It’s a cliché of book jacket blurbs that a novel with seriously sad content will be described as a tearjerker, an emotional rollercoaster, or a devastating read. And for many readers, this is just our cup of tea. 

We’re drawn to the cathartic experience of becoming deeply engaged with a story that tugs on the heart strings. There’s comfort in shared pain, empathy in harrowing adversity and consolation in knowing that an injustice has been experienced and, often, overcome.  

Many Booker-nominated novels don’t shy away from emotionally shattering experiences, with subjects ranging from brutal war to devastating personal loss. And of course, many of these tragic tales also incorporate a good dose of humour, because great writers know that lightness can still be found in the bleakest of situations.  

We’ve combed through the Booker Prizes archives to offer this list of novels which are especially emotional. Warning: these stories may cause a buried memory to resurface, make you pine for a lost love or weep for the cruelty many people must endure. But if you’ve ever realised that tears are streaming down your face while reading a book but still feel compelled to read on, then browse through this list of recommendations. Prepare to be broken in the best possible way – but make sure you’ve got a box of tissues on hand.  

A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre, translated by Mark Hutchinson

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025, A Leopard-Skin Hat was inspired by the death of Anne Serre’s younger sister, and tells the tragic story of Fanny, a woman who suffers from profound psychological disorders. Written from the perspective of Fanny’s childhood friend, the story explores the depths of their intense platonic friendship, and the love they shared for each other amid her inner turmoil. In a series of snapshots, Serre perfectly captures the raw emotions felt by the Narrator as he attempts to understand his tormented friend, who always seems just out of reach. Le Point called the book ‘A masterpiece of simplicity, emotion and elegance,’ while Publishers Weekly said that ‘Readers will be moved by this probing story about the unknowability of others’. 

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd

Childhood is a time of blistering self-awareness for many – especially those who feel they are different. It can be empowering to discover that our differences are what make us unique, and that our ability to endure hostility can make us stronger, but emotional wounds that result from bullying can be slow to heal. Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022, Heaven is a powerful meditation on the trials of youth which contemplates who really holds the power in a dynamic where the weak few are preyed upon by the dominant. The story follows a 14-year-old cruelly nicknamed ‘Eyes’ by the boys at his school who relentlessly bully him about his physical appearance. As their savagery escalates, he befriends Kojima, a female classmate cruelly persecuted by other schoolgirls. There’s a beautiful tenderness in how this pair find friendship amidst their alienation and suffering. They reach different conclusions about their predicament which prompts the reader to reevaluate youthful battles and how we can move past them. Reading this emotional novel is an unsettling yet hugely rewarding experience. 

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

Scientists speculate that the brain remains active for a number of minutes after a person’s heart stops. The opening of this novel, shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize recounts the final memories and reflections of its protagonist Leila after she has been murdered and left in a dumpster. As the clock ticks down to the inevitable expiration of her consciousness, we follow her life’s journey, from being raised in a conservative religious family to her experiences as a sex worker in Istanbul. Shafak deals boldly with many social issues, including child abuse, religious extremism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, the plight of immigrants, poverty and sexual slavery. However, Leila’s personality and resilience shine throughout her tumultuous journey, giving this sorrowful tale an engaging momentum. This is a riveting and utterly convincing tale which draws the reader right into the heart of Leila’s plight. 

The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili, translated by Elizabeth Heighway

This novel, longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2021, is a dark, Dickensian tale about a dysfunctional residential school for intellectually disabled children on the outskirts of Tbilisi. Having no knowledge of her birth family, 18-year-old former pupil Lela still lives and works at the school. There, she bears witness to the blatant corruption and is determined to prevent a sweet boy named Irakli from receiving the same abuse she herself has experienced, plotting to help him escape before settling a score and leaving the institution herself. The cruel circumstances the children endure is truly shocking; however, the story also contains moments of deep-felt friendship and hope. This is a slender, finely rendered and powerfully realistic portrait of a community of children on the fringes of society who only survive through their own ingenuity and resilience.  

Sabrina by Nick Drnaso

Sabrina has gone missing. Longlisted for the 2018 Booker Prize, this groundbreaking graphic novel – the first and so far only one to be nominated for the prize – focuses on the lives of Sabrina’s sister Sandra and her boyfriend Teddy as they try to deal with her sudden absence and the aftermath, when the shocking truth of what happened to her is revealed. The drawings which accompany the clipped, awkward dialogue and text are very understated in how they convey small details and, together with the muted facial expressions of the characters, who are paralysed with confusion and inaction, has the odd effect of imbuing the story with more emotion. Many of the interior and outdoor spaces are portrayed as very stark, as if the environment is just as sombre as the grief-stricken characters. However, there are many moments of simple kindness throughout the story which offers a hopeful sense of our ability to be our best selves in moments of real need.  

