Aren't I supposed to be depressed?

[Svartalf]

Actually, all of Steinbeck with the exception of travels with Charley, which is kind of droll

[orpheus]

Orwell's 1984 (obviously).

Hans Fallada's Every Man Dies Alone was extremely depressing (I cried at the end).

Joyce's Dubliners wasn't exactly a feel-good collection either. Particularly Eveline and The Dead.

Edit: Also, A Tale of Two Cities.

Ah, The Dead. I'm a big fan of Joyce. The final paragraph of that story is one of the three most beautiful passages I've ever read. (The other two are the last bit of Finnegans Wake and the last paragraph of Calvino's Invisible Cities ).

A few light taps upon the pane made him turn to the window. It had begun to snow again. He watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark, falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for him to set out on his journey westward. Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.

[orpheus]

My favorite writer of all is Samuel Beckett. And it's odd; many find work is depressing. I can see why they do. But I don't; not at all. For me there's an incredible sense of life in his work; he's the most realistic writer I know.

For a very sad and beautiful tale, try Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier. (Translated into English several times, under both the original title and as The Wanderer ).

[Animavore]

Sinne Fianna Fáil....

[Svartalf]

Sinne Fianna Fáil....

I understand the words, but not the reference. Could you enlighten me lé do thoil?

My favorite writer of all is Samuel Beckett. And it's odd; many find work is depressing. I can see why they do. But I don't; not at all. For me there's an incredible sense of life in his work; he's the most realistic writer I know.

For a very sad and beautiful tale, try Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier. (Translated into English several times, under both the original title and as The Wanderer ).

Indeed, Becket's theater is oddly pleasant...

Jean Paul Sartre leaves me with a desire to enter the codes and press the red button.

[Animavore]

I understand the words, but not the reference. Could you enlighten me lé do thoil?

Start of the Irish National Anthem

[FBM]

...Jean Paul Sartre leaves me with a desire to enter the codes and press the red button.

[Animavore]

I love Beckett too. In Ireland at the time of his anniversary RTÉ (Ireland's national TV station) broadcast a series of his plays performed by many actors including Michael Gambon and... eh... that's all I remember

[Animavore]

[rachelbean]

The Painted Bird, by Jerzy Kosinski...I had read Being There and loved it...I really wasn't expecting the rape and sadness that filled the book

[rachelbean]

The Painted Bird, by Jerzy Kosinski...I had read Being There and loved it...I really wasn't expecting the rape and sadness that filled the book

[orpheus]

The Painted Bird, by Jerzy Kosinski...I had read Being There and loved it...I really wasn't expecting the rape and sadness that filled the book

Yes, I had the same experience.

[rasetsu]

There is a joy in stories and reading and the theatrical arts that exists over and above any mood of the particular story.

I tend to read mostly non-fiction, so I don't have a very broad base to select from. But I cry at movies a lot. Breaking The Waves left me in tears at the end, and would likely fit here if it were a book.



As noted, I'm not well read, so I have little to pick from. Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment affected me greatly, and continues to do so. There was also a science fiction novel — perhaps it was Lucifer's Hammer — in which the Earth was being pummeled by massive bodies from space, disrupting oceans and continents, and all the survivors could do upon witnessing another one make landfall was wait for death to come to them. The helplessness experienced there resonated strongly with me.

[hadespussercats]

There is a joy in stories and reading and the theatrical arts that exists over and above any mood of the particular story.

I tend to read mostly non-fiction, so I don't have a very broad base to select from. But I cry at movies a lot. Breaking The Waves left me in tears at the end, and would likely fit here if it were a book.



As noted, I'm not well read, so I have little to pick from. Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment affected me greatly, and continues to do so. There was also a science fiction novel — perhaps it was Lucifer's Hammer — in which the Earth was being pummeled by massive bodies from space, disrupting oceans and continents, and all the survivors could do upon witnessing another one make landfall was wait for death to come to them. The helplessness experienced there resonated strongly with me.

Funny-- I was just thinking of Breaking the Waves as a film example of the feelings I had about Geek Love-- a strange, smart story, told with sensitivity and real craftsmanship, but... I never need to see that movie again.

Actually, I feel that way about most of Lars Von Trier's work-- excellent, but I don't know how often I want to watch sweet, borderline psychotic women destroyed by men and sex.

[hadespussercats]

Oh, someone was discussing Shakespeare earlier. King Lear is my favorite, I think. But it is depressing as all hell.