The best books with beautifully sad love stories

This is a very short book, only around 100 pages, so you could read it in an afternoon. But, oh my, does this book pack a punch!

They made a movie out of it, so just shows there’s plenty in this very short novella to deal with. Written in 1911 and set in the mountains of New England in the U.S., it’s the story of a married couple – Ethan and Zeena – whose lives are changed forever when the wife’s charming cousin Mattie Silver comes to stay.

The characterisation is brilliant, the setting of the harsh winters of New England is stunning and the love story is intense and heartbreaking. 

Atonement is a historical novel by McEwan, also made into a very fine movie with James McAvoy and Keira Knightley. Before you watch the film though (and even if you have), try the book as it’s a different experience (as books to films often are).

This book is really all about stories, narratives, and lies. Set in 1935 and beyond, the protagonist is a young girl Briony – a budding writer from a wealthy family and highly observant kid – who becomes fascinated by her older sister Cecilia’s relationship with local working-class lad Robbie.

The central romance between Cecilia and Robbie is beautifully wrought, passionate, and sexy, especially with its taboo across-the-class-divide vibe. Prepare for some tears though…

Cold Mountain tells the tale of two people separated and ultimately drawn inexorably together by the American Civil War in the 1860s.

We follow Inman, a wounded soldier, as he abandons the battlefield to make his way across the war-torn country to Cold Mountain, where his love Ada lives. She is trying to scratch a living from her dead father’s farm in terrible conditions.

The whole story is written in exquisite style, with the narrative moving forward as one stays still while the other slowly moves towards their joint goal of being together once more. Get those tissues ready for a good cry…you’re gonna need them…

This book is actually hard to describe, because there is so much in it to think about, but the reading experience is very straightforward and utterly compelling.

In the 1990s, Iris looks back on her sister Laura’s mysterious death just after WW2, while the rest of the story ranges across the 1930s and beyond, focusing on a beautiful love affair with a rebellious science fiction writer. The Blind Assassin of the title is a novel within the novel and it’s utterly gorgeous.

It’s a complex and stunning story all about stories – those we tell about ourselves and those we tell others. It’s probably one of my favourite novels of all time!

Maybe you’ve read this book, maybe you haven’t, but to me it still remains one of the greatest love stories of all time, mostly because it’s a very screwed-up love story! That’s what I love about Cathy and Heathcliff: they’re both pretty awful people!

She’s a spoilt brat and he’s been ruined by his tough upbringing and their relationship is a mess. But the love that they have for one another is elemental – an absolute force of nature – that not only destroys their own lives but those of all around them, like a catastrophic storm.

As messed up as they are, I still can’t resist their passion, found in beautiful lines like: “I am Heathcliff!” I’m fully aware that this book carries a lot of controversy these days due to the utterly toxic nature of their relationship.

But that’s why this love story is so fascinating! It trounces all expectations of what love should be and instead presents us with a dreadful, awful love, but one that can’t be stopped. I love this book because it is the opposite of well-behaved!