brilliant book. I was briefly convinced he was secretly one of the all-time living greats. Then I read Bad Blood, his chronicle about the history of sectarian violence along the border of Northern Ireland and Ireland, and most of the book is him eating sandwiches in pubs...I almost cried tears of boredom! Anyways, doesn't matter because The Story of the Night is perfect. I also recently read Israel and Palestine by Avi Shlaim and teared up a bit, but more due to the brutal reality of history than the literary significance of his writing (though he is a great historian). Am I a huge pussy or is something wrong with you guys? How do you NOT cry reading?!
Only one that's ever gotten me close was Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. The final third made me feel... almost nauseous for days afterward. Really brought home what an absolute waste Vietnam was.
Just rewatched Ken Burns' doc on Vietnam. Marlantes' story is so insane. I really should read his book.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers and also her biography even though I knew the ending would be her death </3 Also Jane Eyre and The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall. There are a bunch more. I cry very easily though. Caught at the right time I could cry with a cute cat video.
The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka, which is a family dynasty that takes place during the Japanese occupation of Malaysia.