Jan 8, 2025

9 iconic books that people only read once (they are heartbreaking!

TOI Lifestyle Desk

Heartbreaking texts

Books have the power to make and break a person. The words written and the worlds we are transported to can give us the best highs and the worst lows. Here we mention 9 iconic and famous books that people love but only read once owing to how heartbreaking they are.

Canva-AI

‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara

‘A Little Life’ is all over the internet with sad faces, crying eyes, and tissues in hand as people read it in their free time. The story is about four friends, in the bustling city of New York, and focuses more on Jude St. Francis, a boy with a traumatic past.

Anchor

‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini

‘The Kite Runner’ is the epitome of an emotional story that has shattered people’s hearts in a single read. It is about Hassan and Amir, two friends in a troubled Afghanistan, and how the country’s landscape pushes one to abandon the other.

Bloomsbury-Paperbacks

‘The Nightingale’ by Kristin Hannah

A story set in World War 2, ‘The Nightingale’ shows a sad and emotional take on the horrors of war, the sacrifices made by ordinary people, and the way war changes lives.

Griffin

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John Green

One of the most shattering books that people love reading but hate re-reading is this one. It is about two teens who are battling cancer, and when they meet each other, the days ahead fill with love and adventures.

PENGUIN-UK

‘My Sister’s Keeper’ by Jodi Picoult

A book that is truly an emotional rollercoaster is this one. It is about two sisters, one extremely ill and the other who is constantly used to helping the ill one with her body, blood, and more.

Washington-Square

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‘10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World’ by Elif Shafak

What happens in the last moments of life? This book explains exactly that. It is about the last moments of Leila’s life in Istanbul and the readers see how her memories come to her and fade away.

Viking

‘Never Let Me Go’ by Kazuo Ishiguro

What if in your normal life, you one day discover that your life is going to shatter and you were born just to ‘donate’ yourself? ‘Never Let Me Go’ is the story of clones raised to donate their organs.

Faber-Faber

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is about a dystopian, totalitarian society where women are treated like third-class citizens, subjugated and discriminated against, and live the worst life, constantly under a male. Offred’s story is sad, triggering, emotional, and heartbreaking at times.

Anchor

‘PS, I Love You’ by Cecelia Ahern

Another sad and heartbreaking masterpiece is this one. When Holly’s husband Gerry dies, she withdraws herself from every aspect of life. But soon, she receives 10 letters, written by Gerry to her, which fill her with some hope and joy.

Hachette-Book-Group-USA

Thanks For Reading!

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