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

There’s a reason why Hanya Yanagihara’s epic 2015 Booker-shortlisted novel has inspired so many teary-eyed social-media videos of emotional readers. It recounts the complex and wavering friendship between enigmatic, damaged Jude and three other men who initially met in their first year at college. The extent of Jude’s anguish and the almost relentless suffering he experiences is recounted in such distressingly graphic detail that it’s both repelling and utterly absorbing. Yet Jude conceals it all from most of the people he knows, even those close to him. It’s so rare for a story to authentically capture the journey a friendship can take over a lifetime and the ways in which we often define ourselves in relation to the people close to us. It also shows that when the dam of fear and pain finally bursts and confessions are made, our relationships can be often made stronger.   

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This novel, shortlisted for the 2005 Booker Prize, initially appears to simply be about a delicately-balanced love triangle taking place at a pleasantly old-fashioned English boarding school. But things quickly turn sinister when students Kathy, Ruth and Tommy learn that they’ve been raised for a specific purpose – which will drastically reduce their lifespan. The way this devastating knowledge is gradually revealed, and the events that follow, are truly heart-wrenching. Kathy describes her experiences and memories in a breathtaking way, conveying the full gravity of what has been lost and the future she has been cruelly denied. Jealousy, pride and betrayal place even more pressure on this trio’s strained circumstances. Set in an alternate contemporary reality, the book’s unique blend of dystopian science fiction and gripping romance raises pertinent questions about morality and mortality, while examining the nature of love under the most nightmarish circumstances. 

Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam

The lovers at the centre of this story are absent from its immediate action for reasons which become terrifyingly clear over the course of the novel. Yet, the presence of Jegnu and Chanda’s passion looms large in the hearts and minds of this English community which has been renamed Dasht-e-Tanhaii by the locals who are predominantly from a Pakistani background. Between experiences of racism from outside their neighbourhood and a strictly orthodox form of Islam, many of the characters in this novel find their lives hemmed in by domineering ideologies which seek to restrict or punish their desires. In powerfully immersive prose, Aslam delicately balances multiple points of view to show the complex dynamics of a neighbourhood comprised of family, friends and enemies. There’s a great deal of compassion for each character’s individuality as we come to understand the deep love or anger they feel towards each other. Though this 2004 Booker-longlisted novel is a tragic love tale, it’s also filled with hope because of the deep humanity at the heart of its story.   

Reading Turgenev by William Trevor

Set in a small Irish town in the mid-1950s, this short 1991 Booker-shortlisted novel follows the life of country girl Mary Louise Dallon. As she enters adulthood there are few prospects for leaving the family farm until an older, relatively prosperous local merchant begins courting her. This seems like a way of escaping her provincial surroundings, but married life comes with its own restrictions. Like many who are trapped in circumstances from which they cannot escape, Mary’s main outlet becomes her imagination – and her renewed acquaintance with a frail cousin she knew in her youth. His love of reading the books of Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev opens a world to Mary beyond her cloistered existence with an alcoholic husband and her vicious unmarried sisters-in-law. As her marriage deteriorates, Mary’s secret alternative life emboldens her to assert her independence in new ways. This is not only a devastatingly beautiful story of lost love, but a powerful tribute to the way literature can connect us to others and open fresh avenues of opportunity.  

Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally

Those who are only familiar with Steven Spielberg’s famous film version of Keneally’s 1982 Booker-winning novel will find it enthralling to delve into this astonishing literary classic. Not only does the novel – if indeed it’s correct to call it a novel – portray the full complexity of Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi Party who became an unlikely hero, saving the lives of thousands of Jewish people during the Holocaust, but it also artfully weaves together the tremendous amount of research its author conducted. Historical facts concerning many individuals imprisoned in the camps are detailed alongside vivid fictional scenes, and a rare truth – chilling, sobering and inspiring – emerges from this confluence. It’s also heartening to know that Holocaust survivor Poldek Pfefferberg (to whom this book is dedicated) worked diligently to memorialise Schindler’s story and successfully convinced Keneally to write this novel. The result is a story that is both devastating and awe-inspiring.

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

As we inevitably age and lose loved ones, the prospect of spending our remaining years in lonesome solitude is deeply unsettling. That’s the predicament in which Elizabeth Taylor’s titular heroine finds herself in at the beginning of this 1971 Booker-shortlisted novel. Mrs Palfrey has moved into a London hotel which partly functions as a long-term residence for the elderly. Her husband is deceased, she has a strained relationship with her daughter who lives in Scotland and her grandson who does live in London won’t respond to her letters. As a result, she becomes fearful of each new day which is filled with emptiness and an overwhelming lack of companionship. But a chance meeting with a young man who is experiencing his own form of loneliness opens up new possibilities that neither could anticipate. The brilliance of this novel is in the balance the author achieves between tragedy and comedy. There’s a lightness of touch where descriptions of debilitating solitude are paired with wry observations about the absurd things the hotel residents will do to fill the time. Engrossing and compact, this is an eye-opening account of the emotional needs of the elderly, peppered with small, precious acts of kindness.

This article includes additional contributions by Emily Facoory.