Stories that make you cry

[sally_maria]

After reading a discussion elsewhere I wondered what stories (books, tv, films) always made you cry.

I must admit I'm a fairly easy crier when it comes to fiction but apart from the Lord of the Rings I think the book that affects me most is Guy Gavriel Kay's The Darkest Road - from about half way through the book until nearly the end. It's a very satisfying end in a lot of ways, none of the pain seems wasted or gratuitous, but I can't read it in public because there will be sobbing.

When it comes to TV quite a few of Joss Whedon's deaths seem like too much - more to show that the world is dangerous than truly necessary, but the end of Season 2 of Buffy still breaks my heart every time.

I like it much less in story terms, but Daniel Jackson's deliberate and calculated decision to sacrifice himself to a horrible death to save a planet still has me tearing up after many viewings and many vids.

What stories make you tear up? Do you cry over fiction at all or doesn't it work that way for you?

Comments

[muuranker.livejournal.com]

I cried reading Connie Willis' All Clear yesterday.

I cried in the theatre at the end of Journey's End.

I cried at the end of Blackadder Goes Forth.

And lest you think I only cry when there is a world war involved, I cried reading Connie Willis' Domesday Book, and RA MacAvoy's Book of Kells. And yes, Buffy.

Time Travel, War, and especially Time Travel AND War do it for me.

Books more than films or theatre.

I cry more over fiction than I do over non-fiction. With Real Life, I think a more active response is needed, fiction gives me the opportunity to just be sad, without any of the other reactions to loss.

[sally_maria]

Yes, I think you are right about fiction as opposed to RL - as you say, in RL there are things to do rather than simply being sad.

I did wonder though if there would be people who felt that fiction wasn't worth getting upset over, because, well... it's fiction. On the other hand, I suspect that's a response you're less likely to find among fans, where investment in fiction is part of our modus operandi.